We recently took our netball girls to Kaikōura to play against teams from Rāpaki, Kaikōura and Hokitika. We left Tuahiwi School car park at 5.30pm, with five cars filled with our netball angels, kai and luggage. After a good trip with no stops, we got to our lodgings – the Fish Tank Lodge at 7pm. (There were about twenty steps to climb to the top of the stairs but it was no sweat with all the helpers I had; and it was great to have the boss at the bottom, waiting to catch me if I fell). We all had kai and Mel took the girls for a stroll up town. Then two or three ladies came in laden with trays and baskets of crayfish, pāua buns and other kai. It was a lovely welcome from Kaikōura, so the tāua started eating again.

Saturday
Saturday started early. I was up at 3am, I had breakie at 4am and was dressed by 5am waiting to go, well before the girls were up and dressed. But once everyone was ready, we went off and enjoyed a lovely hot day. We also met so many people that we hadn’t seen in a while and it was lovely to catch up.

Sunday
We had a wonderful weekend and on the way home we stopped at Amberley. We were all hungry and it wasn’t until we realised we’d forgotten to put our clocks forward for daylight saving, that we realised why – it was 1.30pm. Nā Aunty Pat.

Here are the results of our wonderful girls’ performances:

Marching
Midget Rīwai Trophy marching
Pīpīwharauroa (1st)
Whangaraupō (2nd)

Junior Momo Trophy marching
Pīpīwharauroa (1st)
Whangaraupō (2nd)

Senior Rehu Cup marching
Kaikōura (1st)
Kaikōura te Ahikāroa (2nd)

Netball Midgets
Ōtautahi Trophy Pīpīwharauroa (1st)
Bate Trophy Kia Toa Hokitika (2nd)

Junior
Junior Crofts Trophy Kaikōura (1st)
Solomon Trophy Kia Toa Hokitika (2nd)

Senior
Pitama Trophy Whangaraupō A (1st)
Kaahu Trophy Kaikōura Te Ahikāroa (2nd)

Best behaved
Pīpīwharauroa

Culture
Kaikōura Te Ahikāroa

Aggregate overall winners of the Tirikatene Trophy
Pīpīwharauroa

All our Junior girls had a great time in Kaikōura.

All our Junior girls had a great time in Kaikōura.

Everyone in our Midgets team played exceptionally well.

Everyone in our Midgets team played exceptionally well.

Both teams came home with lots of trophies.

Both teams came home with lots of trophies.