Horses, Snakes, Sharks and …

Today is a state holiday, the Adelaide Cup. When I asked a colleague what the holiday was she replied “It’s in honour of a horse race. You know we Aussies, we love sports and drinking beer.” So true.

I had the flu on the weekend. I had no energy to even ride my bicycle yesterday. Deb, my landlady, is sick too so she rented some movies. One was called “The Cup” and was based on the true story of a family of jockeys, the last of which won the Melbourne Cup (run today as well) a week after his brother was tragically killed in a horserace. Quite the tear jerker but I learned more about Aussie culture and I relaxed. Aussies are much more relaxed than Canadians!

So I felt better today (must have been the relaxation) and decided to try out the bike and take a test run to the Uni. With Deb’s help I found a short cut with fewer hills. Part of the route is on a gravel path. As I approached the path there was a sign, mostly obliterated with spray paint , except for the word ‘snakes’!!!

My heart was racing as I pedaled along checking the ground. Stupid me, I was wearing sandals! As I got to the end my bike came to a sudden and noisy halt. All I could think was a snake was caught in the wheel or if not, one was going to get me now. But it was just the strap to my bag. I fixed it and went on my way. Whew! Have wheels , will travel …so I headed down to Brighton Beach, about 10 minutes away.

I waded and lay in the sun and read. The water is still warm and the air temperature is 30C. Beside me was a mother with two young girls. What a nice place to spend an afternoon. I wished I could have brought my girls to a beach like this for an afternoon.

The helicopter went over as it does regularly, checking for sharks. Yes there are Great Whites in this part of the world, they call them “White Pointers”. Not far from me was the Lifesaving Station.

As I was packing my bike to leave I saw the Lifesaving boat circling in the water. One of the lifeguards was pointing to something. I stopped and got out my camera. People around me on the Esplanade were stopping and looking too. And there she was. A lone, friendly dolphin. She swam within a few metres of the shore and close to many swimmers. A woman beside me said they will swim right up and brush against your arm.