After 3 years of thinking about doing the La Grande Ocean Swim in Akaroa, I finally stopped coming up with excuses and signed myself up. The swim is part of a nation wide series of ocean swims held every summer. Having grown up hating swimming lessons, since moving to New Zealand I have come to love swimming. Perhaps this arises from living on an island and being so close to the beach (plus it is the best exercise while pregnant). Whatever the reasons, I had always wanted to take part in the race, and then come up with excuses not to do it - earthquake, nauseous and tired while pregnant with Hector, have a new baby. . . . . Finally, this year, 4 months pregnant with number two, I realized that I would never run out of excuses if I kept making them, so I decided to stop making them. And I had a fantastic time.
The swim is held in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, about an hour and a half drive from Christchurch. I had signed up for the 'Give it a go' 300m swim, being 4 months pregnant, I decided to start small. This resulted in me feeling rather old at the race start being surrounded by a rather younger crowd. But with a gloriously sunny, blue sky up above and Stephen and Hector cheering me on from the beach, I had a great time and didn't worry too much about the age of my fellow racers.
After the race, we wandered down to the playground and sandy beach to have some lunch and play in the waves. Hector found some abandoned shovels and set about digging a hole. He was soon joined by a young girl, who instructed him in making pools and planting potatoes (because why not?). Eventually, we packed ourselves up and headed back to the car to explore some property for sale on the way home. . .
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