Our family has a tradition of saying our good and bad things at the end of each day while we sit at the dinner table. Frequently, my good things are about special memories of camping or me counting down the days until we next go camping. My absolute favourite thoughts are our family camping holidays at Tāhuna Beach Holiday Park.
Why do I like Tāhuna so much?
Splashing in the clear blue waves, getting messy in the dry sand, building huts near the beach and hanging out near the ice cream shop.
Recollecting the creamy sweetness of Boysenberry Ripple melting down my throat – divine.
Tāhuna means to me meeting new friends, surfing waves on the inflatable and slowly cruising along on the tractor ride along the park.
Sand castle building is a precious memory… My sisters and I trudge along the damp, crumbly sand until we crouch down at the perfect spot and get out our buckets and spades to build the most colossal creation ever. On this particular morning I remember, our Tāhuna Beach castle has two huge towers, a flag made from a stick and some coral, tied together with a bunchy piece of seaweed. Shells adorn each wall and my sister digs frantically, carving a moat into the golden sand. We collect buckets of water and drag the heavy pails over to the moat and tip the water out. The water circles the little lake then drains back into the sand as my sisters and I go to collect another load of ocean water and add it to the moat. After two hours of fun we sign our names in the sand and walk to our tent thinking that we might as well build another sand castle tomorrow morning because eventually our castle will collapse.
Camping at Tāhuna Beach holds a place in my heart of happiness and joy, a new tradition for our family is camping at Tāhuna Beach every summer… Hooray!
About the author: Lilly Walkenhorst is nine years old and family camping trips are her absolute favourite especially when they camp at Tāhuna.