Things to do in Paraparaumu

Ron and Vivien's house is such a great place to relax in, and they were such good hosts, that the 4 of us spent lots of time just talking and putting the world to rights. Sometimes this was out on the deck while admiring the view and sometimes around the table eating Vivien's food (and with the occasional glass of wine).

Open plan kitchen/dining/living area

One evening we continued our talking in an Italian restaurant in Paraparaumu. We were the last ones to leave.We all went on a couple of long walks (again talking throughout). One took us up to a ridge from where there were views down the coast towards Wellington. The other was along the estuary and the beach where Lawson scanned the water for birds - and there was a café serving coffee and cakes at the halfway point. By this time I'd given up worrying about calories.
If the aim of the walks was to ensure we slept well that certainly worked, although the comfy bed after the thin mattresses of the bunks in the van would probably have been enough!

View into gully from guest bedroom

From across the road

On Sunday Carol, Dave, Katelyn and Anna came to the house to meet us, and then we were treated to a fish and chip supper, in the company of all the rest of the family except Sam (one of Vivien's grandchildren who is at university)  and on the deck of Linda and Andrew's house, overlooking their amazing New Zealand bush garden.  So this meant a lot more talking!
We spent Sunday and Monday nights elsewhere so that we could visit Kapiti Island but were back again on Tuesday evening when the talking resumed and continued until none of us could keep his or her eyes open.
Sadly, on Wednesday the talking had to stop because it was time for us to move on.
Thank you again for a really enjoyable time, Ron and Vivien; it was so good to see you both.