I did it! I swam over the reef!
The reef surrounding the lagoon is shallow enough to walk on at low tide, and I went out this morning on the kayak to have a look whilst someone was doing just that. I was tempted to canoe over the reef then, but the waves were looking quite scary, and I didn’t want to get hit broadside and get tipped over. Instead I went back to our unit and waited a few hours until it was nearer high tide. This time I snorkeled out. The reef was now half a meter deep at the shallowest, and I decided to press on through the waves to the other side. My snorkel was pulled out of my mouth it was so rough, but I didn’t get bashed into anything and I never lost my mask. It was surprisingly tranquil on the other side, but I was terrified as only someone who saw “Jaws” at an impressionable age can be, and my heart was pounding the entire time. I was expecting a sudden drop off to the depths on the other side, but it was more gradual than that. I turned around when it got to around 20 metres deep. We saw whales swimming past out there yesterday evening from the restaurant, and I briefly considered swimming further out, but I was nervous about what my return trip was going to be like – not to mention the possibility of sharks. (Coward!) The trip back in was indeed a little more fraught – I put my arms out in front of me and , swimming hard with my flippers, I basically flew back over the reef whilst being bashed by waves. Thrilling, but a bit naughty and I won’t be doing it again.