I have a love/hate relationship with the beach and it took me quite a while to be able to be comfortable on the beach, when I moved to Esperance.
It’s sad really because the beaches we have here are magnificent and I do love spending time on them – especially when a crowded beach in Esperance means there’s usually only a few people on them.
Growing up in the Flinders Ranges, where heat, dust and flies are common, the sea and sand isn’t second nature to me. I have a very healthy respect of the clear, blue waters – if you ever want to see someone climb air, you just need to get me out in to about my knees and then have some seaweed wrap around my ankle! God knows what I think it is, but it scares the crap out of me.
I’ve had my kids laugh very hard at me when I’ve tripped over trying to get back into the shore line quickly and gone head over heels into the water, then gasping for air, tried to come come flying into the shore. Someone asked me once why I don’t do my laps in the sea, instead of a chlorine filled pool. Well, there was a report of a shark in NSW once and that’s enough for me to head to the pool.
Having the celtic skin that burns, then peels and goes white again, the beach is fraught with danger if I’m not under cover of some sort, whether it’s clothes of a shade. As a ‘desert-dweller’ moved coastal, my ideal now, is sitting on the sand with a book and a glass of wine.
Walking and beachcombing is fun too and I’m much more of a shore-lover than being out in the water. Once an Inlander always an Inlander! Give me flies and solid ground any day!
My kids are really different to me, so I believe there’s a huge difference between inland and coastal kids, when it comes to being comfortable at the beach! They’ve grown up spending summertime in their massive big back yard, learning to swim in the sea and hanging out on the beach,
My daughter loves the water and spends hours exploring new beaches and swimming where she feels comfortable and my son, who hasn’t any fear, takes his body board out so far into the waves, I feel anxious! But he doesn’t mind.
Neither of them mind touching fish – in fact they’ll chase me with the ones which have been caught, whereas I don’t like even touching them. Give them to me filleted and I’ll cook them for you.
I watch my two kids who have grown up with the sea in their backyard and marvel how nothing which bothers me, worries them.
They’re happy to take the body-board out so far, they can’t hear me yelling for them to come closer. The seaweed – ha! That’s just part of it, and the sand? ‘Mum, stopping bugging us. We’ll have a shower when we get home!’
With January being the time for holidays (if you’re not feeding stock and checking waters) I hope you’ve had time to spend it in your favourite spot. And read a good book to boot.
