Relaxing after a big day are (top, from left) Richard
Penno, Matt Luxton, James Smith and Niven Winchester.
If you could plan your ultimate day, packed with Otago
activities, what would you do? Surfing? Golf? Skiing? Laura
Hewson talks to a Dunedin man who did all these things. And
more.
No matter where you live in Otago, it's hard to turn around
without coming across a mountain, river or beach - just some
of the geographical features you can make use of in an Otago
activities day.
The idea behind the day is simple - find a group of
like-minded people, pick a date and choose your activities.
Remember, this is no ordinary day.
It's meant to be a mammoth, once-a-year event involving as
many activities as you can fit in.
Everyone's idea of the perfect day is different.
It could be a family event involving the kids, or a more
adrenaline-packed day with friends.
You could stay in your own part of the region or cover some
serious ground.
The important thing is to stick with the date, even if it
means adjusting your plans for wet weather, or losing part of
your group if something comes up.
Otherwise, it might just never happen.
James Smith (33) had been thinking of doing an activities day
for three to four years.
"The hard part was finding people who would say 'yes', no
matter what happened on the day."
Then, one day, he mentioned the idea to Karitane farmer and
sports fan Richard Penno.
"Debate soon raged over what we could do and how we were to
go about it," says James.
"The decision was, do we do four things well, or eight things
rushed?"
"We agreed that there was no easy way to organise this except
pick a day and go for it, no matter what the weather
conditions were like.
"We just said to ourselves, no matter what the weather was
like on the day, we just needed to be able to adapt if needs
be.
"For example, if the surf was no good, then we would go for a
swim."
While others may prefer waiting until the weather is warmer
to plan their day, James' group held theirs in early
September last year because it bridged the end of the ski
season and the beginning of spring.
"It's not too cold and the daylight hours are longer," James
says.
And daylight hours are important when you have an ambitious
schedule such as theirs:
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