VIEWING LIFE THROUGH A SUNSET

Elza: "This is like the place people picture when they think of paradise. Think about all the people who AREN'T here...
Me: Billions...and do you know how many of them would rather be here than wherever they are?
Elza: All of them."


So we finally made it. After far too long a time in Auckland, and far too many slightly unsatisfying trips to the sheltered, wave-less bays around the city, we made it to the West Coast. The wild, thrilling, breathtaking beaches of the west coast...

Only 40 minutes from Auckland (unless I'm driving) Piha beach stretches out at the foot of heavily wooded and lightly developed hills. The black sands, jutting rocks, and crashing waves are beautiful and intimidating, but well worth any risk.

There were nine of us squeezed into a rented mini-van: Kathleen, Mike, and Meredith in back; Elza, Sarah and Victor in the middle, and Tami, Eugene, and I in the front (poor Tami was sitting between the two front seats...that's what happens when you're the small Asian girl). I was probably a little too giddy and scatterbrained to be driving but after a few turn-arounds and a lot of banging my forehead on the wheel in frustration we finally ended up following signs to Piha. We had to drive some windy roads (of course) and I tried to take them slowly but I'm pretty sure my version of slow wasn't slow enough for the people in the back of an 8-seater. Oh well.

Anyway, we were headed to Piha--a little apprehensively after hearing stories of people being swept out to sea there, not to mention the fact that there is a show about the Piha surf rescue. We drove past the warning signs with vivid pictures of people being sucked up by rip tides and crushed on rocks, laughing aloud but silently thinking: what are we getting ourselves into?

The beach was beautiful (of course) and rather anticlimactically, it was fully of people of all ages. Granted, there were A LOT of life guards but as Meredith so succinctly put it..."I think it's probably safe over there by the babies."

Elza and I went up to Surf Piha and loaded up with all the surfing equipment we would need: surf boards, a body board, a wet suit, and a rash guard. The little surf shop/accomodation of Surf Piha was tucked away on a hill with a beautiful view of the beach. We were greeted by smiling surfers just hanging out by a beautiful little building just chatting and waiting for business. These are the people who should be envied...forget movie stars.

Returning to the beach, Elza and I headed straight into the water. It felt so incredibly good to be back in the ocean again. It's a type of refreshing that goes deeper than just waking you up or getting your heart rate up. It's like that first slap of a wave in your face is a slap to put everything into perspective. But I guess that's what an immense body of water does best...puts things in perspective.

Anyway, my first trip out was as abysmal as any. Despite my inability to stand up...at all...it was great just to be out battling the waves, laughing with Elza, surrounded by yet another beautiful New Zealand beach. Of course, when a nearby surf instructor warned us we were about to be sucked up by a rip tide that would carry us into the nearby rocks we were reminded that Piha's beauty is dangerous.

After about an hour and a half in the water we got out to share our boards. Like cravings for food, I have always had the strangest cravings for warm sand. I don't know why and it's kind of weird but one of my most favorite feelings in the world is lying in soft, warm sand. Piha was amazing. Although it wasn't incredibly hot out, the black sand was the perfect temperature and, not even giving my towel a second glance, I just snuggled down in the sand and let the sun beat down upon me. Amazing. It felt exactly the way it does in my head when I'm cold and no where near a warm beach...like nature's electric blanket. Ooooh, I wanna go back right now...

So, needless to say, I was asleep in a very short time. I woke up warm, happy, sandy and with my arm covered in drool...perfect. Time for another surf.

The second time out was nothing short of exhausting and nothing short of amazing. The rips and currents at Piha are formidable. Just walking out (let alone paddling) is a struggle. I definitely never made it out past the break (nor did I particularly want to take that risk). However, with a little stamina and a masochistic desire to live in a washing machine, surfing in the breakers is no less enjoyable.

The waves were nothing too big and they were a little slow but after a while I finally got it. I stood up...and boy did it feel good. Granted, I probably looked like an idiot and I wasn't exactly cutting it up out there but, darn it, I was standing. After the first time I less-than-gracefully jumped off the board and actually said aloud to myself "Been a while since that happened...at least I know I can do it." And from there it was like it clicked. I stood up quite a few more times, but after a full three hours of fighting those currents and getting pounded, I just didn't have a whole lot of energy left in me. Not to mention the life guards had announced about 45 minutes earlier that they were going off duty and we were now "Swimming at our own risk."

I was the last one out of the water and, after returning the boards, we all decided that food was the next call of business. We found a little restaurant bar right by the beach (actually only one of three places to eat in Piha) and stood on the balcony eating salad and chips as the sun sunk down towards the horizon.


Now, I'm probably a little directionally biased but, until something convinces me otherwise, there is just something magically superior about West Coast beaches. Sunsets are all well and good anywhere but there is just something special about ending the day with the sun sinking into the ocean. I watched the sun disappear on a beautiful day standing in the waves surrounded by the reflections of magnificent colors. Behind me I could hear the distant sounds of my travel companions laughing and talking. Once the sun went down Elza, Sarah and I danced around on the beach, frollicking in the waves as they reflected the pinks and oranges...it was magnificent.


In a moment of poetic inspiration, Elza and I wrote "Thank you!" in the sand just in time for a wave to lap it up, sending our appreciation out to the sea that had provided us with so many beautiful moments.


Once the sun and the light had fully disappeared we headed back to the car and drove back to the city. Eugene was driving, something that I regretted until, on the dark windy road, we came upon a car that was driving in our lane in the wrong direction. I don't know how I would have reacted but Eugene kept us all safe so I was pretty glad I wasn't driving at that point. I navigated us back home and we all made it back safe-and-sound from a beautiful day.

Definitely a day to put things into perspective...but maybe not a day to motivate me to spend time doing homework that seems entirely unimportant...

Thanks Piha.

photos taken by Tami Bolk, Sarah Anderson, Kathleen Wamser, and Elza Pole