Nurture/Nature, Culture/Crazies? at Mission Bay

Last weekend, we had a chance to return to Mission Bay to soak up some of the rare warm weather we've been experiencing this summer.  (We were also here on Christmas.)  We even read this week that New Zealand shouldn't expect to see an Indian Summer this year; it is just going to continue to be cool and rainier than usual.  So we wanted to take advantage of some beautiful weather last weekend.

The kids visited the playground and went swimming in the fountain, and we all did a bit of swimming in the bay and playing in the sand.  During this weekend, we learned quite a bit about some of the cultural tweaks evident between New Zealand and the US.

We were so excited to get this cute picture of the kids, and we even mentioned the rarity of it right when we took the shot because it is such an anomaly to see both of them smiling at us simultaneously:

Needless to say, we learned soon after that an Aussie kid had thrown a full ice cream cone into the fountain.  Our kids were amazed by the audacity.  But we had learned and also it was demonstrated from some disgusted kiwi moms that kiwis view many an Australian similarly to how Europeans view the "ugly American."  So much for a cute story to go along with the cute picture.

After lunch (where we learned a different lesson: verify the prices at the table vs. takeaway for the same dish BEFORE you sit down or else you will enjoy a way overpriced lunch of fish and chips!), we had some beach time.  That's Rangitoto in the background.  One of our goals is to climb that sometime before we leave here:

Now here's the dilemma for the day.  First, right after we sat down on the sand, two adults and their kids came and sat down directly in front of us.  Seriously, they blocked the view.  So we got up and moved.  No problem.  I should mention that our things included two towels, two backpacks, water bottles, etc.  We were compact but clearly taking up space.  About 30 minutes later, when all four of us went in the water right in front of our towels, six women came up and sat down right behind our towels.  I emphasize, RIGHT BEHIND:  they couldn't straighten their legs because they were so close to our towels.  We were a little stunned.  I mean, it wasn't like the beach was crowded.  Here's looking north (those purple towels in the foreground are the towels of the people on the far side of the women, AFTER they moved):

And here's looking south (that's Liam in the foreground):

Beautiful--but not so crowded--views, yes?  Well, we ended up spending additional time in the water, contemplating the best approach, and hoping they might move, but they didn't.  So I just went up, said a polite "hello." and sat down and began to read.  The women were breathing down my back (or maybe reading my book with me--it was by my new favorite New Zealand author), and it took them about 5 long minutes before they thought maybe they should move a bit.  They laughed and said, "well, maybe we're crowding her a bit." You think?  

So we're not sure if we don't know New Zealand beach etiquette, whether New Zealanders are less concerned about personal space, or whether these women were just clueless-- or, hey, maybe they were Australian?!  Unfortunately, I cannot answer that, because even though they spoke to us, I still can't hear  the differences between a New Zealand and an Australian accent.  That sure would help!