Today my friend Kylie took me to beaches not far from her home at Venus Bay in Victoria. She’s something of a ‘surfer chick’ and was excited about the hot weather that was forecast for the weekend. I’m afraid I disappointed her a little when I didn’t run with abandon into the surf as she did. You see, while it was indeed a very hot day, the water down here in South East Australia is still rather chilly.

I think I might have developed this aversion to cold water back when my parents used to drag my siblings and I to the local swimming pool for our weekly swim classes. The water then was cold and I hated it. It might also explain why I love sliding into the burning water of a volcanic hot spring like the ones I’ve experienced in Iceland and New Zealand.

Swim or not, I do love going to the beach on a day like today.