Tsunami changes student's perspective
Wed 27 June 2007
Julian Groneberg, Communication
The ocean is something most that people on the coast are familiar with, often having grown up here and enjoyed the privilege of living so close to the Sunshine Coast’s pristine beaches.
It is also a natural wonder that has a force that many take for granted.
This is not the case for Buderim resident Belinda Gear who is a journalism student at University of the Sunshine Coast. In late 2004 she was caught up in something that she 
said changed her perception of Mother Nature permanently.
That something was the Indian Ocean tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, which sent shock waves through Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Belinda was holidaying at Hikkaduwa, a popular surfing destination on Sri Lanka’s west coast over the Christmas period of 2004.
The night before the tsunami hit, Belinda recalled feeling anxious and having bad feelings about the town where she was staying.
“There was a full moon and the place had a strange energy,” she said.
After a troubled night sleep, Belinda said she was woken up by people who were crying out and screaming.
“At first I thought it was the noise of people still partying from the night before,” she said.
“But then I noticed water coming into my room and I knew something was wrong.”
At about 6.30am Belinda noticed the water was knee high and grabbed her passport and then raced for higher ground, amidst a sea of devastation.
“Everything around me was destroyed,” she said.
Soon after Belinda met an English couple that let her and many others stay at their home. After contacting the consulate and her family, Belinda said she was forced to wait in the tsunami-ravaged area for three days because roads out of Hikkaduwa were badly damaged.
“It was quite a depressing place to be, one woman I met lost 15 family members,” she said.
Eventually Belinda flagged down a van and bribed the driver to take her to the nearest airport. She then caught a flight to India where she had arranged to meet a friend.
Six weeks later she returned home as “a changed person”.
Belinda attributes her remarkable and injury-free escape as “incredible luck” and said the ordeal has almost given her faith.
“I felt like I was protected,” she said.
Originally from Melbourne, Belinda moved to the Sunshine Coast to continue her studies. She said part of the decision to move was the coastal environment of the Sunshine Coast, along with having the opportunity to study at a smaller, less bureaucratic university.
“I like to be along the coastline, and in touch with Mother Nature and the elements, even though I know how powerful they can be,” she said.
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