At first you smugly think you have it figured out, that Mistaken Island is called that because people mistook it for an island, except that it IS an island. One very close to the mainland and separated only by a shallow stretch of pretty blue water, but an island none-the-less. It isn't even joined by an exposed land bridge in extreme low tides. If it weren't an island, then NO island could be called an island, because at some point, whether the sea is deep or shallow, the land joins them all to each other and the mainland.
I have been wanting to explore the island for ages but I never do. I fantasise about paddling out to all the small offshore islands here on the south coast. The other day I was on the paddle board and went across the short stretch of open water to Mistaken Island, hoping to take a closer look at the leeward side. But the S/W wind was so strong that I thought I might not be able to paddle back across the wind and end up 40 or 50km across the bay at Gull Rock. I am reviewing my fantasy and think I may need some mechanical or aero-dynamic assistance.
One day I am going to surf that beach. Today, for the second time in 2 weeks there were perfect pealing 2 to 3 ft waves, with a fat takeoff and a crumbly peak. Perfect for a very mediocre surfer like myself. I have never seen anyone surfing it, but local myths tell of summer days in an easterly swell where it has gone off. Today you would have had to surf without your leg-rope because there was so much seaweed. And the wind, though offshore up the beach where the best waves were, was almost too strong. But one day I am going to surf it and there will be no one else there.
Mistaken Island
