There are not many days in Dunedin that you can't surf something ranging from 7-10 out of 10 on the wave-quality scale. But these past three weeks, cursed by a northeasterly flow, have been a little miserable. Productivity must have shot up to maximum as surfers used the ill-winds to get some real work done. I went searching a few times, but came up empty handed.
So this week's eye candy is a little further afield from the usual stomping surf with a few curious buildings that have caught my eye over the years and some beach missions with my Latvian friends Janis and Eva. They reinvigorate me about the reality of where we live – close to mountains, rivers and alpine peaks, alongside a beautiful and accessible coastline and with the freedom to explore them at will. Even if there haven't been any waves since their arrival, that freedom to explore and stumble across sea lions and penguins is a pretty special privilege.
We also shot a story with the beer don himself: Richard Emerson this past week (yep, the Emerson's Brewery founder). He's poured a healthy dose of support into the upcoming 3 Peaks Enduro mountain bike race. In the story he said it was a no-brainer to "have another excuse to be patriotic about Dunedin through an event like this". And he's right. A collaborative approach like this not only ensures visiting mountain bikers have the best beer to sample, but helps to celebrate and profile two of Dunedin's finest assets. Yes, Dunedin makes great beer, but there are also some great trails in those hills up there above the city – the perfect flat-day tonic.
Thankfully, we have some westerly influence in the surf forecast this week ...
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Pretty exciting to see the rise and rise again of Dunedin's young surfers. The National Scholastics Champs was held in Gisborne last week and here's how the Otago surfers went: Under 18 Boys' Final: James Murphy finishes fourth; Under 16 Boys' Final: Elliott Brown first; Under 14 Boys' Final: Ruben Peyroux fourth; Under 18 Girls' Final; Shani Ayson second; Under 14 Girls' Final: Tallulah Horsefield fourth. That's a pretty impressive set of results. Congrats to all involved in that awesome team effort.
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