So I decided, in a momentary lapse of reason around November last year, to complete the Busselton Jetty swim with a friend. For those unfamiliar, it’s the longest jetty I think in the world and around 1.6km long. The swim is a beloved tradition where people, either a team or solo, swim to the end of the jetty and back to shore.
This year, the swim is early February.
It’s a target for me, and I’ve realised how driven I am by goals. For me it’s never about being the fastest, but it is about pushing my own limits. I will be swimming around 1.5km and Tarryn will swim around 2.2km.
Swimming in the sea is wonderful, I don’t think I will ever feel the same about swimming in the pool again. Today I participated in a swim down at the jetty, 1.25km so nearly the same distance. I was swimming with fish, over seaweed, and with sunlight cutting through the water. As I reached the finish line under the jetty, a shoal of tiny fish kept me company to the end.
As it’s Australia today, some painted kangaroo statues at the pie shop I visited on the way home today. There was a citizenship ceremony by the beach this morning, close to the swim start, a reminder of what Australia Day means to so many here.
My Longest Journey 