Day 516 (Month 17): February 28, 2026 – Auckland, New Zealand

In Olympic diving, the goal is to make as small a splash as possible. In the Z Manu World Champs competition in Auckland, it’s the opposite: make as big a splash as you can. The Manu is a Pacific-style bomb dive, where the jumper tucks their knees and lands flat to create the biggest possible splash. The higher the splash, the better the score.

I didn’t stay for the whole competition, so I don’t know who won, but during the time I was there, this was the highest splash.

Further down on the Auckland waterfront, a Mermaid Parade was in progress as part of the Auckland Ocean Festival. Participants were invited to dress as any sea creature: fish, jellyfish, mermaid, octopus. And some very creative sea creatures not found in any ocean!

(Melody, I wish you had been here to participate in this!)