Around The World In 80 Waves

It had started raining heavily again whilst getting out of our surf clobber at Belongil Beach so we took the decision to push north over the border into Queensland and find a place to stay in the town called Surfer’s Paradise.

Contrary to all suggestions based on its name the waves there are rubbish, and this fact is exaggerated by all the amazing breaks which can be found nearby elsewhere on the Gold Coast. the town itself is also a bit of a mess at the moment because half of it has been ripped up in efforts to get a light railway installed before the start of the holiday season later in the year.

Slowly navigating through the associate traffic we treated ourselves to a hotel room at the D’Arcy Arms to balance things out after a night in the truck stop.

A quick stop there to make sure all the electrical items were charging properly, and then after freshening up we headed into town.

It was a school night so there wasn’t all that much going on but we did find ourselves in a great club watching the first ashes test and admiring the local wildlife.

Just past Byron Bay we stopped at a quiet stretch of sand known as Belongil Beach, where there seemed to be a degree of doubt about the need for swimwear.

There is a time and a place for everything but I don’t think Neil or I would ever want a Gopro shot of our giblets from the front of my board!

The waves were still small here, but because they were not too daunting Neil decide to have another go on my board.

I picked up this shot of us both looking rather confused as we were getting ready.

Neil felt the water was warm enough not to bother with a wetsuit, and took the first shift in the water. I didn’t mind because straight after he did so a fantastic looking young lady came bouncing down the beach in a bikini, so skimpy it barely contained her on her lunchtime run. She was obviously taking the advice re wearing clothing at this beach very seriously!

I don’t mind telling you it was a joy to behold, and sadly my efforts at getting Neil back out of the water with the camera so that you could share the experience were woefully too slow.

Meanwhile Neil was trying to battle out past the shore break, as you see here. However I must report that he wasn’t in the water that long on this occasion. During his session Neil was afflicted with an experience I know all too well on this trip. You are sat on the board waiting for a wave when an un-expecting arm or leg gets brushed by an innocuous bit of seaweed or equivalent drifting in the water.

Given some of the wildlife knocking around it puts a shiver down your spine which is quite unsettling, and then places a whole host of thoughts in your head that are not great travelling companions at such time!

Once the baton had been passed I paddled out and snagged a couple of tiny waves. this was the best picture, but it flatters to deceive about how poor conditions actually were.

Not to worry though it is another wave towards my target which is now within sight.

After my Tiger Shark free surf at Lennox Head we had a short drive north to arrive in Byron Bay. Even though it was just past 11.30am we had already been up for hours and were feeling like lunch so found ourselves at the Byron Beach Cafe.

It is a beautiful location from which you could see the break known as The Pass in the distance, but personally I found the cafe more than a bit pretentious. “Sir, we are not ready for lunch at this time” Oh I’m sorry I thought you were a cafe. I almost managed to bite my lip, but not not quite, and satisfied myself with ordering a beer with my breakfast because I knew me lowering the tone would irritate the waiter.

The food was good though and I have to say the beer that was brewed locally was pretty tasty too.

After our breakfast/lunch we went for a stroll along the beach towards the lighthouse to check out the break known as The Pass. Despite being quite small it was absolutely mobbed in the water and I decided to save the break for the return leg back towards Sydney hoping that it would be a little quieter and a bit bigger then.

We walked all the way along the beach to the island where a flight of steps has been built so that you can climb  the mound and get a closer look at the surfers and the break,

Looking back down the beach you can see what great rides are on offer here. I’m looking forward to it already.

After our early start from the truck stop we were moving quickly and arrived at Lennox Head just as the cafes were opening. Lennox Head is one of Australia’s classic right hand point breaks and I had been looking forward to surfing it.

Sadly the swell direction was wrong for the point, meaning that the waves were largely just crashing on the rocks that line the shore there as opposed to breaking all along the headland. 

Not to worry I will get a second chance at the point later on my travels. Everybody else was heading for the waves breaking on the beach in front of the town so I decided to do likewise, but not until Neil and I had grabbed a coffee.

