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Former President Barack Obama unwound from eight years in the White House with some extreme sports on his Caribbean vacation with billionaire friend Richard Branson. 

New photos show the newly-retired Obama going kite-surfing with Branson during a recent getaway on the Virgin founder's private island.

The worries of the White House are clearly far from Obama's mind in the pictures - as he horses around with Branson on the boat, smiles widely for the cameras and then catches some air on his board.

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New photos show Barack Obama going kite-surfing with friend Richard Branson on the billionaire's private island 

Obama and first lady Michelle visited the island for a vacation after moving out of the White House last month 

The 55-year-old former president may be 'retired' now but he's still fit enough to take in some extreme sports 

Before strapping into his kite-surfing board, Obama and Branson horsed around on the boat 

Sixty-six-year-old Branson, the founder of Virgin, got some air when he went out foil-boarding 

Following Trump's inauguration last month, the Obamas first flew to Palm Springs, California, where the president treated himself to a few days of golf and desert air. 

Then they were off again for Branson's own piece of the British Virgin Islands. The couple hung out with friends and lazed about the beach for more than a week - a much-deserved break after two terms.

Branson spoke about the 'honor' of being able to invite the former president and first lady to his island in a blog post on Tuesday.

The former president (pictured) quickly picked up the art of kite-surfing with just a few days of lessons on Branson's private island 

On the last day of the trip, Branson and Obama (pictured) faced off to see who could stay up the longest on the board 

Obama's lessons were marred with a few wipe-outs, as all beginners are likely to face 

'One of the first stories Barack told me when he and Michelle arrived on Moskito Island was how, just before he became President, he had been surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. 

'When he came in from an exhilarating session, the new head of his security team turned to him and said: “This will be the last time you surf for eight years.” For the next eight years he didn’t have the chance to surf, enjoy watersports or do many of the things he loved.

'So it was tremendous to offer him the chance to learn to kitesurf,' Branson wrote. 

The Obamas are pictured arriving on Branson's private island last month. The couple spent a little more than a week soaking up the sun  

The Obamas happily posed up with some locals who asked for a photo on January 24 - with their billionaire host Richard Branson as well. Obama had his hat backwards and a huge grin

The couple were seen walking hand in hand on their much-deserved vacation last month. They are now back in Washington, DC  

Branson said that the two came up with a challenge. Obama would learn how to kite-surf, while Branson - a seasoned kite-surfer - would learn how to kite-surf with a foil board. On the last day, the two faced off to see who could stay up the longest.

'As you can see in the video, Barack and I both fell many times, but we kept trying again and again and made progress over the days. We were neck and neck until the last run on the last day, when I got up on the foilboard and screamed along for over 50 meters, three feet above the water. I was feeling very pleased with myself, only to look over and see Barack go 100 meters on his kiteboard! I had to doff my cap to him and celebrate his victory.

'After all he has done for the world, I couldn’t begrudge him his well-deserved win. Now he has left, I’m going back into the water to practice for the next challenge. On his next visit, we plan to do the long kite over to Anegada together. Next time, may the best (British) man win!' Branson wrote.

The Obamas are now back in Washington, DC where they have chosen to stay while youngest daughter Sasha finishes high school.  

Branson owns two islands in the British Virgin Islands, Necker Island (pictured above) and Moskito Island