Writing Challenge Day 13

Mieke van den Berg, Sketchbook drawing of Point Cartwright, 2024.

A blissful family Christmas present

At 6 am, I checked the tidal chart and saw that high tide would be at 4:43 pm. Perfect. Recently, I rediscovered the stunning area of Point Cartwright. I hadn’t been there for several years. The park is just across from the Mooloolabah Harbour, right at the end of the river mouth. It looks back on the Mooloolabah Spit Park and Rockwall, with a cliff covered in lush green bush and apartments behind us. The path leads around the headland, past a shallow bend out on the breakwall, past the beach and rockpools, up the hill toward the water tower, and back through a grassed park area.

We arrived at 4 pm and pumped up our SUP (stand-up paddleboard), which I bought from Marketplace as our family Christmas present. We headed to the far corner, where the water laps over the two bottom steps of the stairs at high tide. It’s ideal because I can’t walk on the sand due to a foot injury. We met our eldest at the bottom of the steps, she had just paddled from the car park. She looked so comfortable standing and paddling on that SUP. While I propped up our bags at the base of a tree on the skinny strip of bright, soft green grass, my youngest had her first go.

Just as I looked up, she was standing and about to paddle when she caught a wobble. She was laughing so hard. The wobble turned into a big speed wobble that seemed to last for ages, to and fro. Her infectious laughter echoed on the smooth, crystal-clear water… and SPLOSH! She came up gasping for air, still laughing. She had a few more goes, then yelled, “Mum, you have a go!”

I waited at the bottom of the steps, watching her elegantly reverse the SUP beside me. Clever girl. How hard could it be? Awkwardly, I positioned myself on my knees in the middle of the board. It felt surprisingly stable; more likely, it would be my wobbly body struggling to balance.

I paddled out and slowly got myself onto my feet. Yes, yes, I got it! I lifted the paddle and… the board scooted from under me so fast there was no time to react. I had already landed flat on my back, both legs in the air. My kids stood there roaring with laughter. I laughed, too, partly because it didn’t even hurt. It must have looked hilarious. Through her laughter, my youngster blurted, “Mum, it was so funny! Your bum jiggled like jelly when you landed,” and threw her hands in the air. We laughed until it hurt. We hadn’t laughed like that for a very long time. 

Eventually, I got the hang of it, paddled back, and passed the SUP to my girls. They waited at the steps while I put on my snorkeling gear. My youngest was ready to take us on a tour. My eldest had draped herself over the front of the SUP. I floated weightlessly behind the SUP with a slow kick to steer it while my youngest smoothly paddled us close to the rocks. I soaked up the warm rays of the sun on my back. The cool water flowed along my skin as I watched the angel and zebra fish play around the oyster beds. The sky was crisp blue, filled with the birdsong of cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets. There was a long, peaceful silence from all three of us. No arguing, tit-for-tatting, or back-chattering. Everything was in balance—pure bliss.

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