SURVIVING A MUSIC FESTIVAL WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Before you have children your dreams are filled with the kind of parent you want to be.  You imagine that your little ones will just fit into your current lifestyle  and not a whole lot will change.  Then you HAVE children and suddenly you're caught up in a whirlwind of nap schedules, 5pm dinners, outfit changes (theirs and yours) and the mere thought of heading off the beaten track is overwhelming.  So when four years had flown by and we realised our 'child' bucket list had so far been entirely unticked, we decided to jump in the deep end.  On a whim one afternoon we bought tickets to Splore, a 3 day music festival in the middle of nowhere. We spent weeks agonising over what to pack, about how they would sleep, about where they would sleep, about whether we should keep them on their regular schedule.

Well what a lesson that weekend turned out to be!  Against all odds (aka torrential downpours, intense humidity and mud for as far as the eye could see) we had the most incredible time.  For all our worrying the kids took everything in their stride.  They slept when they were tired, we ate when we were hungry and we danced when the mood was right.  They had their minds blown at the sight of so many different people in wild costumes, the art work, the glitter, the music... these little people of ours just absorbed it all.

I forgot to mention that at this point Nico was just a year old and Ayana celebrated her fourth birthday on the last day of the festival.

On the whole we were very happy with how we had prepared for the weekend.  Since then we've had so many people asking for tips, I thought I'd write a little list of what we found useful.

CHECK LIST

1. Go with the flow
I can't really emphasise how important this is!  We learned that kids are actually so incredibly adaptable.  If you're relaxed and having a good time, then so are they.  Let them sleep when their tired, eat when their hungry, and throw all their clothes off to dance in the mud if the mood so takes them.

2. Prepare for anything
If you're at a festival it's likely to be out in the middle of nowhere so don't leave anything to chance.  We threw together gumboots, raincoats, swimwear, cool singlets, warm jumpers and used them all.  I also put together a small pack to always have on us containing band-aids, insect repellent, iodine, energy food, calendula ointment etc just in case.

3. Warn your neighbours
Be prepared to be putting your kids to bed just as everybody else is heading out to party, and having your kids waking up to start the day just as fellow festival goers are crawling into bed.  Warn anybody who is setting their tent up right beside you, give them a chance to move somewhere child free!

4. Transportation
Having this amazing trolley was an absolute lifesaver for us.  The kids could sit in it when they got tired (Nic tied an umbrella to it to protect them from sun/ rain) and we could throw all the gear we needed for the day into it.  I also brought my trusty old ergo with me which we used if Nico wanted a nap while we were out.  Making sure that they always had a place to rest seemed to be key to a great weekend.

5. Home comforts
Sleeping in a tent surrounded by all night music and drunken conversations can be a little overwhelming when you're used to the calm of your bedroom.  It seemed worth lugging a favourite blanket, soft toy and white noise machine with us for the evenings.

6. Baby earmuffs
Festivals are LOUD and little ears are sensitive, so giving them each a pair of child size noise cancelling earmuffs turned out to be very useful.  You can get them at most hardware stores.

7. Snacks
Don't skimp on the food!  Although there was good food at the festival, the queue's were often long which is never good when you have cranky kids.  Pack a good supply of nuts, corn chips, snack bars, anything that won't go off easily (we realised that fruit isn't ideal).

THE AFTERMATH
Okay I won't sugar coat this, the come down can be rough.  The first night back is fine, you've unpacked the car, everybody has had their first bath in day's and scrubbed off more mud, glitter and body paint than you knew was possible, you fill your bellies with a big bowl of pasta and fall into bed.  But the days that follow sure have their ups and downs as everybody tries to settle back into everyday life.  Hang in there, you'll be back to your normal routines in no time!

I hope this has made the idea of taking your kids to a festival (or a road trip, camping adventure etc) a little less daunting.  If there's one thing this weekend taught me is that sometimes you just have to go for it!
xx

RAGLAN (A MID-WEEK GETAWAY)

When I was young I used to love getting lost in the world of Enid Blyton books, particularly the ones where children run away to join the circus.  I would lay in bed at night pretending I was snuggled up in my old wooden caravan while outside the circus folk were cooking sausages over a crackling fire and playing the guitar.  Somehow that dream has never really left me! 

The minute we unlocked the creaky old door to our overnight train I knew at least part of my fantasy was coming true!  I had actually been wanting to stay at Solscape in Raglan for years now because they have these amazing tipi's in the bush.  As fate would have it though they were going to prove much too cold to sleep in at this time of year so I reluctantly checked out their other accommodation option... earth domes, cabooses,  eco baches and *gasp* a 17 metre long original train carriage!!  SOLD!  We spent a cosy evening inside cooking up a feast while outside the wind howled and the rain pelted at the windows, even the lighting and thunder that woke us in the night somehow only added to the magic.

