Thanks to a fab xmas gift from the Gibbo, it was a relaxing, beach weekend away at Mt. Maunganui, in the Bay of Plenty.

A trip to The Mount is long overdue - the Kiwi's we work with are shocked and appalled that we had never been to The Mount, as they frequently describe it as their 'favourite place'. We were expecting great things!

We left after work on Friday, with only clothes packed as this time we were heading to a 'luxury B&B retreat'. Basically we stayed on the bottom floor of some rich people's mansion, sorry I mean home. Here however I have found my new calling in life; lying on a hammock…. Total bliss!

Clue in the name; The Mount has a mount, which I planned we'd hike up Friday evening to watch sundown (apparently it's a must). Tim's ever growing stomach had other ideas and we instead went out to a fish restaurant, which in fairness is another must at The Mount.

Saturday morning, after a fab breakfast of tropical fruit, muffins and fresh coffee we hit the beach. I had great plans to have a dip in the Pacific, however the sea was only fit for surfers not paddlers. Old man Tim forgot his beach chair, couldn't get comfy, so after only a few hours we packed up and headed back to our retreat for cheese & wine lunch and a another lie on the hammock.

Saturday night we treated ourselves to dinner at award winning 'Mount Bistro' - we were not disappointed. I had more amazing fish dishes; so amazing the starts were served alight by the head chef - Tim was very jealous.

Sunday morning and it was time to leave the hammock behind. We didn't want to climb the mount, only walk around it, but after agreeing to walk up a bit of it to get the views, we continued on to the top. The walk itself wasn't too bad, the problem was the heat and the fact it was heading for midday. Weatherman predicted highs of 30 - probably not the best time for a hike. We had 360 degrees of the Bay of Plenty; it was well worth the climb.

After a subway lunch overlooking the sea, we decided to head home to catch some sun in Raglan. We made one stop on the way back, to see McLaren Falls (yes another waterfall, put we hadn't seen any since July!) These falls were not like others, they came equipped with adjacent pools, perfecting for cooling down on a very hot summers day. So after a costume change and sweet talking Tim, we had a dip along with 50 others!

We've ended the weekend with a BBQ, feeling totally relaxed but looking a little redder!! Being honest, the Mount was lovely, but not the best place we've seen in NZ.

Next weekends a bank holiday, so who knows where it'll take us…

Ro & Tim