Pt.3 Vol.2 One Mans Journey From Adult Non-Swimmer To Swimmer
Last time Peter shared with us some of his first experiences swimming around Lady Elliot Island. He now continues this story and talks about his other swimming fear, Treading water.
Below are photos of Lady Elliot Island and me snorkelling in the eastern lagoon on my first day:-
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| Lady Elliot Island |
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| Peter Snorkeling |
Now here is another fear I will own up to. Treading water was something I had rarely done since I started swimming. For some reason, I always avoided doing it, even in just 2 mtrs of water a swimming pool all this time, and now I had to all of a sudden do it in 10 mtrs. The flippers helped a lot and I managed to tread water OK in the end, but boy, was I scared at the start! I was starting to feel comfortable and relaxed again and was enjoying the underwater scenery, but I got a bit tired and decided to go back to the platform. While I was sitting there taking everything in, Nick asked me how I was enjoying it, and when I told him this was only my third day ever in the sea, he quickly grabbed his gear jumped in and said: “come on, follow me”.
He took me to some spots I would have never have found on my own or with Richard, and for the second time, we spotted a reef shark below us and one massive turtle which we followed for a while. Nick was constantly pointing creatures out that was slightly hidden in crevices or hollows between corals, and suddenly I could see another world that I did not know existed. That was the best 20 minutes of snorkelling I had done. I thanked Nick for his assistance, and he complimented me on my ability and courage to be out there as a rank beginner.
So that was my fantastic snorkelling holiday, just the best four days I could have ever imagined and something I would not have been able to do if I could not swim.
There were many social highlights and constant laughs while we were on the island, between the four of us. I could write another story about that one day. The story about the “Gaytime ice cream” is a classic. I am not saying any more about this. I want to go to Lady Elliot every year like I do Falls Creek for skiing. I hope that both destinations will turn into yearly holidays for Richard and me, our families & friends.
Next, Peter tries his hand at adult swim squad.
Enjoy
Richard
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