The old wooden house looks out over the sea. Standing on the upstairs balcony of Heather Rose’s house is like being on the prow of a becalmed ship.
At the far end of the gently curving Tasmanian beach, forest runs to the sea. Rose swims across this bay at sunrise every morning, even through the frosty months when there is snow on the mountain, in only a bathing suit. Electricity shoots up her arms when she first goes in; her breathing is ragged, but when the shock subsides it is an “elixir of sea and sky”. The cold water leaves her radiant, her face shining with health. It has taught her “a certain fearlessness”.
