Giedre tyttö Ozista

Things Treacherous and Fierce

The summer is definitely coming. The weather pattern has changed. The cold southerlies and westerlies stopped and friendly northerlies brought some humid, rainy, but warm weather from the tropics.

I remember how we used to complain about too predictable weather in Singapore: why do they need weather forecasts at all, if the weather is always +32C degrees, sunny with ocassional showers? Now I'd like to take those words back. NZ Weather website is one of my most frequented websites and for the longest time there were no good news there, no matter how often I checked it...

Since westerlies have stopped, the surf conditions are supposed to improve on the West coast. This week we went to the beach after work 2 times. Both times not quite perfect conditions, but still very nice way to end the day.

These pictures were taken on the weekend and Piha is difficult to recognise. I've never seen that many people there before. Supposedly this is not even considered "busy" for Piha.

Just today I read statistics that out of 800 rescues by lifeguards in ALL NZ beaches last year, almost 150 rescues were in Piha. Quite a high toll for 200m stretch of sand, I'd say!!! Especially if you think how much of shoreline NZ has!

The waves in the Western beaches are often treacherous and fierce. Yesterday, as we arrived to Muriwai for our evening surf, we saw a "body" wrapped in golden rescue blanket transported by the lifeguards. Well, the guy was alive, but certainly not doing too well. No idea what have happened there, but most likely he injured his back or neck somehow.

The beaches look deceivingly pretty, but we heard stories of people being sucked in while standing knee-high in water!

Anyway, we're usually very careful in water and so far (at least I) never ventured to the ocean when it looks that you can't get out without breaking your neck.

Other stories from NZ: the road death toll for the year 2006 was lowest in 35 years! Well done, you'd think!? Not if you read NZ papers. This, unexpectedly caused "some problems" in sourcing organs for transplants! That article sheds a completely different light on the idea of granting driving licenses to 15 year olds. Seriously, can you get any fresher and better quality organs than a 15 year old has?!?! So yes, now it makes sense, the government (and the farmers union that was fiercly oposing the idea of raising the driving age) apparently has a vision and a mission against the boy-racers. It sounds like genocide to me! :)

On a lighter note, it is almost summer, it is Friday, we'll be going surfing in the evening again and my mother is flying in tonight at 11pm!! Yeah!! I can see more holiday in the horizon!!!