School Trip

23rd - 25th Feb 2009
It was that time again to go down to Gisborne and help out with Gisborne Intermediate School. For the first two days I would be at Otoi. A small country community with a hall and school with about 10 children. The itinerary was pretty much the same as last year with the first day put a side for setting up, tubing down the rapids on the river and a few games. I forgot to bring a mattress this year so ended up sleeping in my van again. I did hear there were a few snorers so I probably would have ended up there anyway.
The next day we were all set for kayaking and mountain biking. There must have been around 60 kids so we split them into two groups with the plan to meet for lunch then swap the groups over. The day started of great with clear blue skies and little or no wind. I looked after the kayaking side of things while a couple of parents and teachers looked after the biking. Everything went very smoothly with the kids having a fantastic time. Lunch came around pretty quick so we headed back to the hall and then returned with the second group. The skies were looking all too ominous with large black clouds and distant thunder. We decided to get everyone of the water and manged to do so just as the storm hit. I lasted for approx an hour then it was all clear again to get back on the water and bikes.
On the morning of the 25th I left Otoi and headed to Mahia. The weather was still pretty unsettled and as I got close to Mahia the rain seemed to settle in. Once there we had a quick talk and decided to get on with the activities for the day. The weather gods must have been on our side as we ended up with a beautiful day. again I looked after the kayaks while teachers and parents took control fo the biking. Moko the resident dolphin was there to great us and stayed with us the whole day. He was up to his usual antics, stealing boogie boards and even grabbed one of the paddles of one of the kids. He seemed a little more boisterous this year and was interacting with most of the kayaks, pushing them aroudn and playing with the rudders. by about 5pm it was time to pack up. Moko was still hanging around but he was obviously worn out as he wasn't too interested in interacting with a few late comers.