Wierd Photos

Here are a couple of weird photos we took at Pine Valley.

Vampire Kez. You'll only get that one if you know the Twilight Saga. red eyes, pale skin, even the facial expression!


Walking on water! Isn't that cool!

Pine Valley

Holiday phase one complete. We have walked into Pine Valley, climbed the Acropolise (half of us, anyway), explored the Laberanth and returned to civilisation. I'l mix some more details in with the photos.


We took our boat across Lake St Claire so that we didn't have to pay a fortune to use the ferry.


We started our walk at Narcissus Hut (the place we finnished the overland track). Then carried our packs into Pine Valley.


Rachel crossing a log bridge on the way into Pine Valley.


Beck and an echidna on the way into Pine Valley. BTW it is only a three hour walk across flat ground into Pine Valley, nothing difficult.


When we got to Pine Valley all the campsites were taken so we camped on the helipad. it was clean and dry and we all fitted (just). Luckily no helicopters came while we were there!


Beck eating Breaky on the Helipad.


On the second day we climbed the Acropolis; which is a big mountain beside Pine Valley. It was a sleep climb out of pine valley, then we walked across a plateu before another steep climb up the mountain.


This is us with the Acroplis in the background. If you enlarge the image you'll be able to see the writing up the top which shows where each of us go to.


This is on the way up. When we were all still happy and confident.


When we reached a more dificult bit (where Kez stopped), Rachel freaked out. She started wimpering and arguing and saying how she wouldn't go any further. We managed to get her to continue; but after her episode, Keziah wasn't going any where near that track.

We got Rachel nearly to the top. She was all shakey and wouldn't climb through the last easy bolder field to the top. So Dad had to take her back down. That last photo is the highest Ray got.


This is the group that made it to the top! Me, Beck, Mum and Dad. Mum was really proud of herself cause she sais that twelve months ago there's no way she would've got there. She's also pround of herself cause last time my friend Jacqui's mum tryed to climb it she didn't get to the top cause of her knee.


Mum, Beck and Dad at the top of the Acropilis with Jerrion in the background (I was taking the piccy)


Dad helping Mum down of the Acropilis.

The next day we climbed into the Laberith. The Labirith is a plateu of little tarns which look like this;


This is the tarn we ate lunch near.


To get to the Labirith you have to climb out of Pine Valley again. This time a section of the track headed up a stream.


The only problem with the Labireth was the ants. There were these little black ants everywhere and every time you stopped they'd climb all over you and attack you. They didn't sting, just sorta pinched and it didn't hurt exactly, it was just really frustrating. So we ate our lunch in the only ant-free place we could find - a rock in the middle of the waterfall.


After lunch I went swimming in a waterfall. Well, not swimming exactly - more like a shower. I tryed two different bits of the waterfall - that one...


...and this one. Which one do you think lookes nicer???


And here I am back at Narcissus Jettty, right at the end of the whole thing, jumping into Lake St Clair. It was rainy and cold and everyone thought I was a freak - especially the Queenslanders who had just finnished the overland track. But Beck came and joined me. So I'm not the only frek. Except she only jumped in once. I jumped in again and again and again.

Holidays!

There here again! And they stay for a whole 2 months! Here's an outline of what my holidays are looking like so far;

19 - 22 December
Walking into Pine valley with my family and climbing the surrounding mountains.

23 December
Recovery day at home.

24 Decmber
Spend a night in Lonny with Dad's dad.

25 December
Spend the morning with Dad's dad and the head up to Ansons Bay (Mum's family)

25 - 27 December
Stuck at Ansons Bay with Mum's mum

27 December - 1 January
Lake Leake, hopefully with the Morleys

2 - 3 January
Recovery at home

4 - 15 January
Camping at Fortescue Bay with my family and my friends.

16 - 17 January
Recovery at home

18 - around the 26 January
I'm going to Hayley's church camp.

And then I come home and stay home until the January long weekend, when we will probably be back at the shack.

Very busy, I know, but thats the way i like it!

School's Out!

We finished school today! No more classes, no more teachers, no more homework (not that we got any to start with). But also it means that I won't see my friends as much. Which is the only sad thing.

Anyway, leading up to the end of the year, lots of stuff happens.

1. We stop doing work
2. We Have to clean everything up (the art rooms, the woodwork room, our lockers, etc)
3. The grade tens have there leavers dinner
4. Next years prefects get announced (that'll be me next year)
5. We have our awards assembly.

In our junior awards assembly (grades 7 and 8) there are three basic awards - general merit, special merit and excellence. General merit is for people who are well behaved, but nothing more. Special merit is an extension of general merit (so if you get special merit then you don't get general merit too) and excellence means your smart. I got special merit and excellence.

Then there are some special awards. There is the good example award which went to Andy Renalds. There's the citizanship award which went to Loren. Most improved literacy and most improved music both went to grade sevens.

