CREATIVE – For Judith Wright the Mountain has its own meaning. Describe a favourite place that has a real meaning for you that you would hate to see destroyed.
On the way down from Grafton on the Pacific Highway, headed for Coffs Harbour, lies a turn off with a faded sign to Wooli. From that point onward, the road becomes more pot-holed, winding and unforgiving, yet the speed limit never backs down. All part of the thrill, I say. A rush of adrenaline is the toll for tranquility at the end of the trail.
At the end the pace slows to a crawl through narrow asphalted streets crowded by beach houses, the caravan park, the tiny school, the local club; until the dunes begin to rise up and creep towards the road. River to the right. Pink triangle mansion on the left… at one point, one of mum’s great aunties or uncles owned that house. Now only the foliage of the dunes surround the road. Clusters of parking spots nestled between the trees tell us we’ve arrived. The long beach trail shrouded by the vegetation.
Then at last the expansive shoreline stretching for kilometres before you see another human step into its presence. Albeit the sun and heat more harsh, the wind more daring, the waves more destructive, the seaweed more abundant, the burns more severe; nothing compares to its serenity and beauty. So far removed from the relentless overcrowding of Sydney’s popular northern beaches, and the stress of a parking fine or a pick-pocket. She is the beach experience.
A fleeting moment of fear recalls the news of bushfires but a few years ago, that left the towering trees and dunes as nothing but charcoaled leafless stumps. I shudder at what it could mean for it ever to be destroyed in a more permanent way.
However, despite tragic events, Wooli beach remains. A place completely entwined in rich memories and a wondrous natural state, forever remains to be one of the most important places of my belonging.
Image Source
https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/clarence-valley/wooli/attractions/wooli-beach
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