19th-21st March 2009: Raglan with Jenny H

Jenny, my oldest friend, came on holiday to New Zealand with her boyfriend Eric. His parents own a beautiful bach in Raglan and I joined them there for the last few days of their holiday. Tim came down on the Saturday for their last day.

Our last experience of a bach, on Waiheke Island, was of a hut that was a bit like Guy's beach hut at Wrabness but with a few more mod cons. Eric's family bach was even more shiny: a compact wooden two-bedroom house, right on the shore, with fully fitted bathroom, electricity and everything we could want. There was a dinghy moored in the bay, high and dry on an expanse of mud-flat at low tide, and a feeling of time standing still as we gazed at the water. I thought I was pretty chilled out before I went there, but rediscovered a level of relaxation I don't often achieve.

Raglan is all about beaches and boats. We weren't able to sail the boat due to inconvenient tides, but we visited a couple of beaches: Ruapuke, reached down a gravel road and deserted except for us, and Ngarunui, the main Raglan beach. There we swam - or rather jumped about in the surf, and marvelled at the rip currents either side of the very narrow swimming area. You really get a feeling for how treacherous the sea on the West coast is.

Other than that, Jenny and I spent most of our time nattering, catching up on the last year which has been eventful for both of us. Eric gets serious brownie points for putting up with a deal of wedding-related chat. Having a bridesmaid in the same country as me was a rare opportunity not to be passed up, and Eric bore it stoically, assisted by beer.