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The English like to refer to their seaside towns as resorts or sometimes even as "the Riviera of [insert local English name here]". So it was with this in mind that we set off for a day at the Riviera of the South East, Southend!
Southends major claim to fame is that they have the worlds longest [pleasure] pier, even if a bit of it did catch fire and fall in to the sea in 2004 (ok, it didnt fall in to the sea but it did catch fire). At around 7000ft long (less the bit that didn't fall in to the sea but caught on fire) you can either walk or catch a small electric train out to the end of the pier.
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Looking out from the seashore, the pier disappears off in to the distance. |
Riding out on the electric train. |
Rugged up because of the cold, but at least its not raining! :) |
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Bye bye train, the kids weren't too impressed about walking back to land :) |
One of the few constants in life is the fact that where ever you go in England all the seaside towns have tacky entertainment built right on the foreshore! Southend was no exception! The kids had a ball while we watched (as it should be according to Eimii and Whetu:) |
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Eimii and Whetu waiting for "The Dragon Claw" to take off! |
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And waiting for something to happen on "Skateboarder Dude"! |
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Looking down the beach, it does look relatively bleak but its really not that bad a beach, even if it is a far cry from the beach at Mahia! |
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What you got? |
Two satisfied kids! Eimii and Whetu enjoyed themselves even if it was cold (but at least it wasn't wet! :) |
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