Attacke Hai !?

Currently, we are in Snells Beach, a small town/village. It could be compared to Schweicheln. But it's like this everywhere when you leave the big cities like Wellington, Auckland, or Christchurch. I like it, it's much quieter and people are deeply relaxed. Totally different from Germany. Different countries, different customs.

Anyway, we are here in Snells Beach at a small beautiful campsite, which you're supposed to leave after 2 nights per calendar month. But there's not much going on here and nobody has come to check yet, so we're staying here for now. Time to work on the van. Bed is done, floor is laid, roof is beautified, curtains are up.. Kitchen is still in progress. Once it's done, the long-awaited pictures will finally come, promised.

But since we're not just here to work and since we're right by the sea, it means we go swimming almost every day. If you can call it swimming. The water in this bay is only about 50 cm deep. Try to swim there. I always feel like a stranded ship - Titanic.

But at least the water is pleasantly warm. Since there's ebb and flow here, the sand gets very warm from the sun during ebb. When the tide lets the water flow over it, the sand gives off its warmth. Conclusion: water is warm!

For refreshment and daily care, there are public showers here. Cold, but better than nothing. And with the weather (25 degrees in full sun), it's really refreshing.

Somehow my girlfriend and I then came across the question of whether there are sharks here. Quickly googled: Yes! There are. Specifically, 6 out of 8 shark species and about 70 shark species swim along the coasts of New Zealand. But the most dangerous ones here are the Great White Shark, the Bronze Whaler, and the Mako Shark. Wait, the Great White Shark!? Well, that's something to look forward to..

However, since 1850, only 44 shark attacks have been recorded. Since shark fishing is a fairly popular 'sport' here and if I were a shark, I would defend myself too, it's their own fault. So the likelihood of being attacked by a shark here is rather low.

'Since the 1960s, swimmers in New Zealand have been protected by nets; initially, up to six Great White Sharks were caught in these nets per year, but since then, only harmless animals have been caught. The psychological effect on New Zealanders seems to be so important that it 1) violates international species protection agreements (the Great White Shark has been protected in New Zealand since April 2007) and 2) spends almost NZ$30,000 per year for it.'

Crazy Kiwis...