So, 2013!
Last year we had a somewhat extravagant break. After Christmas in Auckland, we drove straight down to the Coromandel, where some of T’s friends hired out a huge house and we camped out in a spare room. We had tickets to Coro Gold, one of the big NYE music festivals but the weather was literally a massive damper on things. It rained the entire time (my shoes still bear muddy traces from the concert). During the days, I read a lot, powering through all the books I had brought down with me, and even through a terrible Clive Cussler novel I found in one of the rooms at the house.
There was no swimming done, T injured his arm in the mosh pit and even our stop at Hot Water Beach on the way back was a disappointment – it was a gray day and there were huge crowds, everyone digging in with their feet and wearing out the hot water before the tide came in.
This year, we stayed close to home. NYE saw us drive out to Karekare, where I got my first taste of the waterfall and swimming holes tucked away in the bush (there’s a series of them; we climbed up to the top, which is the cleanest) and then a jaunt over to Piha for my first ocean swim of the summer. It was all the better for the fact that we had a visitor, and showing a newbie some of the best off the beaten track places around, watching their awe, is unbeatable.
Then it was over to a friend’s house for a dip in the pool and BBQ. Aside from the $30 we spent on food, it was about as free as NYE can get. Toward the end of the night, T and I had a bit of a snooze inside while everyone else played Circle of Death; we got up in time for the changeover, everyone took part in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, and I was in bed by 1am. Start as you mean to go on – balancing fun and responsibility is going to be a big one for this year, I think. Nailing down concrete goals may be a struggle, but I have a clear idea of a few key things I want to pull off.
How did you celebrate? Hope you saw in 2013 with loved ones! Here’s to a good one.
PSA: To ring in the new year, I’ll be doing a bit of cleaning house around the blog this week. RSS subscribers will probably see a flood of old posts popping up in the feed as I make some tweaks, but don’t be alarmed. I’ll keep it all to one day for minimal disruption.