Bachelor Escape 2004 

I had been asked a question by Ross about the weekend. He wondered what the deal was these days with a Bachelor Escape concept. I must admit that it does seem a little contrived, considering we pretty much all have girlfriends (I don’t like the word partner). I guess it’s more of a theme than anything else. In any event, the concept is probably a tired one, and I don’t think there will be another.

Jakub, Matt and I began the convoy early friday afternoon, wading through the southern motorway traffic. It soon lightened though the further we got off the main lines.

First night was standard BE form, fish and chips, beer and Tequila Don Julio - which like all mexicans, is a fine chap, but if you push him too far, things get messy. A nice stroll along the beach, and then a quiet retirement for the evening.

The next morning, we all awoke with an assertion to quell our hangovers with a large breakfast and a bold early start. Sadly Matt made it as far as the table before sulking back to his room where he managed to stay for the rest of the day.

What a day it was! Despite the forecasts, the Coromandel turned it on is true summer fashion. Jakub and I loaded the boards and headed to the Surf Break at Hot Water Beach. I hadn’t really done any surfing before, and what I had previously attempted had resulted in total failure. But despite a hangover, and standard web designer unfitness, I was suprised at my reasonable success of paddling for a wave, catching it, and standing up surfing, even for just a few seconds. I also managed to try out my new underwater housing for my camera, but I still need to work on the fogging problems.

Jakub and I wandered along the beach to the Hot Water sands. These are a geothermal anomolie that causes hot water to percolate up and seep through the sands. With some light digging and damming, you can build your own hot spring to laze around in under the sun, metres away from the ocean waves. It truly is an amazing thing, a typical example of something we take for granted in NZ.

Arriving back at the house Matt was finally stirring, and we even managed to get him consuming alcohol for the BBQ we had whilst playing Crocquet on the lawn.

Sunday brought us a totally different weather pattern. Returning to Surf Break with the same enthusiasm and hope for a sunny day, we were greated with no swell and a dark overcast morning. We were about to pack it in, but as we sat there in the rain, we watched the swell grow in around 20 minutes to a solid size. By the time we got in the water it was even bigger, and after an hour of being out there it was messy and somewhat trecherous. Water shots again show the state of the day.

We still had a great time that day, and had surely been reminded on what summer is going to offer.

Bring it on.