Connecting with Nature

Connecting with Nature

After a 16 hour journey,( the last few hours made up of investigating various 4 wheel drive tracks), we settle into our new home for the next five days. We are about 50 kms from Esperance…chasing big waves, peace and solitude. We have finally emerged from a perilous track with an extremely steep rocky descent… (I must admit I had my eyes closed as my son navigated the car down this track!)…and are met with a sight that feels like heaven. The rugged natural beauty is breath taking! I feel the layers of stress and tension peel away… revealing inner peace and calm. As I look around and absorb this isolated and rugged beauty, my heart is filled with love for our Mother Earth.

The cliffs drop down to pearly white sand with magnificent granite outcrops, boldly standing out into the ocean. The water here starts off a crystalline blue then suddenly changes to darkness almost black.  This coastline is rugged, mysterious and at times fierce. The waves are formidable…I feel a deep respect for the ocean here. I am a mere observer…not daring to venture out into its depths.

We set up camp on the coastal side of a limestone ridge with its magnificent granite outcrop reaching out to the ocean. We have walked into stormy weather…but nothing can dampen our spirits. We are free. We look around; there is only spectacular nature and us!!! How blessed I feel. Even the 35 knot wind with threatening rain is an adventure. We all laugh and tease and  join in together to create our new home. This camp site later becomes known as “Snake Valley”. Yes we share our home with many tiger snakes!!! We become very respectful of them, watching these beautiful creatures pass through our camp…admiring their strength, speed, elegance and agility…from a comfortable distance. I pray to the Snake God for a peaceful co-habitance…which we do.

Yes, we have been blessed with many experiences with nature. One such experience was initially scary. The boys headed out for a surf. A bank had built up over night so their thirst for a wave was about to be fulfilled. Izaac emerged from a peeling barrel…hooting sheer joy. Suddenly, Lotus spots a fin…and again!!! Panic sets in at the thought of my boys being in the water with a Great White Shark…we are not sure, but this region is renowned for Great Whites. This is their home! Out the boys come. Their faces are flooded with disappointment but the threat of coming face to face with a shark is also evident. I quietly pray for a miracle. We all stand facing out to the ocean; scanning the scene with our eyes. As the next wave rears up we witness a miracle...a pod of dolphins emerge surfing the wave … they are so magnificent and graceful…they are the master surfers…and they look like they are having so much fun. We jump around hooting our excitement…the dolphins are our sign that the water is safe. The boys race back into the ocean, eager to join the dolphins and ride these beautiful waves. We are all swept with relief and make sure we enjoy every moment of this incredible place while it lasts. I feel we are growing and learning. Accepting what is and flowing with the changes. We are actually at the mercy of the elements… nature, weather.

While we are at this isolated and magical part of Australia, we bear witness to another of Mother Earth’s extremes. In the distance we notice smoke rising and building up. There appears to be a fire. No!!! Esperance has suffered enough already. We assume this was caused by the recent lightning storm. We are safe but our heart breaks with the knowledge of the devastation a fire means. I go into meditation and send love and healing to the earth and its people. The rain comes…the fire eases…our prayers have been answered….Yet there is more to be revealed as we decide to move on from our temporary home….