Day 40 Rest Day
Waking up knowing I had a rest day off the water set me up for a day of high spirits, unfortunately I wasn’t able to embrace any kind of sleep in; Nic and I were off to visit the Sunshine Coast Hot 91 radio crew.
I had a feeling i’d be in for a morning of laughs as I’ve been speaking with the staff at Hot 91 over the duration of the paddle and the constant quick whit and sarcasm became a chat i looked forward to every few days for checkins and progress updates.
The fun started before we even entered the station building with Nic singing into their intercom system and me dropping to the ground in tears of laughter. Moments later Ash one of my beautiful swimming/mermaid sista friends from my days living on the Sunny Coast appeared and we smuggled our way into the building with her.
Once upstairs we met the rest of the crew and Ash offered us tea, coffee, cereal and toast, her hospitality went above and beyond. However things got interesting when she made note of forgetting how to actually make coffee and she was putting tea bags in glasses of milk! We got there eventually and i had my standard long black and green tea to kick off the morning.
Entering the radio studio room and looking around at all the fancy equipment had me a bit nervous but the crew were laughing, joking and mocking each other so much that the vibe was anything but intense! I had head sets to wear and crazy looking microphones to stand in front of and speak into, Sam and Nerissa the morning presenters gave one heck of an introduction of me followed by the Disney Little Mermaid theme song ‘Under the Sea’. The interview was really great we had loads of fun talked about the random adventures and things id seen but also covered the seriousness of why i had actually begun this paddle and the message and meaning behind it.
Sam cam up with this ‘amazing idea’ that he would jump onto a loading trolley on his knees and drag himself around the corridors of the studio in the hopes to stimulate a paddling technique and get some tips from me. It was all going fairly well until Sam took the ramp down to the lower level and the trolley fly down hurtling him head-on into a wall. It was one of the craziest and funniest things I’ve seen, there was some solid commitment behind that paddle attempt. I was concerned about his neck and the jolt of it all but he assured me everything was fine as he laughed and fell to the ground in tears followed by me and the rest of the crew doing pretty much the same. Check out the link below to hear and see the interview!
The rest of the day wasn’t much of a rest day (pun intended), Nic and I raced back to our accommodation where i had a photo shoot with a local news photographer. So we grabbed my pretty JM board and wandered down to the beach. It was a stunning morning but the winds were up which i was taking note of as i pre planned the scenarios of the next days paddle in my head.
I also managed to squeeze in a surprise visit at Verede Hair Art in Noosa Junction owned by my best friend Steph! The look on her face was priceless and it was great to catch her working on no other than Jordie Mercer’s mum’s hair! So there was loads of laughs, stories and paddle appreciation going on as Jordie had literally finished her Molokai paddle race just days earlier where she cleaned up claiming her 7th World Title! I have so much admiration and respect for Jordie!
The rest of the day was spent packing, sorting, organising, cleaning, maintenance of equipment and craft.
This rest day was truly needed and all the laughs that came with it truly refreshed my spirit creating an abundance of new found energy and optimism. Onwards and upwards, the finish line is almost in sight but I’m still not allowing myself to think about the end until the moment i paddle around the iconic points of the Noosa National Park.
http://www.hot91.com.au/sam-nerissa/latest-from-sam-nerissa/57116-the-mermaid-is-getting-closer
http://www.hot91.com.au/sam-nerissa/latest-from-sam-nerissa/54562-newcastle-to-noosa-on-her-knees
https://www.facebook.com/hot91/?fref=ts
