I took myself off for a wander along Arrawarra Beach, adjacent to the Headland. My intention was to look for fossil coral (I didn't find much) and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather before returning to the studio.
The sunshine provided a welcome respite from the grey skies of the previous week, and before long, I found the play of light on the water and the vastness of the seascape irresistible. I began filming a brief video.
Arrawarra is an ancient landscape, the traditional lands of the Gumbaynggurr people who still inhabit the mid-north coast. More than a millennium ago, they constructed intricate fish traps beside the headland. These fell into disrepair until the 1970s when the local mob undertook major reconstruction - and today, the fish traps are clearly discernible and functional once .
It's also home to a famous surfing break where wetsuited surfers cavort in the waves like so many seals.
I love liminal spaces: the water's edge, the horizon where sea meets sky, and estuarine creeks. Arrawarra Creek estuary is an intermittently closed/open lagoon formed where Arrawarra Gully meets the creek close to the estuary entrance. The shallow rivulet winds its way through the sand, ebbing and flowing with the tide, until it empties into the ocean in a broad wash of sparkling light.
Click on the link to watch the video, complete with an excerpt of a song I wrote some years ago: 'Soul Tide'. I hope you'll enjoy it!