Paige all packed for the trip of her life

By Yvette Wakelin
Racing around her Tauranga home, Paige Golledge looks like any other six-year-old girl.
She doesn't sit still, adores her pet guinea pig and is forever telling people what to do.
This Welcome Bay child seems every inch a happy go-lucky youngster who loves life - each day blessed with a wide smile and infectious laugh.
But beneath the bright eyes and charm, the Maungatapu Primary School pupil is struggling.
For the past 17 months she has been battling leukaemia.
It's clearly been a difficult time for Paige, her nine-year-old sister, Ashley, and her parents, Rachael and Steve Golledge.
But the young family will this week have the chance to forget the fateful day on June 23 last year when doctors confirmed their youngest had cancer.
On Friday morning the entire family will board a plane out of Tauranga and head for Kaikoura - where together they will experience Paige's wish, to whale watch and swim with the dolphins.
The talkative young girl said she was counting down the days until her dream, granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, became a reality.
"I can't wait. It's going to be lots of fun.
"There's only a few days to go ... we have a calendar," she said, shooting off to her room to retrieve a beautifully decorated schedule.
The national children's charity is a non-profit organisation that grants wishes to children who are living with a life-threatening illness.
An avid animal lover, Paige, who is still undergoing chemotherapy, said it was a simple decision to choose an encounter with some of the greatest marine animals.
"I really love animals.
"They are cute and I haven't seen them before ... so that's why."
She was also looking forward to swimming with the dolphins - as well as a trip in a helicopter.
"The dolphins, they feel kind of rubbery and slippery ... The helicopter is going to be so cool."
And with only days to go before the family flies out, Paige said she had already planned what she was going to take.
"I'm going to start packing today. I'm going to take my togs, my sunhat, my sea horses and my octopus," she said throwing the fluffy toys into a suitcase.
Mrs Golledge said the whole experience was bound to be one the whole family would treasure - and another milestone for young Paige.
"We did not even think we would get her going to school this year, let alone away on the holiday.
"And yet we have done both. The trip is going to be really great for everyone."
She said it was a chance for the family to really enjoy "sit back and relax and have a bit of a holiday".