It was Wednesday; we were off to the Special Olympics ten pin bowling in Whangarei.
The van we were borrowing from Far North Disabilities (free of charge) was stuck behind a police barrier due to another heinous crime. We waited for an hour, and then asked thepoliceman in charge if he could bring the vehicle out of the restricted area for us. He did, and told us we would need to put some fuel in or we might not get to Whangarei.
We stopped at the Mobil garage and Flow said we had better put some extra air in the tyres because of our heavy load. We went across to Beaurepaires and Murray was happy to fill the tyres for us. He noticed that the rear left tyre was worn so he offered to change the tyre, all free of charge.
We arrived in at the Whangarei wave pool in Whangarei and excited students swam and played in a fantastic community environment. Unfortunately one student had a minor indiscretion (well at least he got out of the pool). We apologised profusely and offered to clean the area. But the staff smiled and reassured us, and insisted it was their job.
Next stop Blomfield Special Needs School, where we were staying the night. We were welcomed wholeheartedly. Mattresses had been brought in by staff for us to use. We had the use of their brand new building - kitchen, lounge, computers, fitness equipment, huge screen TV. Wow!
The following morning it was the big competition. Students with disabilities arrived at the ten pin bowling hall from all over Whangarei and districts. The staff there went out of their way to help the Special Olympics organisers and volunteers and made us all so welcome. The day was awesome, and we won some ribbons to bring home.
We were in a hurry to get a healthy lunch before returning to Kaitaia, so rushed down to the kiosk in the Okara parking area and ordered chicken and chips for 10 people and one large bottle of Coca Cola (a token bit of decadence, as we know it is bad for you). I was scraping the bottom of the purse.
When I picked up the order the couple working there gave us an extra bottle and eight plastic cups.
When you have a sequence of events like that it makes you proud to be from Kaitaia and the North in general. Thank you to you all. LINDY BEAVER Te Puna Aroha
