My family taonga

My binoculars are as black as a moonless sky with a little bit of yellow.  The binoculars have a carved bit saying Brian Ramsey. The binoculars help me see far distances easily. They have been passed down from my dad’s dad before he passed away and then my dad gave them to me.

They are special to my family because they remind me of Brian. We will always keep this running in our family forever.

The binoculars help me imagine what my grandad was like and what he liked to do. I will hand the binoculars down to everyone in my family.  It is important to have family taonga because it helps you to feel connected to people in your family history. You can understand a little bit more about where you come from.  

print art

Drawing of the other side of our face

Newspaper art

My wild self

Standing in front of me was the most idiosyncratic thing I have ever seen in my whole entire life.  Its palm cockatoo crest looked like wiggly knives coming out of his head. He had short, thick, ginger hair that had a slight wave in it.  His ears were small, round and as white as snow. They stuck out from the sides of his head very noticeably. Fur covered them, to keep him warm in the winter.  Its walrus tusks were as sharp and pointy as a megalodon tooth. Its crisp blue shirt has a yellow lightning bolt in the centre.  Its big grey gorilla arms are bulging out of the side of his shirt in front of his bat wing that can make him soar through the sky.  Its lion tail is immeasurably big and very furry and if you get hit with it you will get a lot of pain going through your body. Its jelly like legs makes him look like a jellyfish swimming through the ocean. He talks like Dwayne the rock Johnson with his deep voice and his big muscles. He walks with swagger and style and every couple of seconds he would stop and show of his muscles. This crazy guy just jumped up, ran across some buildings, and dived through the air and glided across the water.  WOW what a creature I wish I was him. Palm cockatoo crest - Your palm cockatoo crest is more than decoration. It helps you communicate too. A raised crest can signal to other birds that you're a friend. Polar bear ears -It gets cold in the Arctic (down to 35°F below). For warmth, your polar bear ears are small and covered in fur—even on the inside. When diving, the ears close to keep cold water out. Walrus tusks with whiskers - Your walrus tusks can grow up to four feet long. Walruses use their tusks to pull themselves out of the water and to crack breathing holes in the ice during the winter. Western lowland gorilla arms - Ready to take a walk…on your hands? Your western lowland gorilla arms are so long, you'll be able to support yourself on your knuckles. Lion's mane jelly - Imagine having no eyes or brain but still having one of the most sophisticated weapons on earth. Lion's mane jellies have tentacles over 100 feet long, each one packed with tiny harpoons that inject prey with deadly toxins. Rodrigues bat wings - Your Rodrigues bat wings are very different from bird wings. Bird wings are made like human arm bones. But your bat wings are more like really long fingers. Creepy long fingers! African lion tail - You have a dark brown tuft of hair on the end of your African lion tail. It helps you communicate. You can use it for lion sign language to talk to other members of your pride

Wave pools

The thrill of hearing my mum announce that we were going to the Mt Albert Wave Pools made my day. I sprinted to my room and got my togs and towel and rushed to the car. My excitement controlled me.

When we walked in, the smell of chips, smoothies and chicken nuggets was delectable.  The smell of chlorine was intensely strong and burnt my nose a little. I heard people screaming and splashing water at each other. Then I saw…….. The water slide!  It was so fun, I went on it 44 times. The waves were so strong they lifted me up into the air. The waterslide was blue on the inside and for a short moment it was pitch black.  There were also lots of turns and I flew down the ride like a jet plane flying through the air.

The day ended how I wanted it to, I was exhausted yet extremely satisfied with the experience. This was one of the greatest days of my life.

Beach trip in the holidays

The sand felt smoking hot against my feet. The coast  was as soft as my pillow hugging me in the morning. The lifeguards put out the flags to tell swimmers where to swim.  The smell of the sea water was overwhelming and the waves were crashing loudly. The grass was as cosy and soft as a teddy bear.  White clouds streaked across the sky, moving slowly like a sloth in a jungle. People of all ages were diving through waves, boogie boarding and even surfing. There were some people playing beach cricket.

Wooleys bay was mind blowing and lively sight.