so i hooked up with Archie and he came around to pick me up at the Museum...he's only been in Canberra for few hours and thought he has seen it all, and i caught him just at the right time when he's about to leave...
he's a pleasant fella who used to do boxing back in Holland but right now looking to settle down in oz, and he's currently completing his last section of australian tour of Southeast NSW and Queensland...
Initially i thought we were gonna just head straight up to Sydney via the freeway and it will take us only 3hours, but the dude said he would like to explore the south coast route, which suits me perfectly as everyone's been telling me that the south coast drive up to sydney is HEAVENLY...one not to be missed...
So we headed South from Canberra through the great dividing range towards batemans bay, where i spent couple of nights at Heather's before my canberra trip...so i rang up Heather and asked if we could stay at her beach house for the night, and she said: 'Certainly'...and then we were on our way to Malua bay...
At night, Archie made us some Dutch dinner, which consists of potatoes, brocolli, and funnily enough, Kangaroo meat....fancy having kangaroo meat in a dutch cuisine huh? It was my first time eating kangaroo meat, and ironically, Heather's as well...she's been an ozzy her entire life and had never tasted the kangaroo, she said something about being weird eating the animal from the national emblem...and after her first bite, did she love it!
after dinner we chilled out over some beer and pleasant conversation and retired early to bed for an early morning headstart...
Breakfast consisted of toast with jam and syrup and cheese and ham, and then we hit the road right after...so our first stop was wairoa beach where we took our first morning dip in the ocean...the temperature in NSW hit a high of 29 and we thought it would cool us off in the water...
the water was ICY cold! nevertheless we put on our boardies and took the plunge into the ocean...the waves were magnificent and Archie taught me body surfing...he's been learning to surf in western australia and cant wait to practise his skills after months of not surfing because of the cold spell...All was well and fun when suddenly he turned around and said: 'dude, there're three sting rays in the water'...i froze and looked where he pointed, and sure enough, three silhouette of what seemed like a roundtable-sized creature can be seen drifting just above the seabed, the water was so clear that it is eerie to see something in it apart from yourself...i freaked out and ran towards the shore, while Archie just stood near the rays and laughed at me...i cried out: the damn thing killed Steve Irwin for goodness sake! dun mess with it...
we left the beach and continued on our journey, before long, we felt the need to swim in the ocean again because it was really scorching hot! so we bought some food of potato and egg and bacon salad, some fruit, bread and ham, and went picnic at Jervis bay...the water here is calmer as it is a bay and we dipped like hot stones in the water...and then i saw it: not far from us a black patch broke the water surface, and followed by the tale-telling fin! My first thought was: Shark!! and after further inspection and observation with my body steer clear outta the water, i realized it was a dolphin...Stop thinking im being a bit of a wuss, but my years with animal planet channel have impressioned upon me that Australia is wild with dangerous animals, and by dangerous, i mean deadly...so it is perfectly natural to be a tiny bit more vigilant...
After a brief stopover at Kiama to look at some boring blowholes, we checked into a tourist/campervan park...ive never stayed in one such lodging before and was surprised the place is filled with hundreds of caravans and power sites as well as tent sites...Archie expressed a shock once again that im so ignorant, and i had to offer a lame excuse that Malaysians are really not as outdoorsy as they are, i mean c'mon, who among us have actually a caravan and go camping every other weekends like the westerners?
It was a very educating affair altogether travelling with Archie, because he taught me how to put up a tent and sleep in one! again, i dun recall ever sleeping in a tent before...i was excited to bits! we later concluded that he is a 'traveller' and that im a 'backpacker', the difference being i carry my backpack and hitchhike all over the country while he drives around in a car with his tent and surfboard and cooking utensils and stays in campervan park....
we cooked a simple meal of instant noodels in his minature stove and thought it was a rather satisfying meal indeed...as darkness approached, we sat outside the tent and talked crap while the mosquitoes attacked us...little did we know that we are gonna have a near death experience the next day...
