On whim we packed a picnic and hit the highway to get to the Organ Pipes National Park before the sunset. Once we had descended down to the valley floor, we were careful not to walk too far in any direction lest the fantasy of being miles away from the city be broken.
AN OBSESSION IS AWAKENED
As I sat daydreaming on a fallen log, dangling legs over rushing water, hours passed and the warm light faded and cooled. Little did I know that somewhere upstream those same rippling waters were casting a spell on my boyfriend and from that day onwards he would be a fly fisherman.
THREE MIDDLE AGED MEN IN A PINK DINGHY
We didn’t expect to ring in the New Year wondering whether three men in a pink dinghy were going to drown in a spontaneous burst of drunken cray-fishing. Luckily they didn’t, their children’s toy boat good humoured enough to keep afloat it heavy load, a held breath away from being inundated by each tiny wave.
Picnics on the beach next to strangers in fading light soon lead to lively conversations with a beer in the hand. Full bellied contentment, squint eyed games of beach cricket and frisbee lit by fireworks with Gracie dogs collar held tight.
THE OCEAN CRASHES ONTO THE ADVENTUROUS
Tourists tend to stick together, sometimes it’s hard to appreciate something when there are so many people trying so hard to do the same on all sides. We made a plan to return to the Twelve Apostles on a day that was not sun drenched Summer.
If you just venture a little to the west and down there are wilder adventures for those who leave the guide rail behind, past the Thunder Cave and onto the rocks. As we approached our fellow wanders they were frozen on the horizon in the act of a guilty holiday pleasure. They counted down the seconds until the wave crashed onto the rocks as he stood posed on an imaginary surfboard, the ocean had other things in mind, drenching them, squeals and all, washing away their hopes for a novelty holiday photo. Tourists can be determined though and we all rushed onto the cliff edge with renewed vigor to stand in various bizarre poses, playing chicken with the surf.