20th December 2008: Bethells Beach

Sophie's friend and ex-colleague Lucy was in town for a few days, so we headed back out to the Waitakeres for the afternoon. This time we drove to Bethells Beach, north of Karekare and Piha.

The surf on these western beaches is always impressive, and today especially so since it had been windy. We strolled north over the warm black dunes and sat playing in the sand for a while. (Tim built a pyramid and a camel. -- Sophie)

Tomorrow we're off to the South Island for two weeks. Christmas in a camper van this year...

14th December 2009: Cycling on Waiheke

We took the ferry to Waiheke and hired a couple of bikes. Waiheke is a good cycling size; you can get round half of it in a day, or all if you're really keen. Sadly I turned out not to be all that keen - I've always said I only like cycling where there are no hills and it turns out to be true. Give me the Thames towpath any day.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we spent some time chilling out by a pretty bay, as well as catching views of some other lovely beaches. Also had a Christmas culture shock moment, passing a gospel choir near the wharf singing carols in the sunshine. It just isn't Christmas. It can't be.

12th-13th December 2008: Sydney

It was the CHP company Christmas party in Sydney, so Tim and the rest of the CHPers jumped on a plane for a short jaunt to Sydney.

We had an excellent lunch at Catalina in Rose Bay. We were supposed to go on sea plane flights after the meal but the weather didn't co-operate, so we were forced to continue drinking the excellent wine instead. We then spent the rest of the day drinking beer in various Sydney bars.

6th-7th December 2008: Yacht race to Waiheke

Together with a few CHPers, we joined Thelma for another classic yacht race and a night on Waiheke Island.

The race itself was very cruisy, downwind all the way from Devonport to Patio Bay with just one jibe. By the time we got there, though, Tim was in the bad books of the after-deck crew - he spent the race watching the gennaker and asking if we could just sheet in a bit... now ease off... no, sheet in again...

We spent Saturday evening at an excellent barbecue hosted by a gentleman called Bert, who has an idyllic bach in a bay only reachable by boat. It's a bit like Guy's beach hut but three times the size and with a proper fridge. Sorry Guy :) Rum flowed freely all evening, along with a surfeit of meat and much merriment.

One or two CHPers seem keen to get into sailing after this. We did point out that you don't always get two days of perfect conditions: warm sunshine, 15 knots of breeze pointing the right way, and someone else's fabulous 100-year-old racing yacht. You can't beat it.

30th November 2008: Goat Island

Encouraged by a couple of Tim's scuba-loving colleagues and some fabulous sunshine, we headed up to Goat Island for an afternoon of snorkelling.

Goat Island is a marine reserve about an hour and a half north of Auckland and maybe 100m off the mainland, an easy swim from the beach. We spotted snappers, rays, a crowd of blue mao mao, and some funky zebra-striped fish, and watched the CHP boys get yet another set of interesting sun burn marks from yet another set of funny-shaped outdoor kit (this time sleeveless wet suits).

On the way back we had a thrilling race in which one car sat in traffic for 45 minutes while the other (driven by a reluctant me) skittered over unsealed roads in a hilarious attempt to beat the queue. We just about succeeded too.

29th November 2008: Waitomo Caves

The CHP contingent took a drive down to Waitomo to go caving with the Black Water Rafting Company.

The Black Abyss tour started with a 37m abseil through a narrow hole into a cave, followed by a variety of underground exploration. The glow-worms were beautiful, and we were pleased to find out that the glowing is actually shiny maggot poo. The best bit of the trip was at the end, when we had to climb up a series of underground waterfalls before emerging blinking into the sunlight.

The staff were friendly and good, although not as much fun as "the dude" who took us canyoning in the Waitakeres.