What excitement!!!

Saturday 12th September: Sunny and warm, even in the snow! We got up and going early today because we knew the snow would get soft as the sun warmed it. We were skiing by 9.30am and conditions were great. I was feeling yucky with a cold and divided my time between skiing and sitting out and watching the others. We saw the organisers setting up a slalom course and found out there were going to be races for children that morning. All 3 boys were keen to take part and had two times runs each. After lunch was the second part of the competition - Slopestyle. This means doing jumps and tricks over the large terrain park. Again two runs each. At 3pm they announced the results and had an awards presentation. In the 7 and unders, Peter came second overall and Jonathan fourth. In the 9 and unders Edward came second. Edward and Peter were both overjoyed with their silver medals, especially Edward who has not got a medal in previous races.
We returned to Tekapo and as we rejoined the main road we saw thick smoke drifting up from the lakeshore beside the road. We pulled over and found that the straw and twigs on the shore were alight and spreading along the shore. We drove to the fire station 1km away but of course it is not manned. Next I went to the petrol station next door and used their phone to call 111 - the first time I have called Emergency Services. As soon as I put the phone down the siren started wailing, and within no time at all the first fire officer zoomed up in his 4wd, followed over the next couple of minutes by another half dozen or so. We had parked across the road by now and the boys were very excited to watch the excitement unfold. Once the tender set off up the road with flashing lights and woo-woos, we followed. We watched the firemen clear a break and put out the fire. It took about 20 minutes in all.
Once all the excitement had finished we returned to the campsite. It was a beautifully warm late afternoon and Steve played footie with the boys while I cooked tea. Before long it was time for the boys to go off to bed. Steve spent the evening in the tv room watching a film while I stayed i the motorhome and read a book.