Day 11 Camden Haven to Port Macquarie
Mother nature 1- Juliana 0
Waking up in the Camden Haven SLSC was breathtaking, the sunrise was stunning beyond words. The entire front of the building was glass and each window frame seemed to centre and frame the sunrise perfectly. From deep blues, to orangey yellows and bright white I was absolutely captivated. Its officially the fastest and most energetic moment i have emerged from bed the entire trip, I didn’t just emerge i flew out of bed to grab a photo of the magic!
As I made my way down to the waters edge Nik and Fish had already launched the jet ski and Fish was playing in the surf waiting for me. As I took off from the beach infant of the surf club it was lovely to have some of the surf club members see me off! Their hospitality was incredible, from home cooked meals, hot green tea delivered to me in the shower and mattress deliveries. Everyone went above and beyond to make sure my crew and i were super comfortable and settled!
As i paddled off already able to see my destination far off in the distance i felt today was going to be a good day! The water was as clear as ever, my shoulders felt light and were freely moving, the sun was even out! Things looked to be in my favour for a change!
An hour into the paddle i took a short break and sat on the mat of the jet ski, looking back in the direction of the surf club i saw a dorsal fin. I mentioned it to Fish ‘het finally a shark that wants to say hi’ alas it turned out to be a few dolphins who were following bait balls of fish! Shortly after the excitement I decided the sunshine was warm enough to dispose of a few layers, so off came my hood and spray jacket. The feeling was instant freedom and fun times!
Not too long afterwards the head wind picked up, and then some more and then more, until i was forced to put back my layers are re calculate the days paddle. With strong head winds i physically can’t push through them and make progress. So we made a call 12km into the paddle to turn around and head back to shore. It was at this moment i came down with hypothermia… i was not having a fun time at this point. Or as Fish says its the second kind of fun, the one you look back at after its over and can smile about!
Once arriving back at the surf club i was raced into the hot showers to try and get my body temperature back to normal, after quite some time i began to regain feeling in my hands and feet. But i did also come to realise a new little favourite thing of mine… a cup of green tea in a hot shower! This seriously can’t be beaten!
Later in the afternoon the winds only continued to increase from the north, this made for mother nature 1 : Juliana 0, so north to Port Macquarie we drove. Once arriving at Tacking Point SLSC Fish and I went exploring while Nik did the shopping and organising of our gear! We raced each other up the stair case towards the lighthouse that overlooks the stunning coast line! It was magic to just sit quietly for a few moments and look both north and south along the coast line. I can now look at headlands knowing where they are and am able to connect feelings, thoughts and emotions to them as i recall how i felt while paddling past them. Its an odd experience but something that will never leave me!
No one should have been out in that wind yesterday. I didn’t even go to golf!
Nice to see that you can see the beauty even in a bad frog day, who ever is taking the photo’s of you seems to know their game.