Survivor goes back in

Unicycling champ Christian Huriwai was sure he was going to drown near Glinks Gully. Photo / Malcolm Pullman

An extreme sport champion is relishing the lessons he learned from nearly dying in the surf last weekend.

Christian Huriwai, 19, said almost drowning on the Kaipara Coast on New Year's Eve was a "good experience", because it taught him a few life lessons.

Huriwai hopes others learn from his mistakes and "be a bit more careful" in the water. "You always think it's not going to happen to you, but it can."

The 19-year-old world street unicycling champion, from Otaua, near Kaikohe, said his main message was that swimmers should respect the power of the ocean and avoid going out of their depth.

Huriwai got into difficulty when he went for an early-morning swim with his friend Mike Padial off the Third Stream campsite, south of Glinks Gully.

"The sea was really rough, but it looked quite appealing. Some big waves were coming through so we thought, 'cool, let's have fun'."

He found himself in a rip and was at first pleased it was taking him further out. But he was pulled towards some big waves and found himself tiring. Padial tried to pull him in, but Huriwai told his friend to let him go.

"I was 100 per cent sure I was going to die then. I felt there was no chance."

The waves pushed him under the water and an exhausted Huriwai was ready to "let the water take me away".

However, the "pain of dying" each time he started to give up gave him an energy boost that brought him back to the surface. Then, to his surprise, his feet touched sand. He doesn't remember Padial dragging him out of the water, nor the 14km drive along the beach to the Juretich family bach. A visiting policeman and retired ambulance officer nursed him as he vomited repeatedly.

He went to Dargaville Hospital for a check-up but was able to return to his campsite the same night. Determined not to let the experience put him off the water, Huriwai went for a paddle that night. The next morning he went for a swim - but not out of his depth.