Travel Stories: Walking on the waves in Coffs Harbour

Once upon a time there were two boys and a girl, who found themselves spending Christmas in Coffs Harbour, a popular beach town on the east coast of Australia. 

On Boxing Day the two boys and a girl found themselves restless from too much food and too many games of Trivial Pursuit. Indeed the curse of Christmas had struck and so when the girl suggested suggested leaving the house for a walk along the coast, it was agreed to promptly by all and off they went in a Toyota Corolla towards the beach.

They parked near a jetty and observed some Boxing Day thrill seekers jumping from great heights into the water below.

As they walked up the long jetty they each noticed a cluster of brightly coloured rocks out towards the end of a seemingly man made sea break wall. One of the boys, the one the girl liked most, questioned what these coloured rocks were and suggested to his companions that they investigate. 

With nodding heads and curious minds the three returned to their car and drove out in the direction of the coloured blocks.

They parked as close as they could to where the break wall began before swiftly curving away from the mainland.

Within only a matter of steps it was clear that this would be an interesting walk of discovery.
Waves crashed against the break and evidence of the water successfully hurdling the sides was everywhere as the ground underneath the girl's flip flops (which strangely the boys kept calling "thongs") was soaked and slippery. The rocky sides along the footpath dripped incessantly.
It was at this time that they realised they could get wet. They could get very wet indeed.

Without requiring further discussion they proceeded on, willing to take that risk... What followed was akin to a roller coaster ride as all three of us raced forward as the waves died down, only to hide behind the rocks when they reared up again. NewMan, his brother and I all squealed and squirmed as the waves threatened to come close and excitedly shouted out to "RUN! No! Wait!", "Get down!" and "GO GO GO!" as though we were escaping a deadly enemy.
The moment when NewMan and his brother raced ahead of me convinced one wave was coming to soak us only to run straight into another, was a priceless moment that played out in slow motion for me, the spectator who couldn't run that fast in my flip flops.
The fact that once soaked neither NewMan or NewBro uttered a single moan about their sodden predicament and all three of us were still laughing as we drove home is the perfect proof that our wave dodging walk to investigate those coloured rocks was worth it.
As for those rocks. Well, we were none the wise for our investigation and as is the case with life our journey was much more revealing satisfying than our destination. However, a Google search did bring this article to my attention about a phantom artist who has taken it upon himself to paint the concrete blocks in bright primary colours. I am unsure how anyone could consider this an eyesore and so I applaud the whoever is responsible. I am particularly grateful; had it not been for those bright colours catching our eyes we wouldn't have had the fun we had skipping, leaping and splashing our way along the break wall, those two boys and me.

Frances M. Thompson

Londoner turned wanderer, Frankie is an author, freelance writer and blogger. Currently based in Amsterdam, Frankie was nomadic for two years before starting a family with her Australian partner. Frankie is the author of three short story collections, and is a freelance writer for travel and creative brands. In 2017, she launched WriteNOW Cards, affirmation cards for writers that help build a productive and positive writing practice. When not writing contemporary fiction, Frankie shops for vintage clothes, dances to 70s disco music and chases her two young sons around Amsterdam.
Find Frankie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+.

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