Finn surfs south of the 45th parallel!!

Sunday, March 19, 2017
Curio Bay, Southland, New Zealand
Sun Mar 19
-with some urging we were able to get going at a decent hour for our drive from Te Anau to Curio Bay . This turned out to be wise since we opted to take the Southern Scenic Route which was quite pleasant. There was almost no traffic and we made stops in two beach towns including Riverton where we had a picnic and watched some guys SUP on thigh high waves in wind. It looked fun but windy and cold. 
-on our way out of Riverton, a potty stop at the local info center and museum yielded a wealth of knowledge one with relief. I learned that we were not going to make it to Curio Bay for low tide so we might as well slow down and take it easy. 
-we stopped in Invercargill to see the original Worlds Fastest Indian motorbike in a kooky hardware store. I got to drive on Oreti beach high caused much giggling. We grabbed gas and a load of groceries as we had confirmed that there would be no supplies or restaurants in the Curio Bay area
-a few more kilometers than we had hoped and we carried on straight to our cottage in Curio Bay which was indeed remote. We got unloaded, had an early dinner and headed out onto the windy beach to play frisbee and check out the intrepid cold water surfers
-it was a nice beach walk and the kids definitely got their energy out after a pretty long day in the car. We found the local surf shop which was basically a container and is run by the same guy from whom we rented the cottage. Finn was fired up to surf but sadly my wrist was still in pretty bad shape so it's looking like I will be watching. Bummer but the water is awfully cold
-we returned to the cottage and listened to the howling wind. It turned out to be one of the coldest nights I had spent in a long time, probably since camping in the Sierras. 

Mon Mar 20
-we awoke late to wind and spitting rain. I wasn't feeling totally right and we had a lazy morning inside. The kids played Monopoly and I actually took a late morning nap. Laura and I drove down to "town center" and got information about the tide. The wind and spitting rain deterred us from the local 40 minute hike
-we hid out in our cottage until 1:30 when the tide was near low and had lunch and headed out for Cathedral Caves . A 40 minute drive and then a 25 minute walk and we arrived as planned at low tide. The caves were cool and the water as too on our feet. 
-we headed over to a stunning lookout that offers views of gorgeous sandy bays and points to the east and west. With the howling wind it was reminiscent of Maui's north shore. It was cool to be below 46 degrees south latitude and looking south over the vast southern ocean. Gray and cold and foreboding. 
-our final stop was a 22m waterfall which Laura proclaimed as one of the prettiest waterfalls she has ever seen. High praises from a frequent Hana visitor. It was a nice 45 minute walk
-we returned to the cottage to find the power of due to the storm. We built a fire and had fruit and other snacks. Happily the power came on in another hour and we made a yummy tortellini dinner and had hot showers
-it had been a pleasant day given the weather conditions and my mediocre energy and tummy. Happily I was on the mend and tomorrow is forecast for nice surfing conditions. Nick is dropping a board and wetsuit for Finn at 9am . His international surfing debut. And below 45 degrees south at that! It will be fun to see how he does... And how long he lasts in the cold water...

Tue Mar 21
-Finn had set his alarm for 8 but was up well before then looking a little nervous. The swell had dropped from the past two days and looked kind of crumbly with an occasional decent wave. Nick arrived shortly after 8:30 and in the usual whir which is his manner deposited a board n wetsuit n semi pointers on where to go. 
-after a quick shuffle of booties we were off into the crisp morning with some breeze on the beach. Finn looked nervous but headed out into the shallow beach. He wisely paused about waist deep and dunked himself all the way in. I can only guess how that felt on his face!
-eventually he lay down on the board and paddled out. He got hit by a decent wave and had to duck dive his 6' board. Chilly!! He hung out for quite awhile with dolphins occasionally playing in the waves nearby. He kept his hands in the water so I guess he was not that cold
-after missing a few waves, he paddled for one and got up. Well done!! Surfing south of the 45th parallel. Quite a feat! I would have loved to be put there with him (minus the cold water of course) but my wrist was still pretty wonky. Oh well. Another time. 
-he came in looking triumphant and rightly so. We chatted briefly and he decided to go out and catch some of the inside slop. He road some whitewater and paddled back out to the bigger waves. Nothing really came along and eventually he came in. About a 50 minute session in frigid water and he should be very proud! Well done!
-we got Finn warmed up and fed and loaded up for a decently long day in the car. We made a stop at an inventor's bus to check out his wacky inventions from recycled material. Kooky dude
-next stop was another waterfall which although heralded as NZ's most photographed waterfall was not as impressive as the one from the day before in our opinion. 
-our final stop was at a blowhole which was about the size of a football field and was 200m away from the coast . It was formed when the ceiling of a sea cave collapsed. It was pretty cool and the hike along the coastal bluffs was nice
-back at the car, we spotted a NZ sea lion, the worlds rarest, on the beach 10m in front of our car. It was a nice surprise viewing and saved us from going to look at another beach 
-next was basically about 3 hours of driving to Cromwell. We stopped at the gas station there and got helpful directions to our lodging and nearby food. We grabbed shwermas to take home. 
-we settled into our nice and clean 3 bedroom house. Soon after dinner showers and sleep were in order. 

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