ED’S NOTE: This story is way better if you push play on the following before reading.
There’s certain things you expect to find in the open waters of the sea. But a fully grown wallaby, well away from shore, paddling his little heart out, isn’t exactly high up on that list.
But the aqua blue waters off of Arrawarra are apparently prime wallaby swimmin’ territory, because that’s exactly what one boat of divers came across on Monday morning.
A pair of posts made to Instagram by diver/marine scientist Laura Peregrin details the story of how they came across one very wet, very tired, and very silly little mate who somehow managed to get himself well away from shore.
The story behind it, as Laura tells it, goes a little something like this:
“So Monday morning we were going diving. Launched the tiny from Arrawarra beach and headed North. We had just left the bay when to our surprise we see an unusual shape in the water, which turns out to be a big wallaby! There, swimming a fair way out offshore by himself. We approached him. The poor thing was exhausted. It was a hot day so who could blame him for wanting to refresh himself! But he was way way out. Weirdest thing I’ve seen in a loooooong time.”“So we decided to help him. He was swimming towards the boat, so how couldn’t we? It didn’t seem like he was enjoying himself. At first, it was very difficult: he was defensive (and wallabies have huge claws), and we almost gave up and left it all in [the] hands of Natural Selection. But we tried hard and we managed to bring him up on board, tied his legs up with a rope, put a towel on his head to calm him down. And he was all calm and still on the way back to the shore, not complaining much. Once we let him go, he stayed there for a bit, exhausted. Then took off, bounced away towards the bush, never looking back. Weirdest thing that has happened to me in a while. It all put a big smile on my face though.”
I think I speak for everyone when I say “NAWWWWWWHATAREYADOINYABIGWETIDIOT?”
Photo: Laura Peregrin/Instagram.
Source: ABC News.
