At the inland beach in Orange over the Australia day weekend, it was hard to tell the two nipper clubs apart.

Kids from four to seventeen donned their pink vests and took to the water, ran on the sand and shared their skills and knowledge.

Orange Bush Nippers is one of the only inland clubs in New South Wales and was started in the central west city eight years ago.

“We wanted to do something different for kids, rather than just doing standard swimming lessons,” said Orange Bush Nippers President Mark Hodge.

“Give them something where they can have a bit of fun like a bit of swimming, jumping on some boards for a bit and do some running and flag racing.”

The club has grown and grown and it was the search for boards that led to a relationship forming between Orange and Dee Why.

“Dee Why was great from the start. They said we’ve got a bunch of boards you can have, would you come and pick them up,” Mark Hodge explained.

“And then they asked if we wanted to bring some kids with us and they’d give them a lesson and it’s just grown from there.”

So were Dee Why surprised to be contacted by an inland nippers club?

“At first I was, but I thought it was a fantastic program,” Warren Hannam, co-ordinator of Dee Why Nippers said.

“Anything we can give back to our friends in the bush is just fantastic and to see the smiles on the kids faces when they first catch waves is extraordinary and makes it all worthwhile.”

The relationship has also allowed the older members of the clubs to get their surf rescue certificates and Orange nippers help patrol the beach in summer.

“Last year, one of the Orange nippers saved the life of a seven year old kid from Manly who went straight into a rip and wasn’t swimming between the flags,” Mark Hodge explained.

“And even last weekend we had some of our nipper life savers at Dee Why and they did three rescues”.

But it’s not just about safety and swimming while the city nippers are in Orange.

“We’ve been sheep shearing, have seen cows being milked and so there are surprises around the corner, the kids always enjoy it,” Warren Hannam said.

So what do the nippers themselves love most about spending their long weekend training?

No matter what club they were from, Dee Why or Orange, they all just wanted to hit the water, help each other learn new skills and have fun with their friends.

The nippers spoke with ABC Producer Kia Handley. Listen to how they spent their Australia Day Weekend.