Beach and bach retreat

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Bach on the beach
Anna Caswell
Crazy Although summer is officially over here, the weather is still pretty mild, so the idea of a weekend retreat to the beach (never achieved during summer) was met with a great deal of enthusiasm. The excuse? Pip's leaving get together, before she flies off to Bejing for the year. The group? Well of the 10 of us there were many familiar faces from the Whanganui trip. We were also graced with some additional people - Karena, a doctor from the UK (great conversations on the calving vs childbirth, lube pumps vs forceps etc), Aaron, a pilot for Air New Zealand (sounds flash, but so far it's only the little 12 seaters), the celebrity Erica Wood (famous for her news reports in Rotorua, and now star on 'Fair Trade', Kiwi version of Watchdog. Think young, attractive Anne Robinson without the sarcasm). And most popular of all, Arthur, the shaggy sausage dog.

The plan for the weekend followed many of the features of our Whanganui expedition, mainly eating. Add in some 'activities' such as swimming, beach strolling, dog walking, cricket, and a few 'games' such as cards and Cranium, and you have a fun filled, action packed weekend.

Pip managed to find a great little 'bach' (Kiwi for holiday home) right on the edge of Whangamata beach, and we managed to find our way there in 2s and 3s to arrive safely on the Friday night. As one of the last to arrive I was greeted with the smell of dinner already being prepared, including homemade crumble. A quick exploration of the bach revealed 4 bedrooms, several bathrooms (including outside shower), good kitchen and couple of sitting rooms. Looking at the outside t didn't look big enough, but inside there was a definate Tardis like quality to the building. I got to play threesomes in the bedroom sharing with Kate and Andrew, but the view made it worthwhile- see photo (of the view, not the threesome).

Saturday morning we all got up early (-ish) and indulged in various activities ranging from 2 hour runs (not me), to surfing (not me) to lying in (amazingly, not me) to beach walks and swims (that was me). The food theme then continued, with a wonderful spread of fruit, hot cross buns and croissants for breakfast.

The rest of the day was filled with fun activities, including a game of cricket on the beach (what else?) and a long game of backpacker (very addictive card game that is just a little competitive) before it was time to eat yet again. Saturday night entertainment was decidely high brow- Cranium, with the poor Aussies and Kiwis complaining they couldn't understand (they didn't get 'conkers' or 'Cilla Black'). Just before midnight us crazy young things were all tucked up in bed, fast asleep.

Sunday followed a similar pattern to the day before, with the added addition of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon to the brunch menu. Even the weather held, with intermittent blue skies and ony the briefest spattering of rain. Just about perfect.

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words, and this weekend is probably a good example, thanks to Aaron, Erica and Kate for letting me use their photos (and video - click in the icon entitled 'Crazy' at the top. Best with sound) as well. Comments welcome...

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