Coral Bay and a Coconut Faux Pas

The beach was but a hop, skip and jump away from the Caravan park so we toddled off early to enjoy a relaxing day without any prior commitments or organized festivities. The reef was literally 50 metres into the turquoise blue water which was relatively warm compared to Monkey Mia (but still cold enough to make Coley shiver within 5 minutes of entering). The coral looked quite bleached out and most was likely dead or dying but the fish were incredible. It was like swimming in your own tropical fish tank. There were plenty of wrasse of all shapes and colours as well as other species of iridescent blue, bright yellow and black striped, purple, black, silver ….the list could go on and on. Most of the coral was flower or cabbage-like with layer upon circling layer of sheaths. We played and snorkeled until late in the afternoon and then packed up to get stuck into a little bit of school work and some dinner preparations. Cole had found a coconut in the shallows and we brought it back to camp to see if it was any good. I had never encountered a bad coconut so started hacking away without a worry. After gouging into the outer casing a vivid odour began to emerge which only permeated the air further as I made a puncture into the inner cavity. It was off and well off. I subtly carried it and all pieces to the adjacent garbage bins and quickly plopped it inside. The odour just seemed to get worse and gather momentum, leaving an fetid-smelling stain on the environment for hours afterwards – I will take more care next time I find a lone coconut washed up on the beach! Having suffered inhaling putrid coconut I wandered off to find some cold beer and found Jen and Piper en route in search of a fizzy drink. We found a resort with the only bottle shop in town and in it - some coveted Guinness – icy cold! On our way back I looked ahead and saw a man who looked rather familiar – someone we knew from Narrandera – John Prior. He was up visiting his daughter who now lives in WA and just happened to be heading further north like us. Once back at base camp we sorted out some Pad Thai for the masses and tucked in early to bed – exhausted from all the humidity and eventful day.