Getting my bliss on

Bare Island, La Perouse

Half floating, half swimming so effortlessly with fins propelling my body both relaxed and taut through the slightly pulling tide of Congwong Bay.

Mask down, searching, seeing. Brightly coloured blue striped fish most common. A seahorse! A rocky outcrop featuring countless sea urchins, clinging to its rough edges.

Mind wondering.... "this is a completely self contained world... I shouldn't be here... I am the alien here..."

Hours whiled away, looking in amazement at this underworld landscape.

Snorkelling. Another "tick" on my bucket list. But oh, so much more.

The realisation that this paradise has always been accessible to me, just at the end of Anzac Parade, with a fantasy island setting, used for the making of Mission Impossible II, completing the setting that I am not quite "of" this world, somehow that I am trespassing undetected and at any moment I will be asked to leave.

The gear I had purchased so easily from eBay the weeks prior, giving me access to this place, felt strange. Not quite used to it all yet. But I will be getting very familiar with it.

So easy. And yet it took me so long.

Why?

I guess it's a combination of fear, distraction, apathy. I have always wanted to snorkel, not really understanding why.

After hours of face-down fascination and emerging from the salty water of Bare Island, La Perouse, my body was completely relaxed yet tingling from top to toe. It felt like I had spent hours in deep meditation. I was more blissed out and happy than any other time I can remember.

Will I be doing that again?

You bet your bottom.

Before the snorkel adventure kicked off