Wave-riding Kiwi granny high on crest
17 Apr 2009
An 80-year-old New Zealand grandmother who spends summer riding the waves at Piha beach - one of Auckland’s wild west coast beaches - has no intention of giving up her passion for surfing.
Audrey Irvine, who learned to boogie board at age 51, is living proof that the ‘use it or lose it’ philosophy works. And, the surf-mad grandmother of two, who battles the breakers at Piha every day during summer, has no plans to stop despite her great age.
"I don’t feel my age," Mrs Irvine said. "Especially when I’m out there in the waves."
Water confidence
Mrs Irvine has been kitting up in a three-quarter wetsuit and heading to the beach since 1980 when she first started boogie-boarding.
She grew up in Taranaki and as a youngster spent a lot of time at Onaero beach, near New Plymouth.
"Dad used to take me on his back way out past the waves, swim around and then bring me back in," she said.
"One day he just left me out there and I swam all the way back to shore. I was always very confident in the water."
Wave-riding adventures
Mrs Irvine married husband John in 1954 and moved to Granny’s Bay on the Manukau harbour in Hillsborough, Auckland. Later, they bought a bach (holiday home) at Piha where the wave-riding adventures began.
"I decided to boogie-board because it was fun," she said. "I used to just swim and dive through the waves. Now I don’t know what to do if I don’t have my board."
The retired couple now split their time between Hillsborough and Piha, where they spend five to six months each summer.
Piha is 40km from Auckand city, and is one of New Zealand’s most famous surf beaches with a reputation for wild conditions and unforgiving rips and currents.
Weather permitting
"I’ll be out there every day for at least an hour, weather permitting," Mrs Irvine said.
The mother-of-three has owned three boards over her 29 years of surf riding, and only stays out of the tide if the weather is too rough.
"I’d be very embarrassed if I was drowning and they had to come and save me. Fortunately I’ve never been in any dangerous situations," she said.
Living every moment
Although Mrs Irvine has always been fit and healthy, enjoying badminton, tennis and horse riding during her younger years, she said it hadn’t all been a clear ride.
Her share of major health scares has included beating breast cancer at 38, and colon cancer at 62.
"Surviving has made me live every moment. I don’t want to miss anything. "Not many of my friends go swimming any more but I can’t wait for next summer.
"I don’t want to stop," she said.
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