Shark
Beach
Adelaide, in South Australia, has some of the best beaches in the world. With wide, sandy shores, and crystal clear waters, they rival any beach in the world. And one of the biggest Aussie-beach traditions is to eat fish and chips (also known as fries) on the beach.
Fish and chips simply
taste better at the beach. I remember as a small child how much I
loved doing this, and I now do it with my own son. There's something
about eating fish and chips, while sitting on the sand, watching the
water lap up as the sun begins to set, glistening off the ocean like
diamonds in the sun.
We decided to move late last year, about 80 meters from one of Adelaide's most popular beaches. Every summer day that's over 70 degrees we go swimming, as there is something healing about the beach. Whether you're going for a walk, swimming, or lying on the sand listening to the waves, the beach offers something for everyone.
Just last week we had a shark siting at our local beach, a 21 foot great white. I didn't want my son to develop any fears, so we went swimming the next day. I didn't tell him about the shark siting until we were up to our waists in water throwing a ball.
He shrugged and laughed.
We know when we go into
the water we are in their habitat. So as we threw the ball back and
forth it went right over my head, and as I swam off to get it my son
yelled at the top of his lungs; "Muuumm- SHARK for real!"
I turned around, and about 20 meters from us was a huge, dark object rapidly approaching. We looked toward the sand, where people on the beach were yelling "RUN!" So we ran as fast as waist-high water would allow, and when I looked back I saw a dolphin jump right up into the air.
We stopped running and
watched 4 dolphins playing in front of us. From a distance it looked
much different, as they were swimming all together. We began
laughing, and went back to throwing the ball another half an hour.
Once we were home, the TV news reported that our beach had just been evacuated, because there were two bronze whalers spotted (one 2 meter, and one 4 meters) approximately 30 meters off shore, when we had only been about 25 meters out. I know the dolphins were sent as safe keeping, yet it was exhilarating to be so close to these wonderful creatures.
On most days the water is crystal clear and you can see crabs running along the ocean floor, and swimming by beautifully-colored fish. Whether you are swimming at the beach, lying on the sand, reading a magazine, playing a game of Aussie cricket, or simply going for a walk, Adelaide beaches have it all.
