Surfs Up!

Last week was fairly uneventful. The weather was pretty nice so Craig got to paddle his kayak in the ocean a little bit, which was exciting for him. We went for a bike ride through the city and down to the path along the water on Thursday. Otherwise, it was just a normal work week, nothing too exciting to report.
Starting on Friday though, temps shot up into the upper 20’s (80’s) and we even saw one report that said 32, which is in the 90’s, Farenheit! It was pretty hot. So, we took advantage and went surfing Friday night, and then for a walk on the beach as it was still warm and light at 9:30. I was a little nervous surfing because there had been a shark hanging out at that beach last week. So, every little piece of seaweed floating by underwater made my heart jump a little. However, no signs of an actual shark, thank goodness!


Katie showing off her moves at Waikouati Beach

Saturday turned out to be even hotter and we roasted at the Farmers Market in the morning. We got to see an antique car show in the octagon on the way down which was interesting. The sun was cooking us at the market so we didn’t hang out too long. We walked home and stopped for an ice cream lunch on the way. That afternoon we decided to hit the beach again to cool off with some more surfing. This time, we checked out a new beach, Warrington, and it turned out to be awesome.


Craig the surfer dude at Warrington Beach

We ended up surfing (still showing signs of improvement) for over 2 hours, which was pretty exhausting. Then it was home to grill dinner and hang outside for the evening.
Sunday brought some cooling morning rain but as soon as that stopped, it heated right back up again. We drove out to Tunnel Beach in the afternoon to check out some really cool caves and tunnels carved out by the ocean. To get to the beach, we had to walk down a steep hill and through a tunnel that was actually carved out by John Cargill, a son of Captain William Cargill, who founded the Otago settlement (where we now live) in 1848. He had the tunnel carved out in the 1870’s so that his family would have access to the beach, which was otherwise unattainable. We hung around there for a little while, watching the crashing waves and taking in the views.


View from Tunnel Beach


Tunnel Beach

Then, back home for a quick dinner and we were off to try out a new mountain biking trail near our house. The trail was pretty cool so we biked there for a bit and then down through the city to the bike path again. We’re definitely enjoying summer!

Action Shots