I hobble over the rocks to get to the water, they’re cold and sharp on the bottom of my feet. The clouds to the south are threatening a storm. I wade in and struggle to move forward as the tide pushes me sideways out towards the ocean. I make it to the sand bank and over to the beach and start walking as I plan to swim back down the river with the tide. Every now and then when the sun pokes through, the sky reflects on the ground. I can see small patches of blue sky, grey and white clouds and the sun all by looking on the water at my feet sliding back to the ocean over the hard packed sand.
There’s people surfing today on the northern end of the beach, I see one purposely dive high up off his board and over the back of the wave. It’s usually a deserted beach but today it’s the perfect spot for those who find their peace riding a wave. The sand changes from hard packed to soft and sinky as I walk up away from the water to cross the spit. I can smell the lantana and try to avoid any prickles on the ground as I pad through to the river. The river temperature isn’t comfortable and there’s a slight head wind making the surface bumpy, I smile and realise it’s not just the sunny clear warm water days that I love, I love the changing conditions almost as much. That I can swim in the same place but every swim is different depending on the tide, the temperature of the water or the air, the weather, the company. The water is cool so I do backstroke for about 500m to avoid putting my face in until I warm up a bit, when I roll over and glide into freestyle the water is a dark green colour, so different from the days of bright blue. It’s a bit merky but I can still see the bottom and the tide is still with me. My core feels warm and comfortable under my wetsuit and my face soon gets used to the water temperature. I don’t try and swim straight today, I curve around trying to stay in the deeper channel as low tide is not far away. When I get back to the boat ramp I take my wetsuit off in the water, it’s so much easier than struggling with it in the carpark. It’s like taking off a warm blanket as the water touches my skin. I wish my swim wasn’t already over for the day but it’s done it’s job. I feel well.
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AuthorKirrilee Archives
September 2018
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