********
Alright, sleeping in a tent aint as comfortable as ive thought it'd be, it was a far cry from the luxury bedroom that Heather has for us, and i rarely had any sleep at all...i got up around 5.30am and went to catch the sunrise at the beach, reading my book when the sun lit the place up...and at 8am, we thought we should have a quick swim before we head off...so we jumped into the freezing cold water and fool around with the huge waves...
i was happily swimming in the ocean when i realized ive somewhat drifted apart from the shoreline, so i thought i shouldnt stay so far out in the sea and started swimming toward the shore with the waves...but it is not to be so...the harder i swam the farther im away from the shore...no problem, i thought, im a pretty good swimmer and should be on the ground in no time...
i swam harder, diving into the ocean and paddled furiously...but the current kept pulling me back...at this point i was a little exhausted with all that paddling and my feet can no longer feel the seabed...the moment i stopped paddling, i sank into the sea, and i have to dig harder to get on to the surface again...and when i stayed on my back to keep myself afloat, the waves would come pounding over me and forces salt water down my throat, rendering me choking with air...and then i realized something isnt right, ive not experienced this before, ever...anxiety crept in...
so i called out to archie, who wasnt far away from me, but seemed at ease in the water...he looked at me and grinned, he thought i was pulling his leg...and when i cried help the second time, this time he knew i wasnt joking, he saw me struggling to keep myself afloat and came right over to give me a hand...
you have no idea how relieved i am when i felt his grip on my arm, and i thought i would soon be pulled over to the shore to grab for some much needed air...it wasnt to be so...
Archie tried to pull me away from what i later learned as the 'rip current', but there was little progress...and before long he was struggling himself too...and then i saw it: the fear in his eyes...
he kept yanking me up when i sank below the surface, and he was soon exhausted...by now my lung has already collapsed and the breathing mechanism has been deeply compromised...i was choking for breath...and the drinking of sea water aint helping at all...
he kept yelled at me to swim and stay afloat, little did he know that my body muscles have now all given up on me...i was no longer in command...
When i heard him yelling help to no one in particular, it was then that i knew we werent going to make it...we were gonna die...i sensed it, i smelled it, i saw it, yes...i saw death...
the beach was deserted as it is still too early in the morning, what the hell were we thinking swimming in unpatrolled sea? we watched hopelessly at the empty lifeguard stool and knew that no matter how hard we cry, it would be futile, no one is ever gonna hear us...let alone saving us...
he has never left me by myself all this while, he could have swam away from the rip current and saved himself, but he didnt...he knew i would definitely be gone the moment he let go of me...
lotsa thoughts flashed before me just then, i thought of my grieving family and friends, the ones who have asked me to take good care of myself while travelling alone in foreign land, and the ones who have supported me of my backpacking expedition...i was just talking to mom the night before and she was nagging at me to be extremely careful, i shrugged her off...like always...
i have also told Archie about KyungJoon in our pre-dusk conversation yesternight, the Korean guy that ive met in NZ and then got drowned in Laos a month later while he was tubing, we both agreed that there is a certain risks involved when you are travelling, and that shit happens when you least expected it...too bad we didnt know enough to keep us away from the raging water...
no one would find us until much later, when our bodies were being eaten away into the deep ocean, our abandoned tents would later be inspected and a search would take place...they will declare us dead and we will be in the ozzy news headline, reading:'A dutch and a malaysian guy drowned in Windang beach two days back in what seemed like a morning swim gone terribly wrong...'
****
it hadnt occurred to me at all...only at the last minute when i knew archie could no longer hold me up that i would soon be swallowed by the angry ocean that i knew that was the last thing i had to do...i prayed...
i prayed for Lord to spare me my life, that im gonna do great things for Him, i prayed like i never prayed before...
and then i somewhat had the strength, just a tiny bit of strength but enough to keep me floating...i began coughing out sea water and grasp hungrily for air...my lung cleared a little and more air came pumping...archie saw some progress and encouraged eagerly: 'keep your back down and stop struggling'...
with one arm swimming and the other pushing and guiding me, we were soon heading in the direction out of the current, not towards the shore...soon the current ceased and he pulled me back swimming toward the shore...in what seemed like ages, i remembered being hauled out and then i felt it...the ocean floor...the dude collapsed onto the beach when his leg finally gave up, and i laid on the sand vomiting out salt water...
we survived...
******
when we came to regain consciousness, i walked over to him and grabbed him, uttering: 'dude, you just saved my life...'
we later talked bout it in the car and he told me that at that time of the ordeal he had thought bout leaving me there and go for help...but he decided against it when he knew i wouldnt have made it if he let go...so he risked his life to save me knowing that he will never forgive himself if he let me drown out there while he swims to safety...
i owe him my life...
i later asked him if he did pray at that frantic moment...he confessed saying: 'yeah, i kept on thinking out loud 'God, get me outta here, and i will go to church every sunday'... (he's a non-believer)
we both laughed and knew we would never in our life forget about this experience...
Lord, thanks for giving me a second chance...
life is never gonna be the same again...
South Coast
Rip current
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