Tora Beach is in a very remote place. To get there you drive for about an hour out of one of the Wairarapa's main wine towns, Martinborough, until the road turns to gravel and there are no more houses or shops - or signposts (yes we got lost!)
Tora itself is an isolated stretch of coastline with the odd farm dotted here and there, and lots of sheep. There's no real town or village, and certainly no shops, cafes or other facilities. Nor did we have cell phone coverage or internet access. So - there was nothing to do except switch-off and relax...lovely!
We truly appreciated where we were. It was stunning. Wild and beautiful and full of the forces of nature.
Tora's probably best described as more of a fishing coastline than a classic "beach" destination - the fishermen we saw were getting incredible catches which kept Alfie enthralled, but it's a bit too rocky and windswept and wild for sunbathing or watersports. Never-the-less we still paddled and splashed around a lot, and even managed a bit of swimming on one of the calmer days!
We spent most of last week at Tora and while we were there we developed a very clever family holiday system where we took it in turns to choose what to do each day. Everyone got a go at choosing, and everyone had to join in.
Alfie always chose either a family game of soccer (Molly was not impressed) or to go to the beach.... he loves the beach so much and spent ages every day just lying in the surf singing to himself, very cute!
When it was Molly's turn, she usually chose colouring-in sessions on the lawn (I found it so relaxing, but Jake was not impressed!) ...
And sometimes she chose to go to the beach for big, lengthy sand castle building sessions. I can see her working on a construction site when she grows up - she took a real project management approach every time, and was very clearly in charge of all the excavations!
When it was my turn, I chose quiet reading! (This time it was Alfie's turn not to be impressed!). You can't beat a coffee/beer/wine (depending on the time of day) and a good book on holiday - and I finished a whole book in the first three days!
Even Jake enjoyed this part...
For Jake's turn, he chose...you guessed it - running! Unfortunately rules are rules and we all had to be involved in this - my turn not to be impressed!
But even with a bit of full-on training, this has got to be one of the most relaxing holidays we've ever had. Thanks Tora - we had a blast!
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