Spotted on an afternoon beach walk on a warm sunny day in Aotearoa #newzealand

A man (50s?) chilling on the sand with his teen son. A kettle is bubbling on a portable gas stove before them. Son is opening some biscuits, dad is popping two teabags into mugs. They grin at passers by.

A woman (30s?) in shorts and a t-shirt getting out of her car, determinedly marching barefoot over prickly grass, boiling dune sand and down into the water without breaking her stride. Once she gets there she wades in waist deep, splashes her face and visibly relaxes. Mission accomplished.

A car full of teens veers (safely) off the road not far from the beach car park. A woman in a bikini gets out and carefully carries a stick insect who's hitched a ride to a safe place on a tree.

Two men (20s?) in board shorts sprinting across the sand into water that's still winter-cold, reaching plum height and shrieking. The profanity is hilariously creative.

Two shirtless men (80s?) in shorts walking side by side, chatting. They've both found driftwood walking sticks and they look like two dignified mages on their day off with grey beards, barrel tums, skinny legs and bare feet.

Any typos spotted in this post are on are trying to justify going to the beach as a way of clearing their brains so they can solve a knotty plot problem in their latest novel. If spotted please give an ice cream.