The Diary: Keys hit Hawaii too late to tee off with Obama

Max Key took the plunge in a Hawaiian pool with 'Papa J' not far behind.

A year ago, they were teeing off on the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course and tearing around the green in a golf cart in front of snappers, but John Key told The Diary yesterday he won't be playing 18 holes with the United States President in Hawaii because their schedules clashed.

"I got here to Hawaii the day Barack left sadly. But next time there will be golf," Key said.

The Prime Minister and his family, including wife Bronagh, and children Stephie and Max, are on their annual summer pilgrimage to their $5.6 million Maui holiday home in the gated community of Ho'olei, part of the Wailea Beach development.

They spent a week in Los Angeles beforehand, which delayed their arrival in Hawaii. Not that the Key kids were complaining. They hit the beach at Santa Monica, went shopping in Beverly Hills, and cuddled Ewok and Yoda toys at Disneyland.

Pity. While the fun rides beckoned, President Obama and his daughters, Sasha and Malia, were hanging out with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder in Hawaii.

They returned to the White House and chilly Washington on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Keys are unwinding with jacuzzis and Pacific sunsets. They say Hawaii is a place where they can truly relax.

"It is literally just us there on our own and we can do what we want, when we want," John Key told a women's mag before the election.

"We have the spontaneity we don't always get here [in NZ]. There it's shorts and T-shirts, going for a swim or a walk any time you want to. We are just a family having fun."

Max took to Instagram this week to share the fun. "Checking into the first spa with Papa J." We're not sure how Key likes the moniker.

Twigs' biggest fan

Is Robert Pattinson jetting in?

His girlfriend, FKA Twigs, is to perform at the St Jerome Laneways Festival on Auckland's waterfront on January 26, and the British A-list actor is rumoured to be joining her before filming starts on his next movie in February.

FKA Twigs.

The star of the Twilight series is no stranger to watching his new girlfriend perform. The 28-year-old heart-throb sat side of stage at her Paris concert, as a devoted boyfriend should.

We wonder what he makes of her near-naked appearance on the cover of V magazine this week.

Last week, he took Twigs (real name: Taliah Bennett) to trendy London hotspot The Russet to see in the new year. Later, they caught a London night bus home, shunning the usual celebrity mode of transport. The couple are said to enjoy a low-key relationship.

Robert Pattinson may join his girlfriend FKA Twigs in Auckland. Photo / AP

Also jetting in but presumably in more salubrious wheels is multi-millionaire British singer Sting, who is performing with Paul Simon at Vector on January 30. The Police frontman, who has 16 Grammys to his name, was honoured last month at the Kennedy Centre in front of Barack Obama.

A-list stars head to Piha

The black sand and treacherous rip of Piha may not be everybody's choice of a perfect Kiwi summer, but for Hollywood stars Kate Winslet and Nina Dobrev and Kiwi thesps Claire Chitham and Danielle Cormack, the rugged west coast beach beckoned.

Nina Dobrev.

They have all been spotted at the windswept surf beach over the past two weeks. Winslet, 39, was in this week's Woman's Day magazine, stripping down to a black one-piece swimsuit and plunging in the ocean.