First Surfing Lesson

We were looking forward to going kayaking today. We made the booking and arrived in time to collect our kayaks at the rental place when the shop owner asked us: “Did you look at the waves?“ We had not. Apparently, the waves were high - way too high for kayaking. There were a few rocky areas around Hahei Beach in the kayaking area and with such strong waves, it was gonna be quite dangerous. That didn‘t stop Maddie, however. She kept insisting that we for sure knew what we‘re doing on a kayak and both have quite the experience to look back on. I was a bit puzzled because I was certain I mentioned that my kayaking experience was limited to one time about 15 years ago, in a calm lake, not an angry sea. What do you do when the waves are too high for kayaking? You go surfing. Maybe that prospect let Maddie agree to let go of the kayaking dream. It was pretty lucky that it worked out with our private surfing lesson. They had just packed up for the day when we expressed our interest. Our coach, Lydia, gave us the equipment, a lovely wetsuit that would protect us from both cold temperatures and “sea lice“ which are nasty little jellyfish that sting you just a wee bit but enough to get irritated. (That had happened to me before, I just assumed I was paranoid. :D)
Lydia was very patient and a great instructor. I actually managed to stand up on my third wave and a few times more (maybe 3 or 4). But wow, it was a lot harder than I thought just to push yourself off the board, to maintain your balance etc. And I was pushed off the board by waves quite a few times. There was water running out of my nose for hours to come… Being pushed off is no fun, I will say that. But, on the whole, the surfing lesson was great fun and I‘m grateful for the experience. And for not colliding with my surfboard.

In the evening, we took a stroll along the Hahei beach and enjoyed the scenery.Read more