An American (Family) in Australia: Snorkelling Boys

Little Beach

We had Nathan and Will write letters to Santa this year. As usual, they were very cute - even though they put three different gaming systems on them! One of the big things they both wanted was snorkel equipment so they would be confident when we go to the Great Barrier Reef. Since I was concerned with room in my bags, I suggested to Brian's family that they get us a gift card to a local sports store in Australia and we would pick up the snorkels here. Everyone was amenable, so the plan commenced.

We told the boys we were headed into Newcastle to do some shopping and they immediately began to whinge. Shopping's boring to little boys, I suppose. However, when as soon as we walked into Rebel Sports, they began talking about how they really wanted snorkel gear. When we let them know that was why we were there they suddenly loved shopping!

We found a sales person and began to fit them. We wanted to make sure they had quality equipment, because if there were leaking issues there was no way Nathan would keep trying. Lucky for us, the good stuff was on a decent sale! We talked about how to breathe and walk, but Will immediately freaked out. As a claustrophobic person myself, I understand that feeling. We were able to talk him down and explain that practice would help that feeling would go away.

We wrapped up the shopping trip with afternoon tea at Max Brenner's, a chocolate place, for a fun treat. The boys ordered their snacks and were later surprised when a worker brought them an extra pot of melted chocolate because they weren't sure who ordered it! We had wound up children on the drive home, to say the least.

Brian and I decided to have them practice breathing in the bathtub. While this was hilarious, pictures were inappropriate for the internet, so you'll have to imagine for yourself! Will was happy to try, but became very frustrated when his mask kept leaking. We finally figured out the problem - his massive smile! The kid very rarely isn't smiling, and when he does the skin crinkles underneath his mask, letting water inside. Nothing like telling your kid to quit smiling so much!

See the crinkles on the side of the mask?

After a few practices, we were off to try snorkeling in the bay. We decided to head to Little Beach, which is very calm and has crystal clear water. The kids were very keen and it was a very successful trip. We started out having them stick their heads in the water while standing. Nathan was quickly over that and ready to swim. I swear, now that he can breathe under water, we will never get his head back up! The boys snorkeled until they were shivering, and still we had to pull them out of the water.

The boys bought me snorkel gear for my Christmas present. Now we need to get Brian some and we'll be ready to go out to Fly Point. It's still in the bay, and is supposed to have incredible marine life there. We have heard many sightings of sea turtles, beautiful fish, and other things we won't mention so my mom won't worry about us!

Enjoy the pictures of their first snorkeling adventure!