The best way to have a relaxing holiday and enjoy the hustle-and-bustle-free city life is to go to the beach. Wide, white, sandy beach it must be. Gold Coast has the longest beach coastline in the southern hemisphere. Surfer's Paradise, as its name suggests, is the best spot for surfing and swimming. We did not have enough time to learn surfing, so we went bodysurfing in the sea (well, that is, chasing after the big waves or letting the waves chase us) as well as basking in the sunshine. The 2-hour there was well-spent, the sun-bathing was heavenly. To simply lie down on the beach enjoying the 25 degree pleasant warmth is what I would ask for if given more time. Of course, taking up surfing lesson is also in one of my Things-to-do list if I ever get the chance to visit Gold Coast in the right season.
Before starting our first swim, there was a barrier we had to overcome - the icy cold sea water. With an outside temperature of 25 degree C, I believe the water was only 5 degree C! I gradually stepped down towards the sea hoping to get slowly used to the temperature, but when it got to knee high, I just could not go further. My whole shoulder went stiff, goosebump came rushing out and I started shivering when a combination of wind and water accidentally hit my body surface. It struck me when Adrian suggested we waste no time so we decided to "Go for Glory!" After enduring a 3-min soak in ice water, my body went numb as if having sensory neurones malfunction.
Bodysurfing is not easy at all on first try. We saw an Ah Pek who was quite good at it, and we tried to follow suit. When the big waves came crashing, we swam as fast as we could towards the shore, riding on the waves. On my first attempt, my entire body was drawn in to the waves which forced a 360 degree turn and swept me almost to knee-depth near the shore. The feeling of helplessness can be quite scary if you are completely out of control. After a few times, we got slightly better and we were both quite exhausted already. With such beautiful weather, we took quite a long rest sunbathing, which was really wonderful. When we returned to the sea for the final round, I can assure you that was the most torturing thing that can ever happen. The sea water was colder than the first time! Imagine our bodies had been kept so pleasantly warm. Somehow, we had to bite our lips and "Go for Glory 2!"
Later on, we had Croc meat and Emu meat to feed our hungry stomach. Crocodile meat tastes like fish, but slightly harder, while emu meat tastes like deer meat.
No comments:
Post a Comment