WARNING. I’m starting this missive with a mini rant. Stop reading now if you’re easily offended.

It’s just swimming. Not “Wild Swimming”, a marketing invention to sell books or fancy ‘wild’ clothing or bespoke flip flops. Yes. Please go swimming in the sea or the river or the lake or your Aunty Madge’s pond at the bottom of her garden. Have a fab time. But, don’t give it an unnecessary moniker that merely adds a smugness. As the cliché says, It’s not big and it’s not clever. 

Rant over. On with the story. And yes Poirot, you have deduced what’s coming next. We’ve been swimming in the Maitai river for several evenings now. It’s been hot and humid so a dip and a splash in the evening has been most welcome. 

There are a couple of holes deep enough to swim in on the edge of town. They’re popular as they’re easily accessible with car parking and grassy areas. It appeals to my sense of what’s right and good and free about the world to see people having an enjoyable time by the river as the sun sets. I like it. 

Having driven up the Maitai valley for a walk earlier this week, I’d spotted a couple of other places in the river for a dip. It’s a few kilometres drive up a gravel road but the reward was worth it. We found a spot with its own natural slide and a pool plenty big enough to swim in. 

If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Dave get into cold water, I can only sympathise with you. It’s an utter delight to see him squirm and grimace and creep deeper at a glacial speed. Yes, it’s probably a bit mean of me to write this. It does amuse me though and if you have a little bit of pleasure too imaging him tippy toeing squeaking ‘ah, ah, ah’, that’s all good. 

He was just fine when he got in and we plan to go back again tonight. I’ve got 30 minutes to finish writing this before we head off. A few boaty chores today. Dave whizzed up the mast to re-rivet the wind indicator as a particularly chubby bird had dislodged it. We cut some new clear plastic vinyl for the windows in the cockpit tent as the current ones have had their day in the sun, literally. A kind Frenchman gave us the ‘extruded Japanese plastic’ for nothing.  It’s a high end product so that’s a boon.

We’re gearing up to leave Nelson at the end of the month-ish and head down to Fiordland and Stewart Island. It’s pretty remote down there so we need to be in good shape before we depart. The ships biscuits need to be plentiful.