Staying Active in Winter

Winter didn’t stop a group of Campbell students from learning to surf for the very first time recently. It was one of many outdoor activities that students can do on the weekends while studying English at our campus in Auckland. At our Wellington campus, we encourage students to stay active with biweekly yoga classes, after-class and weekend Campbell Activities, including a windsurfing lesson with Marito Nunes, a windsurfer and a Campbell student from Chile.

In New Zealand, you are never more than 130 kilometres from the sea. It is easy to find the ultimate surf spot. Knowing this, Pierre and Agathe from France, Paola from Colombia, and Benjamin from Chile chose to drive to Muriwai beach to give surf a try. “It was really funny because it was everyone’s first time trying to stand on a surfboard,” shared Pierre. “We were so happy to be able to learn how to surf in New Zealand. We even enjoyed the windy drive to Muriwai – the landscape is beautiful.”

Dubbed the City of Sails, Auckland offers 29,000 kilometres of coastline with hundreds of beaches – from idyllic white-sand beaches to wild black-sand ones. The city is lively yet relaxing, with good weather and friendly people. Pierre always encouraged new students coming every week from different places to “not be shy and enjoy yourselves. Make you sure join in the activities like surfing because your time here is quick and the farewell will be hard.”

Marito Nunes chose windy Wellington to study English so he can windsurf whenever he wants. Marito was more than happy when Campbell Activities coordinator asked him to teach a group of Campbell students how to windsurf – an extreme sport that he has been practicing since he was 15 years old.

One weekend in June the group went to a lake in Porirua Harbour, located 21 kilometres north of Wellington. “The lake is perfect for beginners, with calm and shallow waters,” said Marito who was a Campbell Upper-Intermediate student.

“Marito taught us well. By the end of the lesson everyone has made a remarkable progress,” said a Campbell student from Germany, Philipp Gühr, who considered windsurfing as one of his favourite Campbell Activities.