Mangawhai Heads

Another weekend, another Bach and more amazing beaches. I sometimes have to pinch myself that it is all real because we have enjoyed such a privileged existence in NZ (mostly because of extremely generous Kiwi friends)! 2 weekends ago we were invited by friends Kurt and Sacha (with their 2 great children Cassidy and Brooke) to a place called Mangawhai Heads (about hour and half north of Auckland). We stayed at Sacha's parents Bach which was brilliant. It has its own vineyard which produces some delicious wine (sampled during the weekend). The other real attraction was access to a massive sand dune that only the residents of the private road can explore because there are no other roads to it! This, understandably, was a real hit with the children who loved running down the sides of the dune (surprisingly Harry and Matilda were slightly fearful to begin with but soon got the hang of sliding down!). It was a great weekend with fantastic hosts!