Monday 20 February 2012

Thrills, tranquility and reflection.

Camping on the foreshore at Port Lincoln has been, at times, most scenic and tranquil. We have woken in the morning and watched the yachts sail past in a regatta, enjoyed seeing the kids fish off the pier - Zach catching his first ever fish (a tommy ruff), and Josh catching 2 squid and a King George Whiting.

Swimming with tuna has to be one of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far. The sheer size and speed as they swam by you and took bait from our hands took our breath away. There was also a underwater observatory to watch them feeding. The ferocity at which they were swimming shook the whole under water enclosure. A close eye was kept on how the tuna were being fed as each fish is worth $2000, and they can easily injure themselves if their pilchard is fed to them near the edge of the platform. Abbey and Zach enjoyed to the touch pool, Zach being able to hold a Port Jackson shark and Abbey being able to hold a seahorse. On our boat journey back to shore a dolphin swam gracefully along side the boat. On the boat we met a great couple (Hamish & Sara) with 2 boys (Oliver & Ned) Zach and Matt's age and a daughter (Ivy) a year older than Abbey. They joined us for tea that night. The kids and adults alike hit it off and chatted about our destinations (past & future), hopes and dreams of the trip.

On a day trip out to Coffin Bay we explored different beaches - Matt found 2 sharks eggs, and a flock of Cape Baron Geese wandered blissfully by. We would have loved to have swum and snorkelled at many of the beaches at Coffin Bay except the rips and undertows were too strong.

Homesickness has hit hard..... Combined with the awesome technology of Skype, chatting to the grandparents and friends, Abbey particularly wanted to go home, as did Matt, then with great sadness we heard of the sudden death of a friend from home. All this combined we had a couple of days of feeling discontent.

All in all we did have a lovely time here and, the foreshore farmers market listening to a couple of young boys sing and play guitar, watching the moon glisten over the bay and the shadow of Josh's body out on the pier fishing til late, having a seal visit the pier and frolic playfully, were some simple but lasting memories.

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