Surfing with dolphins

[khiemtran]

The week I made a spur of the moment decision to sign up for a surfing lesson at Cronulla. It's something I've been thinking of doing for a while, but the opportunity never seemed to come up.

So, today was the day, and I was very glad I chose this one. Just as we were sitting out on our boards behind the break zone, a pod of four or five bottlenose dolphins swam past us. I've seen dolphins before from boats or the shore but nothing compares with the feeling of being there in the water with them, as they arched their backs and wove their bodies up and down through the water.

The surfing itself was largely a succession of tumbles and wipeouts. I didn't manage to stand up, but at least my balance became better as I went along. I've booked in for four more lessons now, so I'll see how I go...

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is an experience to treasure for a lifetime. How truly wonderful. How close were they? (Could you have touched them if you'd reached out?)

And congratulations on trying surfing! Sounds *very* fun.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

They were probably about 50 metres away, so not that close in the grand scheme of things (although it seemed giddy-ingly close at the time). It was magical to watch them, especially as they seemed to move completely silently, as they arched in and out of the water.

Trying surfing was a lot of fun. I'll write more about it once I've got my thoughts together. Certainly, it felt like I should have tried it ages ago. It's also very intense physically - I'm certainly feeling it today.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

You're so adventurous. I love hearing about your forays into the natural world.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it sounds more adventurous than it actually was (and I don't want to give the impression that I actually managed to surf), but any day with dolphins in it has to be a good day.