Murrays Bay Point

After swimming the other weekend I decided to explore a beach with the metal detector that we swim past all the time but that I’d never walked on.

The mural behind me used to be a caricature/portrait of Jacinda Ardern, and changed to the Irish flag during the Rugby World Cup last year.

Just around the corner from the mural is this grotto, which looked like some kind of movie set. It’s just a short walk along the rocky shoreline but felt very secluded and secret. I bet a lot of local teenagers have stories to tell about that time they sneaked over there and …

But unfortunately for me, not as many of them dropped coins and earrings as I’d hoped, so the metal detecting was a bust. I’ve tried a few less popular beaches in the hope that other detectorists might have left them untouched, but so far all the good stuff I’ve found has been right out in the open.