Then theres the really special awards. The best overall junior award (which means that your fairly good at everything, sport included) went to Kelsey. And then the junior most spok award went to...drum roll plz...ME!

Ok, so junior spok wasn't exactly written on the award, but its what they ment. On my trophy (thats right, trophy) it sais 'Junior Outstanding Accademic Achievement' and when Mrs Watts was anouncing it she said it was one of the most prestegious junior awards. It basically means I'm the smartest kid in my grade. And even though I poke fun at it, I'm fairly proud of myself for winning it.

What really dissapoints me is that neither of my parents were impressed by my achievement! Kelsey's parents were really proud and really impressed and really happy that Kelsey did so well. But my parents... no, they're not impressed; no they're not proud of me; no, they don't care that I got awarded smartest kid in my grade. They just give me this look which sais 'good, your not a completely useless lazy idiot' and they kept saying they'd like to see what I could do if I actually tryed. Its really really demotivating when the best in your school isn't good enough. And it makes we wonder weather its worth doing well at all.

But yeah, i got a $50 book voucher and the trophie is the prettiest one I've ever seen.

TOUR!

Tour. Its all over now. It was so much fun and I got so tired and its good to be home and I can't wait to do it again next year!

I won't tell you too many boring details, I'll just post a lot of photos with a few bits of writing.

We spent a lot of time on busses. A LOT. 5 hours on Sunday arvo. Almost 2 hours on Monday, about 3 hours on Tuesday, an hour and a half on Wednesday and 45 minutes-ish on Thursday. We filled in this time talking, listening to Ipods, playing Yatzee and catching up on our sleep. In this photo you have Loren and Jacqui with the Ipod and Griggssy and Hill leaning over the seat.

On Monday we went surfing! Well, we also played at St Marys Distric High; but surfing was way more fun! In this photo we're getting ready to paddle out to the beach with the waves.

Here we are surfing. The waves were huge and it was really cold and Lorens feet turned blue - but I didn't have a problem cause its the first time I've ever experienced the wonder of wetsuits!

I even stood up on my board! It was only for about 2 seconds, but still - it was something. And it was so much fun trying that no-one really cared about actually being able to surf!

This is our band playing at Dodges Ferry Primary. We played at schools all over the east coast - St Hellens, St Marys, Swansea, Triabunna, Orford, Dodges Ferry and Sorell.

Me playing in the band at Dodges. It got a bit boring playing the same pieces over and over again, but the kid's reactions were amazing! They listened so carefully and they really seemed to enjoy hearing our music!

In this picture we are playing 'A Musical Fairytale' by RT Honeyman. Its a really cool piece because we tell the story of a king and a prince and a princess and it really funny! Zac tells the story and we accompany him with tunes to help tell the story. All the primary school kids love it - but Simon won't let us play it to any high school kids. :-(

You are probably wondering why we are banging on a window. Well here's the answer - Hannah's Ipod dock was inside the room and we were stuck out side. Mrs Ross confiscated Hannah's dock because it was 'too loud'. Which is kinda hard to believe, seeing as it wasn't turned on. So we protested. We banged on the window and we yelled at her and we sung out of tune Xmas Charols with Sam accumpenying us on Cornet. Then we sang Amazing Grace and Sconnie kept yelling at us cause he didn't get how we all knew all the words. I don't get that either. Our whole band was there protesting and we just about all knew the words to Amazing Grace! Amazing!

Anyway, the teachers thought our protest was halerious. They recored it on thier cameras and they teased us with the dock and the Mrs Barrot went to the grade 10 boy's room and stold their complementary milk out of the fridge. Then she drank it in front of all of us! So we started chanting 'milk, milk, milk, milk, milk!' And banging all our pots and panns. Simon decided then that we were making too much noise and got us to try negotiating. That didn't really work. We tryed negotiating by ourselves, which didn't work cause Ms Ross and Mrs Barrot just laughed at us. Then Simon helped us. He took Griggssy into the girl teachers room and Briddy got in too. Then she yanked the door open and we all got in. We grabbed the dock and Sconnie grabbed Mrs Ross's Ipod and then we ran out. But we forgot the cord for the Ipod dock! So then we spent another half an hour trying to get the cord for the dock back. We eventually swapped Mrs Ross's Ipod for Hannah's Ipod dock cord.

On Thursday arvo we played at the Orford fair. It was so cool cause everything was free! Free ice-cream, free popcorn, free sausges, free facepainting, free EVERYTHING! I was in heaven!

Here you have Kelsey, Briddy, me and Hannah after several free sausages, a free ice cream, a free bag of popcorn and free face-painting. But then we had to go play to provide Orford with free entertainment. :-(

Anyway, tour was awesome and Simon sais that we were good so he'll take us to NZ next year!