We’d been thinking that we’d stay in Darwin
for about a week, so today was our tentative leaving date. Caitlin had been
asking though if we could go to the wave pool again, and yesterday we got a
text from our friends from Katherine saying they were going to the wave pool
today and would we like to join them. So that made the decision much easier,
and gave us more time to get things organised before we left.
Caitlin and I went shopping in the morning –
I’d wanted to be at the shops by about 9, it was closer to 10 when we arrived
and most things were just opening up so it was a good time. We were looking for
snorkels and masks but Target had sold out. We did get new goggles for Millie
and a few other things that were on our list, then bought a screen protector
for Caitlin’s iPad mini so that she can use it again – the guy put it on for us
so hopefully it will last and protect her cracked screen for long enough until
we can afford to get it fixed properly. We also did a big grocery shop, getting
supplies for when we head off. We found some good bargains which is always
exciting.
Back at our tent we had some lunch and got
ready for the wave pool. We dropped off a bottle of wine to Tony’s friend on
the way. Our friends were already at the pool when we arrived, and Caitlin rushed
straight into the water to hang out with them. We all had another fun afternoon
at the wave pool. The kids did more of the
everyone-holding-on-to-each-others’-tubes and riding the waves in, Millie and
Tony and I hung out in the shade at the edge of the pool – Millie could just
stand up there and when the waves came she gained confidence and after a while
was happy to go a bit deeper. Some of the time she was in the water with no
floatation devices, then after a while she went out with her swim ring (who is
called Happy) and floated and swam around for a while. I grabbed a boogie board
and floated on the waves on that, and tried to catch a few of the breaking
waves (without much luck). Millie played for a bit with her friend from
Katherine, and I had a rest out of the waves as I was feeling a bit sick from
the motion of the waves. I read my book for a while, and Tony stayed near
Millie when she went deeper, then I went back in the water while Tony had a
rest. I convinced Millie to keep Happy on, and sit in a bigger tube as well
(I’d seen her friend doing this). She was happy for me to take her out much
deeper, and she and LiAM and I joined Caitlin and her friends in a group and
rode the waves in. I tried to get on to my tube before the waves started and got
on backwards, as I tried to turn around I flipped over into the water, so I
only had time to put my arms and head through the tube rather than sitting in
it, which was not quite as comfortable. Once we reached the shore we went back
out into the middle of the pool and bobbed up and down on some of the big waves
– one of them tipped Millie’s tube up to vertical and she shot out of it – she
was still wearing Happy though so landed safely on top of the water and didn’t
go under at all.
Caitlin said a very sad goodbye to her
friend (they are going a different way from Darwin than we are), and then the kids and I went out deep again for the next cycle of
waves. This time I managed to sit on the tube properly, the 4 of us made it all
the way into the shore and it was fun. Tony then towed me on my tube back out to
the deep and I floated in by myself, that was a lot of fun. He took me back out
again, through some very steep waves, and as he pushed the tube one last time
it caught the top of the wave and I flipped over. He helped me get back on and
took me out again – it was hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing every time he
towed me out and I floated back in, it was so much fun.
The kids were almost ready to get out and
they announced it was the last cycle of waves (waves go for 20 minutes then
there’s a 10 minute break). So we stayed for that, Millie went out deep just
wearing Happy and bobbed around out there, Caitlin tried the boogie board, LiAM
and I swam in the waves and we got out when they finished, all very tired and
happy. The motion of the waves had affected us more today and we all felt a
little woozy walking on land again.
We got changed and headed home, had
showers, ate some pasta for dinner and sat around for a little while, chatting
and playing on the iPads, then went to bed to read Brisingr.
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