Wetlook World Forum

We saw - as part of the scenery, as it were - lots of beautiful but almost or entirely deserted beaches along the west coast of South Island and on Great Barrier Island; had a cup of coffee by the beach in Wellington, and had a quick look at the beach in Nelson while being shown round the town by a friend who lived there.    There might have been a couple of clothed paddlers in the distance at Nelson (but they might equally have been wearing neoprene wetsuits) but otherwise nothing of interest.     

The only time I actually spent time at a beach was a Sunday afternoon in Auckland the day before our flight home, which was the location for the 'roll your trousers up' event.    I've had a look on Streetview to identify the actual beach and I'm pretty sure it was Takapuna - certainly we were staying over that side, in Devonport.      It was busy - not as busy as Bournemouth on a sunny Sunday, but busier than Ayr or Portobello ever get - and a good proportion of the people there were in street clothes (as indeed they are in the photospheres on Streetview), but apart from the odd accidental splash or a wave just catching a couple of square inches of clothing nobody got their clothes wet but me.    But I could well believe that I was unlucky.