Day 7, L3: Surfers, Paradise and the Murray

What a difference a day makes!
After a shambles of a day yesterday, today was beautiful.
I took a mid-morning stroll to the beach, thinking that there couldn't possibly be a new angle or spectacle of the beach to photograph by now.
Oh how wrong was I!

Firstly, there was a decent pod of surfers out in one particular part of the beach towards the northern end. Interestingly, I'd noticed that part of the beach changing day by day over these weeks. There has been no surf at Omaha for many days, but there was something about the way the water has been lapping the shore in that very spot; recessed swirling patterns, like draped lace curtains. Unusual, and it captured my attention. I'd pointed it out to Michael on our beach walk last weekend and he was as intrigued as I was. A sandbar of sorts must have been created right there.

And today, with a decent off-shore wind, the surf is here and the surfers are out. Surfer delight happening right here on Omaha Beach. Right in that unusual spot.

They were A-Frame waves too - waves that break both ways. So some guys were peeling left, others right. There were 25+ surfers out there on the water. It was non-stop action. At any one time there were several waves banked up, full of surfers having fun.

The air temperature was hot.
The breeze was warm.
And the water was warm-ish!
It was impossible to comprehend that yesterday had been so incredibly hideous.

Omaha Beach Photos of the Day - new surf bar

On the shoreline, people stopped and watched. Some went and grabbed their boards. Others grabbed their big camera lenses. Others were just a bit awestruck. I've never seen so many people stop and watch a bunch of surfers like that - but given the constant action I'm not surprised. I stayed there for a whole hour myself, couldn't drag myself away.

Behind all the surfers was someone cavorting about on the water on a contraption I couldn't quite work out. It looked like a cross between windsurfing and kite-surfing. At one point he's zooming along like a windsurfer, next minute he looks like a giant bat taking off into the wind. I wasn't sure whether he'd got himself into utter strife with his sail, or whether he was transforming into a massive bat creature by design. Either way, it was pretty impressive to watch, and an ideal backdrop to the surfie scene.

Unless you're a surfer yourself, or watching the pros, it's actually a rather dull spectator sport.
But today I stood mesmerised. Waves peeled like there was no tomorrow. One wave would finish and the one behind was immediately full of surfers. They got good long rides. Some were pirouetting on their boards, others cavorting and jumping.
Because the waves were peeling both ways, it was hard to know which way to look. Either way, it was highly watchable.

And as if that wasn't enough, along came a couple of horses having a nice wander along the beach. Said a merry hi to the riders.

When I got home I googled what that sail/bat contraption might be - turns out to be Wing Surfing,  a relatively new sport where you ride either a windsurf board, foil board or SUP while carrying a hand-held inflatable wing sail. It is indeed a cross between windsurfing and kite-surfing. I'd never heard of it before!

In the background - the wing-surfer in between sail and bat mode, looking like a man on stilts - perhaps he was on foil at that point

A quick trip to Matakana to top up supplies - and it was quick too, no queue, I was in and out. When I walked out, there was a queue of about 10 people! Good timing. I still haven't been inside a supermarket since lockdown. Local is good.

No new Covid cases today, that's also good. It's our first day of ZERO cases, very encouraging. We await what Level 2 means and when we will go there. Everyone is hanging out for L2 but this is no time for complacency. Or arrogancy. There is a lot of talk about how fabulous we are, stamping out this virus. We've done good, yes, but hold fire, we're not the world's guru and we are not out of the woods yet. We also have a lot of things in our favour that other countries don't have - being an island the obvious, and a small population - and with the measures we've taken, we should be doing good. Let's get perspective here.

