...was a generally average day, dropping the kids to and from school with JJ and doing some housework. I did, however, go to Joondalup to enjoy a Max Brenner treat. After school both kids had playdates, Hayden at our house with Chase on the green machine and Sophie at Eva's house.
Wednesday 29th April 2015
A busy Wednesday running around after the kids but I did fit a soak in the bath in amongst dropping kids off and picking up 3 boys for a playdate!
Thursday 30th April 2015...
...another regular day with not a lot of news!
Friday 1st May 2015
Today, Jo, Sophie and I headed off to Margaret River to take part in the Margaret River GeoChallenge 2015.Our 3 hour journey was split up a couple of times, picking Justin's nephew, Tom and stopping for lunch at Bunbury. Keenly, the kids leapt out of the car at Bunbury, enthusiastic to kick a footie around while I admired the water.
When our journey was complete, we arrived at Wharncliffe Mill and put the ten up - a little tricky with 3 eager children trying to help! Pleasingly for the children, Jo collected a fire pit and we signed up for various activities across the weekend.
As the sun began to set, we attended a welcome meeting - mesmerising didgeridoo and all. While we were there, Jo cooked our sausages over the open fire which we devoured in hot dogs and to fulfil our campfire experience, we toasted marshmallows - several yanked desperately out as they caught fire themselves.
This evening's activity was a sense-ational trail which Jo took the children to while I unsuccessfully looked after the fire! Although I wasn't capable at keeping the fire blazing, I was glad of the heat it was producing but having said that I went to bed early still, making use of the cosy sleeping bag and onesie.
Saturday 2nd May 2015
This week's camping experience was very civilised because I started my day with a hot shower and an egg and bacon roll provided by the Lions Club. They were super efficient and were putting breakfast together with military precision and it set us up for our action packed day.
The Margaret River Geochallenge 2015 saw 50 geocaches set up in a series of 5 routes containing 10 caches each. Each trail varied in difficulty and all of the caches contained a first to find card. As the Bakers had been geocaching before, we set off to a medium difficulty trail, passing through the car park at the entrance en route. Passing parked cars, a laden news reporter asked if he could tag along with us until we found our first cache.
Filled with optimism, the kids soon charged ahead, missing a couple of caches and not returning to Jo's whistle. Unsure where they'd ended up, the reporter trampled ahead through the forest and soon returned with three excited children! It took quite a while to find the first cache and frustratingly I'd looked in all of the other tree stumps in the vicinity but missed the one where the cache was hidden between a lump of moss. Nevertheless, the children found it (and argued over who was the first!) and had their photo taken for the local newspaper.
Continuing back the way we had come to find the caches we'd missed, I annoyingly started at the location of the next two caches but continued passed them! At the fourth cache, Sophie was feeling particularly disheartened as the boys reached the caches before her so while I carefully logged this cache with the boys, Jo took Sophie ahead to allow her to find the next cache.
This is where our adventure truly began as my phone battery died, Jo had the map and we were in the middle of a forest I'd never been to before! We fruitlessly tried to find Jo and Sophie before trying to take a short cut. After around 20 minutes of walking and reaching a fork in the path, unsure of which to take, I decided to return to the camp the way we had come - around a 40 minute walk! To say the boys were shattered when we finally made it is an understatement!
After lunch, I took the girls to do craft in a local artist's garden which was full of lots of interesting instillations. The girls carefully threaded dried gumnuts to create long chains and on our way back we found a few more geocaches - this time on an easy trail and they were much more straightforward than this morning!
Keen to explore the local area, I took the car to Margaret River and the beach and having spent the past 30 hours with several excitable children, I noticed the peace and quiet even as the waves crashed on the rocks.
Back at the campsite, we bought fresh pizza from a visiting pizza van and, again, toasted marshmallows. Frolicking around the the dark, the children created pattern with glowing sparklers.
The evening was completed by an Aboriginal campfire, where the campfire was started with sticks, weapons were demonstrated and the children joined in with traditional music and dance.
Sunday 3rd May 2015
Delicious egg and bacon rolls were another welcome start to the day and we were geocached out - the children were happy to play with their friends so when the tent was packed away, I enjoyed some quiet time with my book. Despite the rain, Jo and the boys were still keen to get the fire started!
As the Geochallenge was coming to an end, we exchanged our first to find card for a prize and headed off around 1pm. On the highway, we were faced with torrential rain and I was so glad I wasn't driving - we could barely see the road ahead of us!
This weekend was so much fun (despite the boys' continuous pleading for Tom's Nintendo DS) and it sparked my interest in geocaching which has continued.
Adventure should be 80 percent 'I think this is manageable,' but it's good to have that last 20 percent where you're right outside your comfort zone. Still safe, but outside your comfort zone. - Bear Grylls
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