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A Swimming Summer

© Sue Murray

Considering New Zealand is an island then its not surprising that water is an important element to summer. This is not as many would surmise, just the sea but also the rivers and the lakes. For me summer is synonymous with swimming, even the spelling is similar. That is if you screw up your eyes and look at it through the slits.

When I was a child my summers were spread between which body of water was in flavour for the day. My mind indulges in the memories of swinging off ropes tied to willow branches, dropping into the dark depth of the river, or testing ourselves on how high we could go up the rock face to dive in. This would be balanced by floating down the gentle rapids in Lilo’s, (Rubber air mattresses). Until we got caught on a rock or too and for some odd reason it sprung a leak.

When we got tired of the river we would head for the beach. Our local beach was Caroline Bay in Timaru it was very safe and gentle. No big powerful waves to pound us, just a gentle beach and waves to dive in, over, through or try to body ride on to the shore. There were never crowds to fight though and no lifesavers, as no one ever drowned at that beach and everyone kept an eye out. If we wanted to travel further a-field, make a day of it, we went to the lakes. Here we had a choice of exhilarating glacier fed lakes, which you never stayed in too long, but always went back in, for the heat in the high country would just about fry an egg on the bonnet of the car. The other choice of lakes were the large man made ones from the dams, these seemed a little warmer, maybe cause they were not so deep. Regardless, the main enticement for here was sailing or water ski-ing. I was a late beginner to the water ski-ing, so had many interesting tries at it. I did manage to get a hang of it finally, but barefoot always alluded me.

Things haven’t really changed that much for my children. Yes I have moved them around, so they do not have as much time at the lakes. Their river swimming is now not only the slow deep, but the faster braided rivers, here they spend time riding down the rapids or find holes dug by diggers getting shingle and swim in them.