Australia-Coffin Bay

1/5/10

The last night on the boat, Ben asked me when I was flying out of Port Lincoln and I said 8pm and I had no idea what I was going to do all day.  Port Lincoln is not very exciting.  Then he invited me to spend the day with him and his family and I happily accepted the invitation.

His mom and stepdad showed up around 9am so we said our goodbyes to everyone on the boat then drove off. We took a 30 minute drive to a beautiful place called Coffin Bay.  We found a beach and waded in the water and Ben filled a bag with clams that they'd eat later.

We drove along the Bay for a while until we could drive no further (the road ended).  Ben's stepdad wanted to go back into town to confirm something online so we had some time to explore the beach.  Ben and I ventured across an almost deserted beach until we reached this massive mountain of a sand dune.  And of course we had to climb it.

It was a lot harder to climb than I expected.  The sand was hot and it was hard to walk without sliding but we made it to the top and were treated to a breathtaking view of the beach and the Bay and the islands around it.  I stood there for a few moments taking everything in-the sand between my toes, the pain of the massive sunburn I was getting, the warm wind, the crystal clear water below.  God I was so content and that's when I realized that life doesn't get any better than this.

We eventually came down.  Ben back flipped down but I stuck to running.  It was fun!  If it hadn't been so high I would've gone again.

We walked back to the parking lot and sat in the shade with Ben's mum while we waited for his stepdad to come back.  When he did get back he came with exciting news.  Rodney Fox was in town!  Ben's family has a little beach house and the Foxes have the house next door so they're actually friends.  We drove over to this campground about 5 mins away and found Rodney's wife sitting in the car.  Ben's mom and stepdad said hello and chatted and then Rodney arrived!  He said hi to everyone and as he shook my hand I told him what an honor it was to actually meet him.  We all talked about the sharks and diving and then just normal everyday stuff.  The whole time I was in shock.  Here I was standing next to the man himself, the most famous shark attack survivor ever.  

Ben had mentioned to his mom that I've slept with a stuffed great white shark since I was 6 and I had it with me.  I don't ever sleep without him.  She then had the great idea to get a picture of me, Rodney and Sharky. 

 

I will cherish that picture as long as I live!  And to top it off, Rodney held Sharky and even stroked his back.  This probably sounds so lame, but it was so awesome!  We probably could have talked to the Foxes for hours but sadly we had to get back to Port Lincoln so I could catch my flight.  We said goodbye and I assured him I'd be back on the boat later this year (it will probably be in 2011 though.  I'm aiming for June, the best month for great white action).  

We went back into town and Ben's family treated us to a beautiful dinner of pizza, prawns, calamari, mussles, oysters and fish at a restaurant with a view of the water.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  I was completely knackered by the time I got back to Adelaide so I took a long hot shower, watched a bit of telly then went to bed, dreaming of sharks and beaches.