Long Beach

Long Beach is on the other side of the peninsula from Russell; about a kilometre. It's sandy unlike Russell which is more small shingle. It's quite a pull to get over the pass to it so that puts off a lot of people although it is easy enough to drive there. The beach slopes very gradually so is quite safe. The water is, compared to Scarborough, warm (not difficult) - once you 'get in'. Swimming in the sea is a real pleasure. The waves make it interesting and the buoyancy means its less of an effort. I was brought up by the coast in England and we used to swim at the beach when the tide was in and in the dock when it was out. No health and safety then.

I can usually manage about an hour on a beach before boredom sets in or the heat becomes excessive. How people sit there all day is beyond me.

We leave for Auckland tomorrow and the last few days of our jaunt. It's always sad to leave Russell because of the good memories of the previous times we've been here and it's such a lovely place.