Coronation Beach is about 30km south of Geraldton. Given the gorgeous colours of the water at Shark Bay and the spectacular reef system of Ningaloo, then Coronation Beach is unpretentious by comparison. I am conscious that my more recent posts have been full of boastful superlatives and Coronation Beach presented perfect timing to reflect on changes, coastal and agricultural, and enjoy some simpler delights. I am now in cropping country for the first time since leaving the Clare Valley. The emotion engendered by this change is still surfacing but I think it’s a sense of: regret at leaving something behind, returning to the more familiar and knowing that I’m moving into more populated regions. Cropping is a visually obvious landscape, which jarred on my eyes like it never has in the past. Whereas the pastoral areas, that have been the main roadside scenery for thousands of kilometers, offer softer scenery that appears more natural – acknowledging that ‘natural’ is a slippery concept. I am not feeling a loss, however, for the change in coastal scenery as there is pleasure to be had in snorkelling over less showy reefs and sea beds. As my noodle and I drifted over the shallow reef and seagrass at Coronation Bay, I was surrounded by a flotilla of small, speckled and inquisitive fish. We moved together with the ebb and flow of the swell as I watched the seagrass below me: combed one way and then swept back. The motion of my suspended body and the movement of the seagrass induced a soothing and meditative experience, providing answers to small niggles in my mind. Unsurprisingly, go with the flow is the response. This beach stay was like health retreat offering a combination of physical exercise and mental relaxation – Tai Chi, swimming, snorkelling, reading, writing and chatting to fellow travellers – but all for $7 a night and culminating in a stunning sunset. Post script: On my final morning, the septic truck arrived nice and early to empty the toilets. A great incentive to head straight out to sea for a nice long swim: just me, the cormorant and the seagrass.
parrygraphs 