A Hawke's Bay moko and her koro have made a lockdown hit.
Video / Supplied
Kindness, creativity, generosity and just a dash of dancing dinosaurs - Hawke's Bay's week of level 4 lockdown has been just the tonic needed to get back to the important things in life.
Local bubbles are utilising the clear Hawke's Bay weather to get out and about, decorating their streetswith teddy bears, sharing messages of aroha and instigating rubbish clean-ups.
Litter Clean Up
On Monday this week, a pupil of Havelock North Primary, William Walter, was celebrated on social media for his display of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) for the environment.
While on a walk with his family, William noticed a lot of rubbish that had been tossed on the side of Brookvale Rd.
"When I made a comment about how much litter was lying around in one particular spot, William suggested that next time we come out for our walk we should bring a big plastic bag to collect it all and throw it away," wrote mum Heather Walter.
Walter family use their daily walk to collect roadside litter in Havelock North. Photo / Warren Buckland
"We didn't get nearly all of it as we ran out of space in our various bags but managed to collect three bags full.
"To add to this, a lovely gentleman driving past stopped and offered to take the rubbish and dump it for us if we put it in the back of his ute, another gesture of kindness and sense of community during these uncertain times," she wrote.
Tommy Snee (2) and his brother Fletcher Snee (5), playing outdoors at their St. Andrew's Road home, in Havelock North. Photo / Warren Buckland
On Wednesday morning, two young brothers, Tommy and Fletcher Snee, were spotted by a Hawke's Bay Today photographer in Havelock North, playing with toys on their front lawn.
"The kids, with our help, pulled their toys out the front. It's a great way to break up the day and keep up-beat," said mum Kate Snee.
The boys were immersed in their play together, with a variety of soft toys, a supermarket kiosk and a truck to keep them occupied.
"These things keep kids busy, it keeps their imagination busy," their mum said.
Further along from the Snee family home on St Andrews St, another house has decorated its gates with a sleuth of teddy bears and from the street sign a lone teddy bear swings.
Teddy swings from St. Andrew's Limes sign, delivering cheer to St. Andrew's Road in Havelock. Photo / Warren Buckland
Waimārama Beach Clean
On Wednesday afternoon in Waimārama, store owners Luke and Krissy Shadbolt took their tractor to the beach for an organised beach clean.
About 20-30 people of all ages combed the beach at low tide. The beach-cleaners covered around five kilometres of the immediate foreshore and filled two wheelie bins with washed-up fishing equipment, as well as glass and plastic bottles.
Left to Right: The Waimārama Store bubble - Eva Goodman, Krissy Shadbolt and Lilka Jamieson collect rubbish with the help of Luke Shadbolt on the tractor at Waimārama Beach. Photo / Paul Taylor
"It went surprisingly really well," Luke Shadbolt said. "The community did a road clean-up a couple of weeks ago, so it's becoming a regular event. We thought we would do a beach one because people can spread out, which keeps bubbles from bursting."
"It's a good opportunity to be active, do something and connect," he said.
Te Awanga Chalk Messages
In Te Awanga, a smattering of positive messaging has been chalked into the concrete and wooden fence posts, reminding locals on their daily walks or bikes that, "Love is the new normal, and we've got that already! Hug your loved ones."
The wash-off words of aroha decorate the area surrounding the Te Awanga Hall and provide locals with a scavenger hunt challenge to locate the dispersed messages.
Tracy Ormond cycles with Honey the dog in tow in Te Awanga on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor.
Lockdown Song
Grandfather David Forbes and granddaughter Taliyah Nicholls, of Mahora, collaborated on Wednesday this week to release their hit single "The Lockdown Song".
The song was inspired by Nicholls' recent endeavours into learning the ukulele and was dedicated to the Year Three student's teachers at Mahora school.
"Taliyah helped me with the lyrics," said Forbes. "She used her knowledge of what you have to do at school to write the song."
The song was recorded in a caravan-come-classroom that Forbes set up for his granddaughter to do her schoolwork in during lockdown.
"We do schoolwork as often as we can, and when the kids get bored we go for bike rides and play soccer and tennis on road. I also built a bike ramp for them, which we left on the footpath because it was so heavy. It's being used by lots of kids in neighbourhood," Forbes said.
Dancing Dinosaur Video
Jude Wakely is an early childhood teacher at Napier's City Children's Centre, who has created a catchy video to entertain Hawke's Bay audiences.
The video features Wakely's 12-year-old daughter, known as Aimee Apricot, in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume dancing to a dinosaur remix of "Baby Shark".
Tyrannosaurus rex the new "Baby Shark" on the block? Aimee Apricot dresses up in dinosaur costume for catchy video. Photo / Supplied
"I wanted to entertain our centre tamariki during their lockdowns at home safe in their own bubbles," wrote Wakely.
"Baby shark has been a hit for under-5s, so what better sequel than baby T-Rex?!" she wrote.
