Seems like everyone is in Bali, Indonesia or somewhere warm and tropical this past week – just as the water temperature plummets and the wind chill stabs through even the thickest wetsuits. We're at around 9°C water temp right now and on our way to a low of 8°C by the start of August in Dunedin. That's cold. Ice-cream headaches and numbness in the extremities that renders hands useless with car keys, zippers – anything requiring some form of dexterity.
Usually mid-winter also means a regular swarm of large ground swells from deep in the Southern Ocean, but so far it has been a little quiet. The occasional pulse, but nothing like the winters of old. This past weekend was almost flat – just a lazy swell making its way slowly across the banks and reefs – a perfect time to take my 8-year-old son out for a winter session. He has an aversion to wearing booties, mainly because he hates putting them on and taking them off. So the perfect cure would be a session where they'd make all the difference.
He refuses to put them on, hits the water and bravely states that it is warmer than he expected. A few ice-cream headaches later and some paddling around in circles to keep warm and his hands are curled up with cold, his feet a couple of blocks of ice and the excitement at having a peak to himself is no longer such a thing. We get back to the beach after a handful of waves and he thinks booties, hoods and gloves might not be such a bad idea afterall.
"Or better still," he reckons, "a few months in Bali or Fiji." Cheeky grommet.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS As part of the New Zealand International Science Festival, three of my favourite photographers are giving a panel discussion on how these lensman wield their cameras for science. Professional photographers Mark Gee, Clive Copeman and Trevor Cokley will share images, stories and tips from their successful careers capturing science and nature with cameras at the Otago Museum on Saturday, July 14 from 2-3pm. You can get your tickets right here. It's only five bucks! Or click here to find out the best options to keep your kids entertained (and educated) these school holidays.
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