Our last day

A great last day was had by all. Kids shopped and swam throughout the day and were keen to spend every last cent on some very cool bargins and gifts for those at home.
We fly out in the morning at 11.30am so all bags are packed tonight. Arrival time to Auckland is 3.15pm so we are hoping to be home at approximately 8.00pm.
The TIS team

Lunch With a Difference and Au Revoirs!

The kids had an interesting morning in classes and then had their lunch in the canteen. We had scalloped potatoes, salad and whole boiled eggs in a white sauce, baguette and then a pottle of ice cream for dessert. What more could a hungry kid want?

After lunch we walked down to the hotel and the kids swam and relaxed around the pool until we could check in at 2pm. They were just soooo excited to be there with us.

After the girls had changed three or four times, straightened /curled their hair, swapped clothes and passed judgement on how they all looked, we set off for Jean Mariotti at 5pm for the farewell party.

There were a few speeches and then the kids sang their waiata and the boys did their haka. They were fantastic! The parents so enjoyed it and I know that Eric wishes that his kids could do something like that when they visit us. They are always impressed with Taupo Intermediate. The food was lovely  and helped set them up for the wrenching goodbye session! There were tears from our kids and their french billets - even the mothers- as they farewelled each other. We heard some great comments from the host parents about our kids. They really enjoyed having them and wanted the stay to last longer. Watching them together for the last time makes you realise how fantastic this whole cultural exchange is, and so beneficial for all involved.
The boys are thinking of going on tour with their haka! Walking home we bumped into some kiwis - the Mayor of New Plymouth no less, so they launched into their haka to give them a feel of good old NZ. They thought it fantastic!  The crew on board the ferry that took us to Phare Amedee asked them to perform it for everyone on board,  which really went down well too, so the boys quite fancy themselves as true artists!
They are all in their rooms now and hopefully feeling sleepy!! ( although I'm not holding my breath). Tomorrow we will just shop and swim etc so it's a cruisy day. Saturday is looming, and although most of us have had enough sun and our bods need a bit of a rest from it, I know we're not prepared for the temps at home!
Au Revoir!
The TIS team

Phare Amedee

We weren't expecting the weather to be quite so good today, and it was cloudy as the bus to the wharf collected us from school at 8am. But the further out to sea we got, the finer it became. The saying goes around here, "it's always fine at the Phare"!

 The trip over to the island took an hour and we chose our spot under umbrellas etc and the kids lined up for the trip in the glass-bottomed boat. There was great excitement watching the array of marine life below us - especially the pilot fish suckering onto the bottom of the glass. We saw a turtle as well, which was really cool. Toward the end of our 1/2 hour cruise over the reef, the kids were allowed to jump off the boat and snorkel and swim with the fish. Some were a bit too nervous about getting close up and personal with such big fish and opted to stay aboard but others fell over themselves to leap off!! Ollie was a hoot as he couldn't decide whether to jump overboard or not, saying he really did want to as he knew it would be a good experience, but he just wasn't sure. Carrie said to hurry up because they'd have to all come out soon, so in he went and just as he had everything fitted, adjusted and ready for action, the kids were told to get out!  He was totally absorbed after 10 seconds and the guy had to grab his arm as he was last to get out and he was still filming away as he was virtually lifted out of the water! He came into the boat dripping and blustering "what an experience"! He'd forgotten his towel in his excitement to board, so the Japanese man next to him, who'd been well entertained, let him borrow his!

Some chose to then go in the big ferry to the outer reef with Baz where they saw and fed sharks, other large fish and even turtles. The others really had the snorkelling bug, so were dead keen to continue snorkelling ashore.  They loved the water and spent more time in than out during the day. Of course the snakes were definitely an attraction with the girls shrieking when they first sighted them, but all were quite used to them by the end of the day.

We had a lovely tropical feast followed by a cultural concert at lunchtime. The speed that the hips of these dancers can move is amazing!

 After lunch the kids and Carrie climbed 251 steps to the top of the lighthouse and saw the amazing view - someone had to take pictures of them from the bottom so that was my job!

The day drew to a close all too soon and we headed home at 3.30pm. As we came into Port Moselle, we saw the Maori waka that sailed to New Caledonia along with waka from other Pacific Islands. We spoke to the Maori guys sailing them and the kids enjoyed that. They have sailed here for a cultural celebration of Pacific Island nations to be held here soon.

We are giving the sun a rest in the morning and spending time at school. They are all so excited at the prospect of being together with us in the hotel tomorrow night. We don't like the sound of the 8deg temp you had today in good old Taupo!
Au revoir!
The TIS team
 

Isle aux Canards

What a fanatastic day we've had today! We were down at the beach by 8.30 ready to take the water taxi over to the island. It is only a 2minute ride and we had a perfect day for it. The sea was like glass and the sun shining so that everyone was ready to hit the water as soon as we arrived! Throughout the day the kids snorkelled along the set route over a coral reef, swam and went paddle boarding, or else just lay on the beach relaxing. Sophie snorkelled away happily too and overcame her fear of the little fish she thought might be man-eaters!

                                                        Isle aux Canards (Duck Island)
 Even I had a go at paddle boarding this year and quite fancied a turn around the little bay we had told the kids they could practise in. I was fine for a few minutes and then suddenly my legs got shaky and I disappeared over the back of the board out of view!  I must say I provided the main entertainment of the day for those watching Madame!  there happened to be a couple of helicopters hovering above at the time and Ollie told me that they were surely there from TV3 and that everyone at home would get a replay! Carrie laughed so much she could hardly stand!