As I've alluded to earlier - and the point of Paul Henry's "Rebuilding Paradise" programme - we now need to work to truly fulfil NZ's potential. Please, don't let us go back to the complacent naive ignorant arrogant smug and rather greedy little country we've been for too long. That might sound harsh but it's why I got the hell out in the 80s. I came back in the 90s hoping we'd got over that; I was keen to see NZ fulfil its potential. What a letdown. We've drifted from one shambles to another for too long, just like an insolent adolescent who doesn't listen to its parents and thinks they're shit-hot and know everything. Problem is, if you know everything by adolescence, you've got a bloody dull life ahead. And most adolescents are not shit-hot. There's usually a facade going on.

We now have a chance to show the world what we're really made of, show the world the paradise we always talk of. But it means stopping the nonsense, listening more, removing the pathetic political sabotage, and letting go of the oxymoron of humble conceit. We need to work together to showcase what we do have and can offer. Without being bluffed or blinded by greed or all the other nonsense.
Surely, surely ... the sheeple days are over. Let's be the parents. And make this paradise actual Paradise. NZ can be "all that" - but first we have to grow up!

I whiled the afternoon away happily working on new Beyond offerings to get to market as soon as people can travel again. Small-group trips within NZ to start - and build things up from there. First-up - Omaha/Matakana area.In a way, Covid has enabled me to spot a gap in the local travel market that I aim to fill. Good for Kiwis, and good for international travellers - when they are allowed in. I want to show them paradise!

LUNCH: Filled rolls - ham, cheese, salad
DINNER: Nachos - with the leftovers from my vege curry from two days ago. I added some chili beans, cheese and sour cream. God it was good.


SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
The Might Murray River ...
Continuing my doco fest - I watched a doco called Rivers of Australia - a couple and their two dogs kayaking the length of the Murray River. I'm not sure what month they started out but they had to take a five month hiatus due to inclement weather and come back and complete the final part through South Australia in the autumn.

I led a tour down the Murray River last year in April (autumn) for Maher Tours. It was a surprisingly fabulous trip in every way. I was not expecting such tranquility and utter beauty. Isolation, yes. Small friendly towns along the way, yes. But we were the only people on that river for 90% of the five days we cruised it. Incredible. We had perfect weather throughout, which helped, and my tour group was fabulous fun. Man, we had a blast.

As far as the doco goes - what a feat that couple and their dogs achieved, it's a very long way. But I found the narrator a little irksome - his gravelly, largely monotone and by-design manly voice wore thin for me quite quickly. The scenery didn't seem nearly as interesting as what I saw (was that due to editing? weather? lack of observance? poor camera angles? dull light?) I couldn't work it out. They did save a few birds and rid the river of some carp (big problem in the river) along the way. But for me it was a largely lacklustre watch and I fast-forwarded through chunks of it. They finished at the Coorong, where the Murray hits the Southern Ocean. And even though they celebrated with a glass of something, the joy still seemed lacking. The whole thing seemed a bit arduous and box-ticking.

Perhaps I'd have been more hooked in if I hadn't been down the Murray and unable to compare my own fabulous experience. But to be honest, watching this doco would not have inspired me to want to go down the Murray. And the fact I have been down the Murray made me understand that this doco was not a gripping one. Hmm.

Let me tell you, if we'd had a camera crew on our trip down the Murray, it would be Reality TV GOLD!!! And everyone would want to go down the Murray! Here are some photos.
I also did a write-up overview - let me know if you're keen to read and I'll send you a copy.

The Coorong - on a very rare day of complete and utter perfection

On the Coorong

I do have to qualify things by saying that we were the lucky ones and experienced the best day on the Coorong that our skipper has ever had, ever, ever, ever in 40+ years of taking daily trips! Normally it's a bit rough and pretty chilly and generally always windy. Often it's more severe than that, no matter the season.
Well, we had calm waters, blue skies and hot temperatures all day. We'd been told to dress warmly, be prepared to brace the elements. Look at this photo! We were dressed for the wrong occasion and sweltered! That day was a true once-in-a-lifetime experience of perfection. Skipper could not believe it.

My group and our cruise boat (a day boat)

Big Bend - spectacular