Postcards from New Zealand: Day Forty-Two

How do you know, assessing a beach, whether the tide is coming in or going out? Today, we went to Karekare to practice our kung fu, and Aldo chose a spot right by the water, where the sand is packed hard. I trekked far, far away from the waves to put down our stuff in a safe place, and he said, "Why are you putting it all the way over there? The tide is way out." I said that, since the sand near the water was dry, the tide was coming in. We've been to Karekare when the tide was going out, and it leaves a deep slick of reflective water on the sand. But, he didn't believe me, and moved our things closer. So, two hours later, when we weren't paying attention, the water came up and licked all of our things with its waves.