Lowlands

Leaping into the wild, rugged waters off the south coast of Western Australia is a wonderful anti-dote to what ails you. In this case a welcome distraction from the emotional knots and tangles the kids feel at beginning high school. This is a final summer holiday jaunt in a quintessentially Australian way—sun, surf and sand, with the dogs in tow. But the ocean along the south coast can be treacherous. Life buoys dotted along key fishing spots are reminders of poor lost souls swept clean off rocks, never to return. So taking the kids to an ideallic but possibly hazardous, unfamiliar beach requires a unique kind of preparation: quelling fears of the unknown, bearing witness to the massive swell pounding the outer rock wall, gauging the heft of the waves that curl around and into the bay before smashing up onto the slabs of granite, then gingerly stepping into the water towards the sand-bound breakers, feeling for an undertow, scanning for a rip, slamming through the white water to get out the back of the breaking waves. Finally, relieved at all being well, howling for joy riding the wave wash back in towards the beach. The feeling afterwards of battling and surviving the elements is unbeatable. Later, back in the city, it is a great metaphor for them to consider as they head to high school to forge their new life among the urban forces of nature.