Jack and Katrina's Place

Rakaia Huts' reason for being is to provide a place from which to catch the wiley salmon as they swim up the Rakaia river. The Rakaia River is a big fast flowing river that carries a lot of gravel down from its source in the southern Alps, 50 Km or so west. Scientists have calculated that if it weren't for the erosion the Southern Alps would be over 20 km high, yes 20 kilometres or 60,000 odd feet. instead 20 million years of rain and westerly wind have turned it into small pieces of gravel which have spread out to form the flats from which the settlement of Rakia huts dips its toes into the Southern Pacific Ocean. All this is by way of explanation that Guy thought we should go fishing, in the traditional rakaia manner which involves an Asian built 4 drive wheel motorcycle and a net made of cheese cloth, (being difficult to teach 4 year olds to flycast). Despite persistently trawling some promising looking ponds, we failed to catch so much as a water beetle and settled instead upon a particularly fearsome looking stick that floated by. It struggled but eventually succumbed to becoming a road bridge and 'boat fixing wharf'. You can tell this is a summer's day at Rakaia Beach because Guy is wearing only three layers and Jack is sporting a goose down jacket without wooley head gear!

Christmas day this year was at Rakaia Huts with Katrina's Family. Guy enjoyed his presents hugely, including this jar of lolleys in a Thomas the tank engine jar. Christmas Lunch was fun with Uncle Ian and lots of crackers to pull.