Raglan itself is a pretty stunning place.  It's a small town about two hours out of Auckland that is nestled in between a rugged coastline and a huge harbour.  From all accounts there are two reasons why people move here, to surf and/ or to do yoga!  All the locals know each other and life moves at it's own pace.  It's safe to say that we fell in love with this little place almost instantly.  We'll also definitely be coming back to Solscape over summer to try out the tipi's.
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LIBRARY POINT

This morning a very chirpy toddler and two rather tired parents sat down to a pancake breakfast and tried to decide what to do with their sunny, Sunday morning.  We finally settled on an old favourite that we haven't visited for well over a year (I'm pretty sure Ayana was still in the back pack last time we went).  In order to get to Library Point you have to head further out into the country until you see the large and completely intimidating high security prison sprawled out before you.  The important part is to turn a sharp left and head down a small, uneven road just before you hit the prison gates!  Suddenly you find yourself at the entrance of a large reserve (complete with a dog park and horse/ bike trails).  The walking track eventually leads you to a completely magical spot at the very end of the point where the tidal waters quickly turn from murky brown to a radiant blue (when the weather is right). It was here that the first settlers established a mobile library system for those living in these remote regions.  Once a month somebody would row down the river in a small boat laden with books, and lucky locals could collect some fresh reading material.  You could only imagine what a treasure it would be to have a book to get lost in when you're otherwise living in total isolation!  Anyway, nice history aside, this particular spot is just so tranquil that it's a great place to come a re-energise.  I definitely plan to visit more often again!

SALTY SEA DOGS AND DESIGNER HANDBAGS

Sometimes on a Monday morning when the house is a mess and there's promise of sunny weather, you just have head out in search of adventure.  By mid morning we were bouncing along the motorway on the bus to the Auckland port in search of fishy sea air.  In my mind I like to imagine it the way it might have once been, salty sea dogs with peg legs and glinting earrings, the pungent odor of fish guts being fought over by greedy gulls, drunken sailors tripping out of illegal whiskey bars and fish mongers yelling their best price.  Instead you're met by this very odd combination of luxury apartments, gleaming yachts owned by Russian billionaires and huge restaurants that transform into meat markets (basically imagine Jersey Shore), jumbled in with rust bucket fishing boats, plastic containers of freshly caught sea life gasping for breath and the odd real weather worn sailor looking disheveled and a little out of place in this surreal surrounding.  Regardless of this, I love walking down the pier and watching the scenes unravel. Squeals of delight and gasps of 'look mama, a boat', 'look mama, a bird', 'look mama, strange lady' coming from Ayana's mouth in a constant flow as she sprinted along the harbour confirmed that she was a fan too! And so we ambled along the water for a couple of hours battling the wind (so much for sunshine) and taking it all in until the grumble in our bellies got the better of us.  We found a dingy ramen house, slurped our way through a big bowl of delicious noodles while the broth dripped down our chins and before we knew it, it was time to run to our bus and get home for a very late nap.
Now I'm sitting here typing and my house is still a mess, but for the morning we had it's totally worth the fact that I now have to scrub the toilet shortly before dinner.
xx

SECRET PLACES

Isn't it funny how you can live somewhere almost your whole life and still discover new places practically on your doorstep!  When Ayana was a baby (seems like another lifetime ago) I used to put her in the ergo almost everyday and go walking for a couple of hours.  She would happily snooze away snuggled in close to my chest, and I was able to get some fresh air.  I would choose a different park, beach or suburb each time and go exploring.  It really opened my eyes to the fact that there is often so much more to our neighborhoods than we can imagine.  We're always longing for the next holiday, the next getaway when in reality there's probably a little beach tucked away just around the corner where the tree's hang over the water and the battered cliffs conjour up thoughts of smugglers and long lost treasures.  I'm quickly learning that when you have a toddler you're constantly looking for new ways to keep them entertained and help inject some imagination into those growing little minds.  At the moment Ayana is more interested in climbing stairs and up the cliff side but I'm sure it won't be long before she'll be fending off pirates and building shelters on shipwreck islands.  For that I hope we have many years of exploring ahead of us!

ON THE ROAD

Wow, HAPPY 2015! How did we get here so fast already??   It really felt like we had just recovered and adjusted into our normal rhythms again since Melbourne and then suddenly we were off on another wild adventure.  This time our journey saw us heading down the country to Wellington and the Kapiti Coast on Christmas Day.  With our bellies still full from last nights dinner (we celebrate on Dec 24th in the evening) and our new presents barely unwrapped, we caught an early flight down for another two Christmas feasts!  What followed was a whirlwind of catching up with family, meeting new members, sadly saying goodbye to another and meeting some who had been long lost.  Although we had a great time, exhaustion finally got the better of us and that sense of homesickness was brewing in our bellies.  So we hit the road and wound our way up through tiny country towns and paddocks full of lush corn.  Being back was such a treat!  Now we plan to spend the rest of summer lounging around home, painting the kitchen and spending every spare moment swimming or burying our feet in the sand.
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