Sometimes it's a little freaky living by the beach. Every time there is a tsunami warning, I'm mentally checking what I might need to grab if we had to leave home in a hurry, and what the best route to take is so that we don't get over taken by a tsunami. This latest warning after the 7.8 7.6 earthquake this morning at the Kermadec Islands got me a little concerned as I was getting up for the day, but apparently, no biggie down here, not to worry, it's all ok. Well, to the afternoon and my youngest son's swimming lesson, which is right by the beach. We arrived to find driftwood and mud in the carpark, as if the tide had come right up and washed over everything. And then right next to the carpark, this is what the mouth of the Wharemauku stream looked like as water poured both into it from the sea and out of the river itself, which was already high due to the rain. I've never seen the entire area covered in water like that before. After the swimming ...