Just had four days of R & R in a beach house at Waikanae on the Kapiti coast about an hour north of Wellington. This has largely been family time.

The house is situated just behind the sand dunes and a gate from the garden leads down to the beach. Looking either way there is beach as far as the eye can see, not quite the white sandy beaches mentioned in the guidebook but good, fine sand of variable colours.  Each evening the sun sets over Kapiti Island casting a beautiful orange glow over everything. The beach above the water line has lots of driftwood, smoothed and weathered into fascinating shapes. The high water mark also boasts lots of empty clam shells and is a favourite feeding site for gulls always ready to harvest the next crop brought in by the tide.

By and large the beach is deserted, just the occasional person striding out on the firm sand or the odd horse rider gently trotting through the shallow waters. The gradient of the beach is such that it takes a long time to walk out to any significant depth but the waters are acceptably warm and enjoyable. Kapiti Island, 5km off shore, provides some shelter from the choppy waters of the Tasman Sea and makes it a safe place to bathe.

My James Bond moment!

The sun has shone from dawn ‘til dusk all the time we have been here, only today, as we make our way to Wellington is there cloud and the hint of rain. It has been a wonderful opportunity to relax, read a good book, or two, eat some good food, enjoy the company of Eva who is now very relaxed in our company, walk along the beach and take the occasional swim.

Wellington beckons for the weekend with Stephen arriving from Indonesia on Sunday night, prior to us all heading of to the Abel Tasman National Park in the north western corner of South Island.