(Boxing Day)
We didn't get wet- hoorah! We did have to pry Renee's rain skirt off the bottom of the tent from where the glue had started to dry but we were dry, our stuff was dry and that was good enough.
The walk into Paraparaumu was mostly on road but we finished with a section over the estuary and then a few km on beach - it turns out everyone that lives even a little bit close to a beach here has a boat and they all tow it to the beach on the back of their mini tractor on Boxing Day!
We stopped for a drink in a cafe on the front and had a cooked breakfast before making our way up to Renee's friends house to collect our parcel sent from home- they told us it wasn't much to be excited for but I was very very excited nonetheless!
When we arrived at the door, Shaun called us in and got us all a beer each. He and his wife had some family over so we went outside to the decking area and helped them finish off the left over pavlova and fresh fruit (probably didn't need it on top of the breakfast!)
Shaun brought me the gift from home that he'd had to rewrap for us because on receiving it he opened it unsure of who Daisy and Luke were!
We opened it up to find a pair of Christmas socks each, a drawing from Rosanna, Christmas cards from everyone and a little message in a bottle! Was so lovely to have something to open and see I hadn't been totally forgotten yet!!
While we were still scoffing pavlova in the garden I had a phone call from Graham and Andrea who had invited us to stay with them - Jayne (Emma's mum) had passed us their details before we left. So turns out Andrea is my best friend, Emma's mum's cousin's ex-wife! I'm not sure we really knew what the connection was until we met! Graham (Andrea's partner) came to collect me and Luke from Shaun's house where Renee was staying and he took us back to his house where we dumped our bags in the spare room and left again - we were going for a Boxing Day picnic on the beach!
We got to the beach about 3pm and stayed there until almost 9... we were greeted by probably about 20 people all from England- most from up North. They had made salads to go with hams and turkey rolls and cooked fresh meat on the BBQ. They were playing cricket on the grass - Luke made a crazy dive and caught the ball before it crashed into the salad table which got him some extra brownie points!
We ate like it was Christmas Day all over again and had a few beers as we sat on picnic blankets in the sun ... I don't think Andrea and Graham realise how thankful we were for the company and how much we appreciated the festivities after having not been around many people on Boxing Day and Christmas Day.
Almost everyone we met gave us both a cuddle before we left and wished us well on our walk. One lady, Marilyn, also went out of her way to offer us a bed for the night the day after! It was like being part of their big family and we'll never forget our first ever roasting hot Boxing Day on a beach!
On the way back to the house, Graham drove us by the start of the track and Andrea told us about the walk we'd be taking - is always nice to have a tip or two from locals.
We had showers and then settled on the sofa with a coffee, a mince pie and a bloody good view of the sun setting on the sea out of the lounge window.
We chatted for a while with Andrea and Graham, did a little bit of washing, and then head for a good nights sleep in a bed!
Merry Boxing Day to us!
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