Monday, June 17, 2013

Rock Pools, Kelp and Beach Good Times - Wye River

On our first visit to the beach the tide was out and there were rock pools to explore. We found lots of snails and sea anemones but the tide needed to recede a little further to spot sea-stars and crabs. The glassy clear waters of the rock pools can look so clean that they seem empty, until you put your foot in one and realise its filled with water.


 

 




 

Wye River Beach has lots of kelp.  Kelp to play dress ups with, and long rubbery games of tug of war.



Storm drain monster graffiti. Sadly we had to explain to the children why playing with the storm water, after a storm, wasn't really a good idea. He does look like a giant E.coli monster.

 
Stick boats - get sticks, seaweed, a feather or two, whack them together, and launch. Follow the boats journey down the river to the mouth of the sea, declare a winner. There were may boats launched over the week.





 
 
 



 

Mancinos and Ladycinos.  Our kids are getting a bit big for babycinos but are really not enamoured with hot chocolates, often leaving half behind because they are too rich or sweet.  Move in the upsized babycino, the perfect winter warmer, without all the sugar.





You can often tell a good coffee by the residue it leaves behind, if there is a clean cup when it's emptied, things aren't good.  I have been known to peer into vacant cups before entering a cafe. The coffees are always beautiful at the Wye River General Store, and leave joyous lines of coffee bunting behind (can you tell I really love a good coffee?).

Wye River is such a great destination, where you can walk from the beach, to a cafe, then to a playground, then the river, then the bush, then back to the Caravan Park, and later, stroll to the pub for dinner. Wonderful car free days make this family very happy.
 








Heights, Fear - The Otway Fly

How are you with heights? I'm OK, but then suddenly I'm not OK. Walking amongst the tree tops of a rainforest is exquisitely beautiful, I'm at once joyous and overwhelmed, lofty terrain makes my head spin. I'm happier on the ground, feet in the mud. I could walk this steel platform with relative ease - but  all the while I'm looking forward to getting to the end. I'm looking and admiring with haste. The conversation in my head "Ooh lovely tree ferns.... is it over yet?... all looks perfectly safe... although that guy died building one of these in WA, what's that pretty bird call? what's that creaking sound? ". I once read that a fear of heights is actually a fear of jumping, I think there's something in that, a lack of trust in my ability to have control of myself.  I was also terrified of getting my car license, I put it off for years and it took me a long time to feel ok about driving. Slightly nutty, but that's the thing about fear, it's not always entirely rational.



These huge Mountain Ash were swaying in the wind, it is amazing to see how much a tree moves at canopy level. These are the tallest hardwood trees in the world, and they are remarkably straight, an unfortunate characteristics in a timber hungry world.




Looking Up

Whilst I was coping with the board walk, climbing the Otway Fly tower messed with me, and I had to have a bit of a sit down.  Sometimes you face your fears and are not glad for it, that's a very forced grin. I don't like towers.



 Of course the kids were fine, even making this cantilever swing, for some extra thrills.
 Actually I think my own little freak out was giving the middle Bowerbird the heebie jeebies, as much as I hate to share my phobias, they do pick up on our fears.

I was so pleased to be back on the ground finding mossy beards. 




Heebie Jeebies - Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five


Great quote from Peter Helliar "There's no courage without fear".  I highly recommend listening to this inspiration bomb put out by Big Hearted Business.
http://bigheartedbusiness.clarebowditch.com/?bomb=inspiration-bomb-pete-helliar
I'm needing a little courage of my own this week, but more about that later.