Busy weekend for ill children

A weekend trip to Queenstown came and went all too quickly for the Scott family of Mosgiel.

Sharon Scott and her two boys, Joe (11) and Brian (7) were treated to a variety of activities around the resort as part of Cure Kids' latest Ticket to Hope weekend.

A group of 13 chronically ill children and their parents from around the country met at the Mercure Resort on Friday for the weekend.

Joe and Brian both live with cystic fibrosis.

Their mother said they missed a lot of school through illness and hospital visits, which had isolated the family somewhat from friends.

Although she had been worried about how they would cope with being with such a large group of people at the start of the weekend, by Sunday she was wishing it could be a few days longer.

"It has been great," she said.

"As for starting out a bit tense, I wish we could have had a couple more days. I'm just starting to relax."

The activity-filled weekend had given the boys a few new experiences.

Brian, who loves to skateboard in the park opposite his home in Mosgiel, loved the speed and thrills of the luge and the Kawarau Jet, while older brother Joe had really enjoyed the afternoon playing in the snow on Coronet peak.

"It's the most snow he has ever seen," Ms Scott said.

Aside from the activities, both boys had made new friends with others in the group, exchanging phone numbers and email addresses.

They had also met actors Renato Bartolomei and Craig Parker who had accompanied the group.

"They have been brilliant with the boys . . . roughhousing with them and just having fun," Ms Scott said.