Departing in Search of Marine Life

The early morning air was cool. Gathering up my kaleidoscope and rainbow pouch, I said goodbye to a few others still hanging around and walked a little south towards the little boats. I saw four brightly colored kayaks with clear bottoms, like having a window to the sea where you can view the corals and fish without getting in the water. Looking over the boats, I wanted either the aqua kayak, far right, or the apple green, far left. Though the other two colors were just as brilliant. Now, I had to find my Captain waiting to journey with me to Mudjimba. I was looking forward to spending some time diving nearby where I could shoot some of the marine life Enchanteur spoke about – especially some of the fish.

Winding around a small shack, I spotted an old woman sitting on the steps. At least 100, she was pretty scary looking what with a horn growing out of her forehead. I walked up to her without trying to stare at the horn. She didn’t move and said nothing. She seemed to be staring off in space. A few moments that felt like eternity, she finally spoke. Only, I never saw her mouth barely open or her body move at all. “You here to leave for Mudjimba? If so, I’m your Captain.”

Nervously, “Yes, yes I am. I’m Genece.” No response. I kept babbling, “I’d like to take one of the clear bottom kayaks, that is if they’re available.”

“Yep,” she muttered, “It’s all yours.”

“Okay. But, are we both going to travel in it together or are you taking one of the others? I mean, it doesn’t seem like we’d both fit with all the supplies and our gear.”

“Nope,” she muttered, “One boat, one woman. You’ll go alone with this map (she hands me a map) as your guide. However, you must NOT deviate from the map marking under any circumstance. Understood?”

“Yes,” I said, “I understand. Will you meet me somewhere? Is there somewhere I should go to find you when I get there?”

“I’ll be with the others like myself. Don’t worry, you’ll find us for we will be gathered by the spot where you will be purified after seeking out Tritan and appeasing him. Now, be gone.”

“Okay,” I whispered as I walked away. I couldn’t help wonder when she said “others like myself” if she meant there were others like her with the horn on their forehead.

I put all of my gear and rainbow pouch inside the boat, pushed off the kayak, jumped in paddled away from shore. The wind was light at 6 to 10 knots and blowing from the north, pushing me along. In the calm early morning the water was almost flat. These were ideal conditions for rowing to Old Woman Island. I took advantage of the calm water and gentle winds. The boat moved almost effortlessly, skimming across the surface of the water.

Occasionally, I stopped to study the map so not to deviate. I wasn’t taking any risks! I followed the route exactly as she had marked. Nearing the island, I could see the X spot on the map where it was safest to dive for good shots underwater. It looked like it was between Coolum Beach and Loosa Head. Once in the area, I pulled the kayak into shore and decided to rest for awhile before diving.

A short distance away, there was a small group of men sitting on the beach. I noticed one of them getting up and walking towards me. Without a shirt, his skin was tanned. Hmmmmm. His face like a Greek God, his arms and chest rippled with muscles. Like I said, hmmmm. Then he smiled at me, I melted. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He sat next to me and offered me some of his bottled water.

“Thanks,” I replied in a mannerly way, “My name is Genece.”

“Mine is Alex,” he said, “What brings you to these parts?”

“I’m headed up to Rainbow Beach with a group of fellow travelers. Right now, I’m hoping to dive just a little north of here to photograph some of the marine life.” I pulled out my map and showed him.

He looked at the map and gazing at me, “There’s a better spot if you’ve got a little extra time.” He pointed to the spot on the map.

“That’s great, except I can’t deviate from the markings on the map. I’m sorry, I can’t share anymore with you than that – that I can’t deviate.” I said this with great firmness in my voice.

“Look,” he said in a puzzled tone, “this spot doesn’t deviate.”

“Are you sure it’s safe,” I asked.

“I promise,” he said as he looked deep into my eyes. I felt safe with him, like he was someone special. “I need to go. But, if you get back this way, look me up. You’ll find me pretty much anywhere. I bring supplies to the old women and chat with them.”

“Yes, I will,” I said smiling. “And, thanks.” He walked away.

I switched into diving gear, loaded up my camera equipment and headed into the warm water – smiling the whole way under, thinking about Alex and his kind eyes and gorgeous physique.

Swimming towards a pool of fish, I came upon what I thought was a monkeyfish. Was this one of the fish that Enchanteur mentioned? I couldn’t remember for sure since she’d named so many – lionfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, surgeonfish and putterfish.

Getting closer to the monkeyfish, I started laughing. What? This is a monkeyfish? I had no idea since I’d never seen one before. I snapped quite a few shots close up so I could share it with the others. Maybe they’ve seen one before – however, it was surprising to me. This made me VERY curious about the other fish. Now, I had to seek out all the others to see if they held any surprises for me.

Look what I found!

With a loud roar, I heard him. It didn’t take much to seek him out. Fierce looking, I tread water pretty lightly and kept just the right amount of distance so not to lose my head.

I LOVE butterflies! Look at this beautiful butterflyfish showing off his colors!

Where was this angelfish when I was faced by a human-eating lionfish? Perhaps, he was busy protecting me nearby

No problem! If I got hurt, there was always the surgeonfish nearby that offered his services (For a FEE!)

Didn’t Enchanteur say PuTTerfish? Or, maybe it was PuFFerfish. Regardless, after all the excitement and shooting so many exotic fish, I was ready to do a little putting and hanging out at the underwater golf course with Puffer!

By the time I head back to the kayak and rest a little, I’ll need to head on upstream to meet up with the old woman and the gang seeking Tritan. I can’t imagine what’s even in store there!

FYI — I heard Pris was riding on the boat with one of her other friends. I’m sure she’s still back there entertaining everyone!

– Genece Hamby
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