Trish to Africa, Mari on the reunion February 2005

From: Margret

Sent: 15/02/2005 10:39 p.m.

IF, anyone is having a hard time with the lengthy front page emails, let me know if you want an account with Google's gmail.  You get a very generous 1 gigabyte of storage.  You can keep all of your emails organised and still have time to store all of these.   MARI and Jack are enjoyed their trip up the coast basking in the  the sunshine. TRISH FENTON'S VENTURES TO THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA.  HAVE A LOOK AT THE BACK OF POSTCARD SENT BY TRISH ITINERARY commenced 22nd January Day 1-6 Nairobi, Eldoret, Jinja, Kampala, Masaka, Mbarara, Kibale, Lake Bunyonyi, Gorilla Trek (optional) Day 7-13 Gorilla Trek (optional), Kampala, Kakamenga Forest, Nakuru National Park Day 14-20 Naivasha, Masai Mara, Narok, Namanga, Arusha Day 21-27 Ngorongoro Crater, Mto Wa Mbu, Arusha, Moshi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, East/North Coast, Stone Town Day 28-34 Dar es Salaam, Mikumi National Park, Mbeya, Lake Malawi Beaches Day 35-41 Lilongwe, Lusaka, Livingstone, Victoria Falls Day 42-48 Chobe National Park, Okavango Delta, Maun, Grootfontein, Etosha National Park Day 49-55 Cheetah Farm, Outjo, Cape Cross, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei, Sesriem, Namib Naukluft Park Day 56-63 Fish River Canyon, Orange River, Springbok, Cedarberg Wilderness Area, Cape Town WHAT'S INCLUDED Fully Escorted Tour - Kumuka Tour Leader and Driver All Activities, Sightseeing + Entrance Fees as Per Itinerary All Meals Whilst Camping FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS WHILST I LOOK FOR THE REMAINDERl    MONDAY AND FEBRUARY 7TH FOR ME, SAME AGE AS DENNIS, AND FEBRUARY 21ST FOR DAD, KNOWN AS 'UNCLE HIP'; JACKIE ON 27TH. THE PAST TWO YEARS - 6 FEBRUARY 2003-2005 This time two years ago both Jack and I were full of the joys knowing that we had made contact with several of my Fenton cousins and we were about to meet several of them at a re-union planned by Trish Fenton and also organised with Aunty Mona, this being held at Owae Marae in Waitara. We had a most exciting meeting at Auckland Airport with Trish and we went to her home at Waiuku where we stayed overnight.  That night by the way took in a quick sprint to the beach, harvest a good catch of pipi which were cooked and eaten that same night; a welcome back to the Fenton Life! On Thursday afternoon we eagerly made our way to the Owae Marae to meet my Fenton cousins.  The first cousins  we met there were two of whom we had had recognised from photos that we had and they were of Jackie and Michelle.  I will always remember that meeting:  Jack walked up to them and said, "You must be Jackie and you must be Michelle".  They both looked at us and Jackie said, "Right, and who may you be?"  Jack said, "This is your cousin Mari from Brisbane."  Jackie said, "Neat", and from then on it was all go meeting cousins I had never met before and renewing acquaintances with others that I had not seen for many years.  Meeting again with those lovely Aunties, Ruby and Mona; and of course Uncle Hip. Ours was a proud family.  It was a family which made a great contribution to the Second World War with all the sons away on Active Service (even Pop, aged 59 years), while the daughters and Nana kept the family farm going.  These memories I will always cherish as I was there on that farm when all this took place, only a small kid yes, but I was there and I do have these fond memories. So even though my contact with my cousins are very few, I am so pleased that Jack and i made that trip to Owae Marae two years ago, it has been an interesting two years since then for sure.  I will always remember the farm and home as it was in those early years, not as I last sighted it. Arohanui, Mari     This is an abridged letter: At a future date it will be lodged in the Documents folder as it was too long for the front page