I Like Long Walks on the Beach...

I think that there are many people who picture paradise as a long white sand beach with a couple crooked palm trees and a hammock. I will admit to conjuring this image when someone uses that word. However, my recent experience shows this to be wrong. In truth, places like Karijini are paradises. I would've much rather spent the rest of our time exploring Karijini than left for the beach.

However, leave we had to, and I figured time at the beach would still be excellent. After a day's drive (during which I experienced the longest inning) and a night's sleep, we found ourselves at Coral Bay. I estimate the town at around six square blocks, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I only went into one shop, and that was to purchase sunscreen.

I was focused on the beach and the ocean. The white sand beaches of Coral Bay come up to the Indian Ocean. They are an excellent place to lie around and get sunburned. The water is chilly, but quite swimmable. As the bay's name suggests, it is home to a large reef. With the help of snorkels and masks, we explored it for most of the morning.

Between snorkeling sessions, we decided to rest on the beach. For the most part, this meant we were prone and not moving, as if we were in a Corona commercial. We also spent time juggling a soccer ball and making sand sculptures of women that one with a polite sensibility might describe as "well endowed."

Since I grew up far from the ocean, this kind of a day is something of a puzzle to me. On the one hand, I'm not really sure what to do. I cannot understand how some people can spend an entire day sitting on a beach doing nothing. I find this devastatingly boring. On the other hand, I find that exploring the ocean environment is a magical experience. My journal entry from the day at Coral Bay is telling: "I saw a sea turtle and a ray and it was so cool it turned me into a little kid."

After snorkeling in the morning, most of the group decided to take an afternoon ATV tour of the dunes south of town. We drove about 45 minutes out, snorkeled for a while, went on a bit further to a scenic overlook, then headed back for town. This was the first time I ever drove an ATV, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was great fun, especially after gassing us that noisy beast. Perhaps it's hypocritical, but I can see the appeal of driving those things, even though I would scream and curse if one (much less a dozen) came tearing through my camp.

I can also see how one might get himself into trouble on an ATV. Especially if this driver, let's call him "TJ," takes a u-shaped turn too fast, jumps off the trail, plows through some bushes and back onto the trail and jumps off the trail for a second time, finally coming to a stop just short of a bush populated by two very startled looking kangaroos. If that were to happen, hypothetically speaking, it might scare the driver, his passenger, and the ATV guide. They'd probably laugh about it later, though, since no harm was done.

After the ATV tour, we still had a couple hours to explore Coral Bay before we had to leave. A group of us hiked north in the bay, having heard rumors of a shark nursery that we could see. The tour that had visited Coral Bay the day before said that if you walked far enough, a sign would eventually indicate that you should look into the water to see the dark figures of dozens of reef sharks.

The original plan was to walk over and take a look at the nursery. However, we noticed that this left little time to swim and play, so we stopped at about half way, set our towels down on the beach and climbed into the water for a swim. After only a minute in the water, Ryan evaluated the current and determined that it was heading straight toward the shark nursery. He suggested we swim there, as we would then get in plenty of swimming and get to see the shark nursery.

I agreed, going against my intuition that swimming with sharks was something only an insane person would do. I didn't come to Australia to not have a few adventure. Besides, Ryan said that reef sharks were generally calm. He knew which way the current was flowing, so I had decided to grant him 'expert' status relating to my oceanic affairs. Between the expert advice and not wanting to turn down a once-in-a-lifetime offer, I signed on. Jannis also joined us.

The swim there was surprisingly quick, courtesy of the current. We passed over dark looking corals in water that was, compared to the rest of the bay, chilly. Beneath us, little fish swam around, apparently oblivious to the fact that somewhere nearby was a shark nursery. I looked over my shoulder constantly during the swim. I didn't want to miss a shark, but I don't know how accurate it would be to say I wanted to see one.

I was unsure how we would know the nursery when we entered it, but it was plain enough once we got there. The water shallowed from about 10 feet to maybe a foot and a half and its temperature went up twenty degrees. Below us was nothing but sand. Yards away in the water, we could see dark figures: sharks. We were in their territory. Unable to see much in the murky water, we stood up and looked around. There were sharks on almost every side of our group.

As we stood there, Jannis and Ryan had an exchange that I'll never forget:

Jannis: These sharks are vegetarians, right?
Ryan: No. They're meat eaters with sharp teeth and everything.
Jannis: But one of the girls told me... They won't attack us will they?
Ryan: I can't guarantee that.

As it turns out, he probably could have made that guarantee. The sharks were incredibly meek. If we made even slight movements, they darted off. By swimming or walking in one direction, the three of us land-dwellers could herd these cartilaginous killing machines like watered-down cattle. Apparently, baby reef sharks are like bears: they're more scared of us than we are of them. (Except for me. I was terrified. Even people on shore could tell.)

While I had my doubts, swimming with the sharks proved to be a highlight in a day already filled with highlights. In the following days, we had more beach time coming, and Coral Bay had made me confident that I would be able to thoroughly enjoy it.