There IS a heaven... The ultimate get away from London life

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How to lose yourself and utterly forget that you live in the grey smog and battle the 45 degree pavement rain of England’s grand capital?... You come here of course…


Five miles of uninterrupted burnt golden sand, aqua blue skies, a sea of three, maybe four colours at any one time, an energetic breeze and a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc. This is Hawkes Bay. Known as the Wine Country of New Zealand on the east coast of its North Island. A surfer-come-wine-lover’s paradise and anyone with an appreciation for stunning views and friendly faces cannot help but fall in love with this tiny part of the world, the first place each day to wake up with the rising sun.


I am fortunate enough to have two retired parents who fell for the magic of Ocean Beach in Hawkes Bay seven years ago and who were lucky enough to get their hands on one of the very few last remaining baches. (For those of you not familiar with the term, imagine simple one storey beach huts… sand on the floor, surf boards against the walls, lots of decking overlooking the Pacific and a well stocked fridge full of Tui beers and some of the world class local grape juice.)


My seventh visit out for Christmas and New Year has been just as heavenly and relaxing as ever… a million miles away from the stresses and strains of London life in the fast lane- it could not be a better escape from ‘reality’. Which is why this blog entry will be a little shorter than my usuals… just not enough precious time off to justify being this close to a computer screen! So to give you a teeny tiny taster of Kiwi bach life I have listed some of the stuff I’ve been up to in the last three weeks which I would also recommend to anyone else wanting to forget their 9-8 highly charged and lowly paid existence in the city… wherever in the world your ‘reality’ may be….


1. Waking up at 5.30am to take the boat out and pick up the cray pots.


2. Spending a Saturday morning wandering through the most beautiful farmers market on Earth nestled deep in the heart of one of the local vineyards.


3. Enjoying the freshest organic food and drinking oh-such-a-lot of really good wine.


4. Watching the sun set over the rolling hills of what I like to call The Shire (yes it does look just like Lord of the Rings) from a boat three miles out at sea with a rod in one hand, a beer in the other and a flock of frustrated hungry seagulls over head.


5. Finding therapeutic relaxation from pipi hunting at low tide (pipis are a small shell fish that live just about 2 inches under the sand’s surface and who are craftily found when low tide is just about on its way back in… you look for two blow holes in the sand as the water settles for a second above the sand and you go for it with your hands… just be careful because on the rare occasion you can misjudge the holes for those of an angry crab who will undoubtedly get its pincers out and nip the ends of your fingers… all great fun.)


6. Renting a mountain bike and riding it for 16 miles up and over the rolling hills, through the sleepy farm tracks past cows, donkeys, vineyards and yes, of course a LOT of sheep…


7. Devouring the tastiest fresh home kill lamb on the BBQ for Christmas Day.


8. Also devouring freshly fished and cooked cray fish on a simple bed of salad and lime juice… H.E.A.V.E.N!!!


9. Taking the quad bike up the length of the beach exploring the massive sand dunes and hooning it around for hours.


10. Building fires on the beach and counting the shooting stars above.


11. Going out onto the deck and watching a family of 85 wild dolphins swim across the span of the sea in front of your bach. Amazing!


12. Cooking, drinking and showering in fresh rain water collected from the roof.


13. Flying a kite in the wind. So simple. So surprisingly fun.


14. And finally, ending each day lying in bed with the hypnotic sounds of tumbling waves knowing that when you wake up, it’s another day in paradise to look forward to…


This is Ocean Beach New Zealand… in all the countries I have ever visited; this is by far my favourite little spot on the planet.


Until next time… x x x

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