Kichiwaja the great!

After having a great time on Australia Day last year at Uncle Tyden and Aunty Anne's house, Eli and I were keen to invite ourselves along again this year. We also had told Jenny, Izzy and Alex about the toad racing and despite their initial reactions, they were also keen to see what all the fuss was about. 

Unlike last year, where Eli was fortunate enough to be able to race with someone else's toad, we were keen to catch and bring along our own toad, so the night before Australia Day we were all outside after dark, on the hunt for a racer or two. We also had something else that most people don't have - a natural toad catcher in the form of Eli. He was amazing! He caught all but one of the dozen toads we collected and he just leapt onto them with such speed and style. We were all a bit blown away with his casual but highly effective way of catching toads and his reward was the opportunity to choose his very own racing toad for the Australia Day races. Here he is, holding the lucky toad aloft, after selecting him. Eli decided to call Kichiwaja - I'm not sure why, but it did sound like a fearsome name (in a Japanese warrior sort of way). The rules of the Australia Day toad races are that there can only be one toad per family, so Kichiwaja was ours and Jenny, Izzy and Alex chose theirs - another 'good looking' toad which they named Toadatronski. 

So, the next morning, and armed with our racing toads, we were ready. We knew there would be a bit of a wait before the races, but the kids had heaps of fun in the pool and in the yard (and Eli and I ran our own little snail races like last time too). A bit of time was also eaten up with some of Tyden's mates giving Jenny (who comes from the UK) a bit of a hard time about the cricket (Australia has just demolished England 5-0 in the Ashes). Fortunately Jenny took it well (and doesn't care much for cricket anyway). 

After lunch the moment of truth was upon us. We entered our toads into the race and eagerly awaited the big event. This year's event was a little different, as the organiser's had decided to run three races, with the ultimate winner being the best performed toad across all three races. If this sounds hard to police and organise with a box full of toads that all look pretty much the same...it is. Nevertheless, let the racing begin!

Kichiwaja put in a very strong showing in the first race, coming in in second position. And things only got better from there, with Eli's toad winning the second and third races to seal the coveted toad trophy. As you might imagine given his competitive tendancies, Eli was very happy with Kichiwaja's efforts!

This is the first time that the organising family hasn't won the trophy (I wonder if we will be welcome back next year?) and here's Eli receiving the trophy (we hold onto it for one year and then it is up for grabs again next year).

 

This year's event also included a couple of new activities - the thong throw and a 'meat pie and spoon' obstacle race. There were kids and adults categories for the thong throw competition, with the aim being that competitors would throw their thongs into a bucket. It was a big chaotic, slightly dangerous at times, and heaps of fun. To top it all off, Izzy won the kids thong throwing competition, although as you can see in this video, Alex almost landed one in before her...

 



The obstacle race required balance, poise, skill and grace...or was it just the capacity to carry a frozen party pie on a spoon? Here's a video demonstrating, with Izzy beating me (because I lost control of my pie right at the finish line!). Enjoy!

Who knows what activities are dreamt up for next year's event...but I'm sure that Eli will be out hunting the night before for a toad that can defend Kichiwaja's (and Eli's) victory from this year...