An otherwise lovely weekend outing to Angourie has been marred by four-year-old Sebastian Gingell’s disappointment that the area’s iconic Green and Blue Pools aren’t as distinctively Green and Blue as the names would suggest.
The seeds of young Seb’s displeasure were sown on the 20-minute drive out to Angourie from the Gingell’s Maclean residence – with the inquisitive youngster demanding information about the day’s expedition.
“One moment I’m in my jarmies, watching Peppa Pig on ABC Kids, making a right old mess with my lego, happy as you like, the next I’m trussed up in the booster seat harness like some kind of criminal supervillain, so naturally I’m gonna press mum and dad for the lowdown on these specifically-named pools.”
“Well, Seb,” Father Max Gingell is reported to have said as they turned off Wooli street into Angourie road, “the pools are former quarrying sites that supplied rock to build the Yamba breakwall about 120 years ago. The miners dug so deep they hit a freshwater spring and the quarries filled up with water.
“I imagine they’re called The Blue and Green pools because that’s the colour they are.
“Yeah Seb, we’ll just have to wait and see how Blue and Green they are, we’re almost there, fella.
“Look mate, Mum and Dad have had a big week and would really appreciate just a little bit of shoosh for the moment.”
Upon arrival at Angourie, witness report the family in high spirits, with parents Dianne and Max exhaling loudly as they took in the beauty of this quintessential North Coast gem, and chuckling at young Sebastian’s excited curiosity to see these Green and Blue Pools.
Within a short period of time, however, anticipation turned to puzzlement as no difference in colour between the two became apparent, despite Sebastian insisting the family traipse from one pool to the next several times to assess their respective green-ness and blue-ness.
This puzzlement quickly morphed into the kind of existential funk four-year-olds feel so sharply when the world serves up another disappointment.
Your reporter was granted a few minutes with the visibly upset youngster midway through a well-supervised and well-provisioned sulk.
Biting into his egg and lettuce sandwich with the crusts cut off, and throwing down a (possibly ill-advised) red cordial, Seb articulated his disappointment.
“Practically the first thing they teach you in Kindy – like, literally the moment they pull out the crayons and textas on day one – is that grass is green and sky is blue.
“Look, green and blue may be neighbours on the cool side of the colour-spectrum, but they’re unmistakeably different. Anyone visiting the so-called Green and Blue Pools of Angourie and expecting a clear chromatic contrast is in for a rude shock. They’re both pretty much the same, hey.
“It’s a shame, really, ‘cos this is paradise, otherwise. The scenery’s gorgeous, the pools themselves are beautiful, the tracks around the headlands reward you with views and outlooks at every turn, the beaches are postcard-pretty, and there’s a nearby café at which I intend to leverage my current foul mood for access to as many pastries and treats as possible.
“I’m not going to stop at ONE babyccino, I’ll give you the word.
“Now leave me alone.”
At approximately 1:30pm, witnesses report the Gingell family making their way back to the car (and the café) via idyllic Spooky Beach, where young Sebastian, his tantrum clearly behind him, played happily in the shallows, and took a moment to stare out to the horizon – where a royal blue Pacific met with azure summer sky – and, with arms outstretched, was heard to exclaim joyfully “Now THIS … THIS is BLUE!!!”
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