We finished up there and began the walk to Mariotti at 3pm to meet the billets. They had a great day and it is so nice to see how pleased they are to greet their billets now at the end of the day. Caitlyn said today that she can't believe how scared she was last week but now she knows she won't want to say goodbye on Thursday. 

We look forward to our day at Phare Amedee tomorrow with more snorkelling and swimming but with the odd sea snake thrown in for good measure for a change!
Au revoir!
The TIS team

The New Week

We had a wonderful day yesterday, although it was long and the kids were all very tired as they waited for their hosts to collect them at 4pm yesterday. The Deputy Mayor received us in Council Chambers as the Mayor wasn't there. We also met the guy in charge of education in New Caledonia, and we will return his hospitality in September when Jean Mariotti come to Taupo with him, Madame Mezouar, their Principal, and the french ambassador to NZ from Wellington. Our kapa haka group I'm sure will do us proud with their powhiri! A few of them spoke yesterday morning, and once again showed how they emphasise the importance of the sister city relationship between Noumea and Taupo, and how vital it is to show kids from a young age the importance of tolerance between cultures, and the sharing of knowledge, expertise and understanding between our cultures. The kids sang and the boys did their haka which was great.
The bus then collected us and took us to the north of the city to Daniel Talon primary school. As a first time visitor, Carrie found the experience moving and it certainly made a impact ono our kids. The whole school of about 200 kids was sitting outside on mats in their shingle playground as we arrived. They are so cute and mainly kanak kids. Each class sang songs for us that they had been practising and were so excited to have us there. They are a 'high priority' school in New Caledonia, which means they get a lot of government assistance because the area is one of the poorest in Noumea. One teacher was telling us that 70% of the kids come from extreme poverty with many of them just living in huts.  They look forward to the annual visit from the kiwis, as they call us, and wear their best clothes especially for us. These amount to a colourful collection of second hand clothing that often doesn't fit properly, but worn with pride as they appreciate how special the day is.  After we performed our waiata, the boys did the much awaited haka. It is so funny to watch their faces - they just love the haka. Baz and the boys taught it to a class later on and we saw the boys walking around pulling faces and slapping their chests as they really got into it, and reciting the words. One little boy even had one of those black tee-shirts we can buy with the Maori and English words of the haka on the front. Goodness knows where he got it from!  He was a proud little chap yesterday! The kids spent the rest of the day in classes making kanak masks and bookmarks with indiginous designs on. They looked great. As we left, the whole school came out to say goodbye, and as usually happens, our kids feel like movie stars, moving amongst the cheering, yelling crowd!  One gorgeous little girl of about 6 came up to me and said au revoir as she kissed both cheeks and gave me the necklace she'd been wearing. I had commented on how beautiful it was earlier and she wanted me to take it home. I was very moved.
The bus took us back to Mariotti and the kids were duly collected. All have had a good weekend, although Aly got to share a family experience that wasn't what we normally expect - a funeral, but as we told her, it was just another experience to add to her list. She was a bit sore after falling off the swimming raft but we gave her something to rub on it and some panadol and she was fine when she left us yesterday. Hannah's cold is much improved and everyone else is fighting fit!
We went to the supermarket after that to buy lots of baguettes to fill this morning for everyone as today we are spending the day over on Isle du Canard -Duck Island. It is about $11 each to buy one filled so we're doing our own in the apartment before we meet the kids this morning!
Carrie had a special birthday yesterday and I'm sure it's one she won't forget. We went to a restaurant for dinner to celebrate and were too tired to face the blog when we returned at 10pm - hence the early morning composition!
The day looks beautiful as dawn is breaking so I'm sure it will be another memorable one for the kids.
The TIS team

Gastronomie!

Bonjour!
We were lucky to time our free day with a food and wine festival on in town today!  There were lots of things to taste and wines to sample and amazing gadgets to buy. I was pretty happy with my new Kenwood mixer I got earlier in the year, but I'm afraid it is nothing on the $2,500 jobbie I saw today! I've not even seen anything like it in NZ!
The weather was great today so we swam and relaxed and even napped to catch up on some sleep after a fairly sleepless night. There was a big demonstration not far from us last night to do with the referendum New Caledonia is having in 2014 regarding the kanaks getting independence from France. There was so much noise and LOUD music til 5am so most of us slept very little. We've discovered though that Baz can sleep through anything! Carrie and I felt as though we were sleeping on the actual dance floor, it was so bad! Poor old Bill had to be downstairs for his shuttle to the airport at 5am so he wasn't impressed.
We saw Tegan and Emma at the beach today, and they were both all smiles and were enjoying their weekend. We are looking forward to seeing them all tomorrow morning and hearing all their news.
Carrie is enjoying her immersion experience and even thinks she forgets English words at times as she gets the languages muddled!
We had a fabulous french meal at Madame Mezouar's last night. Her husband is Morrocan and does most of their cooking, and it was very cordon bleu! Carrie wasn't too keen on trying the raw tuna but discovered it was beautiful - marinated with lemon juice, olives and spring onions. of course we just about had to restrain Bill from devouring the lot! That was followed by NZ lamb then a large selection of cheeses and then to-die-for desserts! The french do food sooo well!
Tomorrow is a big day with brekky at City Hall and then out to Daniel Talon primary school. Hope the weather remains as good as it's been over the weekend. Tomorrow night hopefully this internet connection will let us load some photos of the kids.
Au revoir!
The TIS team.

Baie des Citrons

Girls changing French style at the beach on Friday! The top shot was taken outside the Aquarium.

Beach babes at Baie des Citrons!

Enjoying the raft at Baie des Citrons!

Great under water shot!