Frolicking with the underworld

So... we pedalled our way to a place called Australind a couple days ago, Beautiful ride, we were happy the highway had a shoulder, 58km ride in the heat of the day and we were ready for a rest. We rested under a tree  just short of Australind before making our way to the grocery store. Enroute to Coles (grocery store), we spotted a dolphin in the estuary (lake) alongside the road, thrashing around, catching his supper. We watched a long while, locals pulled over to watch too...facinating.

After we gorged ourselves on a huge spinach/ chicken/ beetroot salad near the estuary, a friendly Australian man, Craig, drove up and we had a yarn. He was the first to guess that we were from Alberta! (The usual assumption is Toronto). We chatted for awhile before I asked if the dolphin we saw was out of the ordinary or if they had many around the area.  What ensued was not expected by us in the least, but he invited us to come with him the next day, on his boat, to go find/see dolphins! There wasn't much hesitation in our minds... SURE!! YES PLEASE!!!

Craig and his beautiful wife, Jane, finished work around noon. We met them at their place, hopped in their 'ute' with boat behind and headed for the sea.

Dolphins we did find! O did we ever. We could see them easily from the boat, to the bottom of the clear water.
Then ...we jumped in! Wayne first because I wanted to get my courage up to dive in with these huge, beautiful creatures, but I did. And it was AMAZING !!
Dolphins have always captured my awe. They are magnificent. Graceful. Gentle. Friendly. Curious. We enjoyed them, they explored us awhile and tolerated our "ungraceful-ness"... then swam away after awhile. Off we boated to find some more, or the same, we didn't care. We dove in again with snorkel gear on and enjoyed dolphins in front, behind & underneath us. One was played around us, jumped up right behind us (will try to get that video on our blog)... A mother dolphin had a little talk with Wayne... he wasn't sure what she was trying to tell him... it was incredible. We saw a tiny baby dolphin from the boat, almost white, so small.
That was a big gift God gave us, to interact and watch these gorgeous creatures. Truly a gift! What amazing creation He has made.

Another gift is this wonderful couple, Craig and Jane, who have taken us in, given us a bed, let us do laundry, have treated us like their kids...and they are ready for us to adventure with them again today. We are delighted. Our butt bones can rest a bit more, this is too fun.

 So we have to go! Making plans for another afternoon of fun and sun and water and...dolphins? Hope so :).

We aren't sure if this trip could get any better, but we are praising God for each moment and breath.

-W&K