I found this draft post that I never got around to uploading. Better late than never! It’s about our trip to Pt Vincent this time last year (2021).
The last full day of our little weekend away was hotter and sweatier than Satan’s armpit. I am not sure we reached the forecast 41 degrees, but the humidity certainly made up for it. The morning began overcast, which gave us a cooler beginning. But at about 10 am things started to get serious with the muggy atmosphere and direct sun adding up to grumpy kids and adults. Thankfully, the adults had the foresight to book lunch at the pub, so the morning was spent watching the clock for noon when we could walk into wind-protected, air-conditioned heaven. Shortly before 12 the predicted northerlies arrived, blasting the tents and shade cloth, and sand papering a few layers off the skin off all of us. The march down to the pub with the kids was almost comical as hats went flying, umbrellas threatened to turn inside out and all the little ones refused to walk in the fierce wind, preferring to be carried.
The pub lunch was lovely, although I did balk at paying $6.50 for a lemon, lime and bitters. WTF! If the prices hadn’t been so ridiculous we probably would have stayed for another round of beverages. But the kids were starting to become feral, wrestling on the floor and being too loud. It is very difficult to keep eight kids quiet at the best of times. It was to face the afternoon.
The idea of being out on the sand in such conditions did not appeal to me at all. I needed a nap. So, in a ploy to enjoy some more air conditioned time I suggested to Bitti that we drive down to the Edithburgh tidal pools. Being on the eastern side of the peninsula, hopefully it would be in shade sooner than the beach. She agreed after a bit of haggling about how long the drive would be (still dislikes travelling in the car).
We started up the car and headed down the road, listening to Stephen Fry’s rendering of Harry Potter (Bitti says it’s not as quite good as mine, but good on him for trying). The tidal pool looked appealing and wasn’t too packed. The sea water felt initially too chilly, but we got used to it. After a while our friends ended up joining us and I became the subject of abuse from a group of ‘jellyfish’ who chased me around the pool and took every chance to sting me. I managed to extricate myself from that game after a while when more of our friends joined us and all eight kids were back in the water with some inflatables and boogie boards to keep them amused.
Bitti was very keen to swim out in the big water, looking enviously at the teenagers sitting on a pontoon moored 30 metres from the tidal pool. Other small kids were out there, with floaties and adult supervision, so she felt it was unfair of me to ban it. But we had no floaties and I am not a strong swimmer. Bitti would drown me in a flash out in the waves. She is now capable of a dog paddle, but it’s not a very efficient stroke.
There were the usual quarrels between the kids, who gets to use the floatie, and in which way. Some nerves were frayed by the heat and lack of sleep but overall the kids all got along quite well. After a short break to re-apply sun cream Bitti was allowed back in, swimming until 5 pm when I lured her out with a promise of ice cream.
After brekkie at a local cafe, right before we were about to leave we headed down to the beach front to get a photo with all the kids. They were all leaning against the railing looking over at wharf when Bitti’s hat took flight, landing in the water far below. She immediately came over to hide her face in my leg, upset. I was saying ‘oh well, farewell hat’ when a kind man who was in the water below swam all the way over to collect the hat! He threw it up and I just managed to catch it up the very edge of the brim. Saved! A happy end to the trip.
Two Little Travellers 