Sandbar Shenanigans

What’s not to love about a visit to the beach?

While, relaxation has been my priority at the beach, some of my children, while on holiday,  have viewed a visit to the beach as an opportunity to put their personal training ambitions to the test, with me as their subject. Not wanting to disappoint them,  I found myself wading through waist deep water against the current. Encouraging words reached my ears. “This will be a  great workout for your thighs, Mum. It’s not hard, they train horses like this all the time!” .Gritting my teeth, channeling  my inner Phar Lap, thighs burning,  I pushed, slipped and gurgled my way across the bay to the Pass. (The surf gutters were quite deep at the time.)  Not content with trying to trim my  pear shaped bits, my personal trainers also had a thing about cardio! Soon I found myself power-walking along the beach. Now this was not a good look.  I found myself breathless and  unable to talk, ( a serious impediment if you ask me.) I couldn’t stop to greet friends who were leisurely taking in the sights as my personal trainer would proclaim, “Come on Mum … you can talk later … come on … catch up … you can do it …”

But holidays pass and fitness trainers return to work. The beach has once again become a place where I can immerse myself in a natural mineral spa as I swim, surf or just float about in warm ocean currents.  It’s a place where I can dabble my feet in the shallows, sink my toes into soft white sand and  laze away an afternoon under the beach umbrella accompanied by a good book. This was especially true  this  week. Long sandbars appeared almost overnight in the bay.  Wonderful rock pools were revealed, perfect for floating or snorkeling in. Thigh sculpting was impossible as the water was too shallow. I walked from the Pass almost to Main Beach, moving from sandbar to sandbar. I had to dawdle. Power-walking was impossible.  After all,  I had to watch where I was  putting my feet. I didn’t want to find a hidden rock! . The view from the sandbar to the beach was so lovely! There were lots of five and six year old having their first snorkeling lesson. The excitement when they spotted their first fish hiding under the rocks was infectious. Maybe tomorrow I will put on my goggles and join them.