Camping with Little M

I am well-known for my love of spontaneous adventures and last-minute trips, but Steve normally does not share my love of these things. So when, in the middle of our relaxing Saturday morning this past weekend, I threw out the idea of going camping that night, and Steve agreed, I was both surprised and thrilled! We drove to Cape Palliser, about 2.5 hours away, home of the lighthouse below, and of the Pinnacles - unique rock formations that made it into The Lord of the Rings movies. 

Although we arrived close to sunset, and set up and ate dinner in the dark, Madeleine loved every minute of it. She followed us around, watched us intently as we set up the tent, and had fun with the headlamps we were using.

She slept between us in our zipped-together sleeping bags, and thanks to her cozy fleece suit she stayed warm even when she squirmed her way out of the bag during the night. She woke at the pitch dark hour of 5:30am (remember that it is the middle of winter here!) and within seconds was saying "Da?" and pulling on Steve's toque and shirt. Thankfully, she fell back asleep after an hour or so of squirming and "Da"ing and we were able to get up in the daylight.

She loved these chairs, and was completely absorbed as Daddy told her all about how gas camping stoves work.

On Sunday we walked up the 200+ steps to the lighthouse and took in the views from the top. We had some chips for a snack, and Madeleine's treat was a yummy store-bought fruit yogurt sachet. As soon as she got it, she climbed onto Daddy's lap and leaned back to enjoy the moment and the treat. She doesn't often get that cuddly, or at least not for very long, so this was especially cute.

We did a short hike up the valley to see the Pinnacles, which were quite impressive up close.  We had been here in October of 2009, but hadn't been back since, and it was fun to share it all with Madeleine.

This is my last full week here before Madeleine and I fly to Canada for 5 weeks. We'll be spending 3 weeks in BC, and then flying to Ontario where Steve will meet us for a week, and then we'll all fly back to BC for another week before returning to New Zealand together. I'm really looking forward to the trip, and really hoping little M manages to sleep on the long flight!