7th Jan day 84 all about the beach, oh and Cheryl's birthday of course

Today was my last chance for sun, sand and sea on this trip, so I wanted to make the most of our day at Waimarama. I have looked at the forecast for HongKong and it has been wet and 14degrees, so not dissimilar to the UK. I don't imagine I will want to brave an open air pool in those conditions. We packed a picnic and took everything except the kitchen sink! I had to drive as Simon isn't able to do that yet. We were meeting Linda and her boys Sam and Jack there. 

We hadn't been going long on this very meandering road with some extremely sharp bends before I could see Simon's white knuckles. Honestly my driving wasn't that bad - but he may want to say otherwise. Part of the problem was I kept wanting to stop for photo opps.

It's a pity the iPad doesn't give perspective but it's a good reminder for me.

We had only been at the beach about half an hour when Linda, the boys and her Mum, Wendy arrived. I love this family already they are just so open and welcoming. The boys immediately wanted to go into the sea with their bodyboards, I volunteered to watch them as the others were setting up base camp.

The currents were lethal with lots of riptides, as a result the lifeguards moved the flags right up the beach away from where the others were by now, no doubt, relaxing and placed the flags on this enormous beach only about 30metres apart. 

The 3 boys had a whale of a time riding the waves for well over an hour. I was minding the beach shoes and their caps so couldn't go in, but it was fantastic to watch them having such a great time together. Linda came up and we chatted whilst the boys swam, we minded their boards which kept getting caught in the huge waves and battering us. Eventually I left Linda in charge as I was getting a bit cold and Nicholas followed me soon after. When I got back to base 2 of Linda's friends and 1 of their sons had arrived, so we had a really sociable time chatting and laughing, before Linda and the boys came back. Then one of Linda's friends daughter came along with her partner, 2 yr old and her Dad staying from Australia, so we were a nice crowd.

After we'd eaten our picnics the boys began a building project and built a fort - would you believe I forgot to get a photo! Anyway here they are all looking happy and grubby after a fabulous day on the beach.

There are these signs all around this beautiful area which is a telling reminder of how seriously they take the threat of an earthquake, followed by a Tsunami. Nicholas told me years ago about how they have earthquake drills in school, not fire drills as we do in the UK. Lots of people will tell you it's not if, but when, the next earthquake will strike! 

We stopped for the obligatory ice cream on the way back, the sun was still scorching but the wind was keen. It was showers all round when we got home, for Nicholas and I it was also balloon blowing ready for the morning. 

The fresh air had worn Simon and I out which clinched the decision to get a Chinese takeaway as the easiest option and it was very tasty. The evening was relaxing with me blogging and viewing whilst keeping my eye on the time so we could ring and sing happy birthday to Cheryl (our family tradition if we aren't together). With Simon being in NZ their birthdays fall on the same day now, instead of being 1 day apart. It was lovely to see her briefly as she was getting ready for work but Marcus is still off school, so he was up for a catch up chat. He couldn't believe I would be back this time next week and neither can I!