Raglan and the C-barn

We just spent the weekend in Raglan: a little coastal village on the west coast of the North Island, a couple of hours by car south from Auckland. It was great. The whole region was very picturesque with lush, green hills and winding roads. The hills were bigger than your average hill which made for impressive views of the Tasman Sea.

Raglan itself is quite cute: a little hippy and very surfy with lots of arty, crafty types and a bit of poverty thrown in. It has a harbour and I was left wondering why the city of Auckland was not built there. Everyone tells me Auckland needed to be built on the volcano because of the harbour. Well Raglan has a very nice harbour too. They should’ve put Auckland there instead.

Part of the reason we had such a nice time was because we stayed in a very cool “barn”, the C-barn. It was very comfortable and perched high up on a big hill overlooking the sea and beach. There was a very enjoyable walk through two paddocks, past dozens of steers and prickles and cowpats and down a steep path to the beach.  The kids and dog just love the beach. Elizabeth is a great little adventurer too. Daniel was less willing but the beach was a magnet for him too.

I am sad to be back in Auckland again. Elizabeth must be sad too because we hadn’t been back for long when she asked to go back to the barn tomorrow. That would be nice.