This was the time that I was finally able to use those years of Chinese study to achieve a tangible result.

It was later in the afternoon Tiffany, Byron and myself had decided to go for a bike ride from Kirra beach where we were staying via the bike path that runs along the beach down to Point Danger. The ride down was spectacular looking out over the ocean with its crashing waves and the last few surfers of the day enjoying their final surf sessions at the point breaks along the path. The setting sun was reflecting through the clouds creating some spectacular colours and giving the evening a magical feel.

Halfway up Point Danger

We had stopped to take in the view from a position about half way up the mountain and were looking out to sea, everything was calm except for a car horn that punctuated the air every so often. At first we didn’t think anything of it, just some kids playing around while they were waiting for the return of a parent, perhaps it was someone trying to hurry along a friend. I took a detour to take a photograph of the Quicksilver Pro site that lay empty and dark in stark contrast to the bustling powerhouse it had been only the day before, with its large screens and energised crowed now it it lay dark and early silent waiting for the teams of people to come and remove the hulking structures.

All quiet at yesterday’s Quicksilver Pro site

As Tiffany and Byron made their way back down the hill, Byron noticed that the car whose horn had been going off every now and again contained an elderly Chinese lady, who was sitting alone in the back seat with the windows partially down. They decided to wait for me to come down from where I had been taking photographs to see if I could ask the lady if she needed any assistance.

The lady appeared rather relieved when I spoke to her in Mandarin Chinese and she asked how much I could speak. I replied that as long as she spoke slowly and clearly then I could probably understand quite a bit. She explained that it was getting quite hot and stuffy in the car and that she would like to open the door. I checked a couple of the doors and found that they were locked. We then had more of a conversation where I ascertained that her family were likely to be walking along the beach and that they consisted of five people including her three grandsons.

While I set off to find them, Tiffany, Byron and a security guard who was protecting the Quicksilver Pro site and had come over to see if he could help, continued to attempt to open the doors. I found the lady’s family down on the rocks at Snapper using their Go Pros to film the few local surfers who having reclaimed their break were catching the last waves of the day. I was able to explain to them that their Mother/ Grandmother was getting hot in the car and needed the doors opened.

From where you would rather be

By the time we reached the vehicle Tiffany, Byron and the security guard had managed to open one of the doors by feeding Byron in through the partially opened window. This had not freed the lady who was trapped in the back seat by a door that appeared to have a child lock, it had however significantly cooled the car making life more comfortable for her.

I assured the elderly lady that I had found her family and they would be along shortly, she thanked everyone for their effort and complemented Byron on his height. Her family arrived at around this time and freed the lady from the car. We took our leave of absence and began our journey back to the beach shack, stopping to thank the security guard who had resumed his position outside the gates to the Quicksilver Pro site.