Coral Bay

After Monkey Mia, we continued our journey up the coast to Coral Bay, another resort area situated on Ningaloo Reef, one of the world's largest coral reefs. The wildlife there was breathtaking. We had options of going on different excursions during the day provided by the resort. The one that I chose was an all day boat trip in which we got three snorkel trips down into the reef itself. The coolest part was that Ningaloo Reef is home to one of the world's only permanent populations of Manta Rays. So for one of our snorkels, they sent up a bi-plane to find where the mantas were and then we boated over to them to snorkel with them. On our first snorkel, we simply learned the basics of snorkeling and learning to swim just above the reef, looking down onto all of the coral and marine wildlife below us. We saw some black-tip reef sharks and hundreds of different species of fish darting in and out among the coral. On our second snorkel (after lunch, the resulting sea-sickness of two of our group, a 15 foot long tiger shark swimming underneath our boat, and searching for a mama humpback whale and her calf that had apparently wandered into the bay to no avail) we went to find the Mantas. Once we found them, we had to slip into the water slowly as to not scare them away (they don't have stingers so their only defense is swimming away in a rather swift fashion. gentle giants) and snorkel over the top of them. They feed on small plankton by doing back flips with their mouths open in the water. I cannot put into words how amazing these creatures were. Almost 15 feet wide at the wingtips, it seemed almost dreamlike and artistic the way they swam and almost unreal that they were arms length away. It almost made me forget about the prospect of meeting the 15 foot long Tiger Shark that had swam under our boat while we had lunch. Almost. Our third snorkel was much like our first, we found a good spot to go into the reef and swim around looking at all the fish and coral. I wish I could find a way to make it sound less mundane, but I could have snorkeled for hours. It's amazing to finally realize that the song Sebastian sings in the Little Mermaid, "Under the Sea" is actually true. When you're in a marine environment it's insane just to see what kinds of variance nature is capable of and walking the thin line between enjoying the moment and savoring it in all of its beautiful immediacy and the grandeur of knowing that I will probably never in my life, or at least not for a very long time, experience this again. It was definitely something to think about while watching the waves on the trip back to camp.

That night, we journeyed down to the beach, set up blankets on the sand, cracked some fine Emu Exports and gazed into the stars, trying to find our familiar constellations in the southern hemisphere upside down. And before you know it, we were on the road again, this time inland into mining country and Karijini National Park.

More Pictures from Monkey Mia

Liberation

On the Beach, Monkey Mia

The horizon is so flat it's
biblical. The clouds are
yonder. They wander. Heavy
and dark like God's opals.
Four Germans stand about
waist deep in the still
water. Their language is
unfamiliar but their laughter
is not. From the sand,
I share a smile out
across the ocean.

More Northwest Trip

After Nature's Window and another day on the road, we made our way up to Monkey Mia, a popular tourist destination for many Western Australianers. Here, they have a population of dolphins that have a very close kinship with us shorefolk. Early in the morning we went down to the beach and the dolphins came right up to us on the beach.

In the afternoon, a few of us rented kayaks and kayaked up the coast a ways, simply adventuring and enjoying the day, hoping that the dolphins might be inquisitive enough to come swim with us. Unfortunately, no luck.

I thought he looked like an Earl.

Absence

Hello. So yeah, it's been two months since I posted last. For this, I am incredibly sorry. But it has been a hell of a two months, full of ups and downs, comings and goings. Over the next few days, I think I owe it to everyone, including myself, to talk about what I've been up to down here. Let's see. When I left off, I was just leaving for the trip Northwest. It was 10 days of tent camping and we covered a good portion of Western Australia traveling up along the coast, inland to the desert and then back down to Perth. I saw some of the most incredible things that I know I will never see again in my life and forged friendships that will last my entire life. A time of shaping, star-gazing and bus window ponderance.

While traveling along the coast, we stopped at many views that snatched the breath right out from underneath all of us. One particular place was Nature's Window. A hike along the rocky outcropping of a gorge that provided a view spanning for miles in every direction. The rocks we were walking on felt incredibly old. I mean, they were, but you could feel it. You could feel the stories cool against your palms. At one point I found myself sitting in a ledge of the gorge closing my eyes and just listening with my hands on the rocks. Before I knew it, the group was moving on and I had to sprint back up to everybody for a picture.

New Bed

Today, I get a new bed. A longer bed! Thank the lord jesus. No more sleeping in the fetal position or having to let my feet dangle off the end at the ankles. In other news, life is starting to move quickly. There is so much swirling around I am ready for a break. Last friday, we went on a tour of Fremantle prison (closed only in 1991). It was a bone-chilling experience at times, especially in the gallows, staring down the hangman's noose wondering what manner of napes had been cut short on its foul fibers.

I also am competing in Uni-games! It's a nation-wide sports competition that runs for about 10 days with all different sports and teams from universities all over Australia. This year it's being held in Perth at UWA (University of Western Australia) from September 27th to October 3rd. Murdoch is the defending champ for tennis so I gotta take it pretty seriously and get training. I also gotta bust out my sliding shoes because it's on none other than red clay. I am really excited at the opportunity to be able to represent the US at Uni-games as well as help defend the title for Murdoch. It should be too much fun!

Tomorrow, I embark on a 10-day backpacking trip through the Northwestern outback and I am looking forward to the break and welcoming the opportunity for time to slow down again! There has been so much on my mind lately and I need a chance to just sit back and let it all sift through my brain. To all my loved ones, acquaintances and friends back in Madison I wish you all heaps of luck moving in and starting the semester off on the right foot. Until next time.

Where Waves Come From

I think tears,

(The word previous could be pronounced one of two ways: either the plural of tear, meaning to rend or separate in a jarring or abrupt fashion, or the plural of tear, referring to the saline fluid that falls down cheeks when experiencing large amounts of emotion.)

they come from the same place as waves.

I plucked
a conch shell from the sand and held it to my ear.
It did not give me your voice
as I had hoped
it would.

It gave me the sound of the waves
crashing
& crashing.