Places+Of+The+Heartland

ST CLAIR BEACH  **Descriptive Writing ** **The waves are there like always breathing in and out galloping  towards the shore. The smell of salt calms me, refreshed filled we a new found strength I walk along the deserted footpath lit by the warm glow of the street lights. The breath of the sea is warm on my face and cheekily darts through my hair knotting and tangling as it goes. The beat of my jandals slow as I stop to marvel at this place, my place

Kicking off my jandals I dig my feet into the soft sand ghostly white from the hollow light of the moon. Surfers bob up and down catching the last of the waves before darkness engulfs. I step onto the pleasantly cool sloppy sand the remains of a wave bubbles towards me surrounding my feet tugging my legs coaxing me into the waves.

Stepping back out of the grasp I turn and walk away as the veil of darkness fall behind me. **

St Clair and St Kilda Beach were originally called Whakaherekau by the maori which has been translated to mean "A prepared snare which caught nothing". Early Settlement in this area was led by William Henry Valpy who arrived in New Zealand with his family in 1849 and set up a farm in the St Clair area. The Chinese were also major settlers in St Clair they drained the swampy land, inland from the beach and made it into vegetable gardens which provided most of the city’s vegetable produce. St Clair was a very rich area. About 1km inland form the beach is Forbury hill which curves back around to the beach and ends as a rocky headland that juts out into the ocean. The beach and dunes are often victims to erosion. A small rocky outcrop called White Island lies immediately south of St Clair. St Clair Beach has been a popular attraction for Dunedinites since the early days of the city and has many geographical features. ||
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Mum settles down on the soft sand just between the flags "Not too far" she says. I slip off my jandals and sprint between the flags in my shorts and tshirt only slowing when I hit the water, I gasp at the cold but wade deeper. Small children laugh and chatter. The cold of the water refreshes me and regenerates energy the sun had stolen. I wade deeper, each time waves test my balance. I am now shoulder deep and look back to see if I'm still between the flags I see Mum hold up her hand five minutes. So I frolic and dive and jump until it is time to trudge up the sand to where Mum sits waiting and we walk back to the car together. media type="file" key="MEMORY RECORDING.mov" width="300" height="300" ||~  ||
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