At the till the young lady serving took great delight in telling me to watch out for the 10′ tiger shark which had been regularly cruising through the break in recent weeks. Great! Thanks for that. It was just what I needed before paddling out!

On this piece of advice Neil decided to pass on the session, leaving me to paddle out across the inshore to the spot where the waves were breaking. Sadly my Gopro ran out of battery almost as soon as I got in the water so I took solace in knowing that at least there would not be any footage of my untimely demise in the water.

There were a few people out, with the usual smattering of SUPs (Stand Up Paddle boards) hogging the break. I haven’t got a real problem with any surf craft, just the owners of them and today there was one old bloke who wasn’t even satisfied with taking the lions share of waves, and started dropping in on mine as well. 

As ever you wouldn’t mind so much if the person concerned looked like this but he didn’t and I told the crusty old goat where to get off, after which he gave me enough space to catch plenty of my own in the head high and clean waves. I was out for a few hours with no signs of of the Tiger Shark too, which was a result.

After my late afternoon session at Coffs Harbour and a post surf ham and cheese sandwich we jumped in the van and headed north once more through the rain.

The weather was filthy and we had a long way to go but we made good time in the darkness. In search of an evening meal we found a pub in Ballina and walked in just in time to see the first balls of this series of The Ashes being bowled.

We had a great meal and sat on the sidelines whilst the rest of the pub finished off the pub quiz that had been going on all night. I knew loads of the answers but had to bite my tongue. I hate people with quiz-tourette syndrome.

After the meal and a few beers we rolled back out of town to guerilla camp at the truck stop we had seen on the way in. On a year long trip you always have to watch the budget a little bit and parking out the way we weren’t bothering anybody.

We just wanted to avail ourselves of the facilities in the morning, and it was a quiet night. We did not meet any ladies like those in this B movie whilst there. Sadly!

After a great night in Port MacQuarie we checked out a few beaches on the road north, but there really wasn’t much swell about.

We weren’t having much luck finding food either so by the time we arrived in Coffs Harbour, which is home to The Big Banana, Neil opted to go in search of food whilst I couldn’t resist the fun waves I had seen breaking in front of the Surf Lifesaving Club there.

The break was pretty empty too. For most of the time it was just me and a handful of young groms in the water enjoying the clean waist high waves.

Neil snapped this picture from the shore, which we think might be me but I caught most of my waves whilst he was still enjoying a bite to eat or doing his best to keep out of the rain and stay dry in the campervan.

Thankfully my Go Pro was working well today and I got loads of shots of all the fun I was having in the beach break, of which this is probably the best one.

The sun was starting to go down when I eventually got out of the water always mindful of the angry fish in the area which  might be hungry. I wasn’t too worried here though I have to say. I always fancied my chances of getting out the water faster than one of the local kids. Nowhere does it say life is fair!

With a mug of coffee in hand we stroll down to the north side of the river which separate Forster and Tuncurry. It is a glorious start to the day but the waves there weren’t enough to tempt us into the water.

It was good enough for these two groms who had skateboarded down to the beach at the same time as carrying their surfboards, but knee high waves for them is not knee high waves for me, so Neil drove us on to New Haven which was a little further north up the coast.

After enjoying the demonstration of a local bikini clad girl’s gymnastic skills whilst trying to figure out where was the best peak in the water, we both got suited up and hit the waves.

I gave Neil a few pointers in the shallows to give him a flying start, but surfing really is something you have to figure out for yourself so it wasn’t long before I left him to it.

Surfing is amazing once you are able to ride clean waves but the honest truth is that just getting out to them can be brutal, and I think Neil discovered that whilst catching a few waves on my board. Another tip is to always keep one eye on the horizon, but I think I might not have passed that one on before this shot was taken!

Neil bagged a few though, riding them in to the beach and the water is warm again this far north so he was able to stay in quite a while before passing the board over to me.

The beach was quiet because it was midweek and I had a ball in the great waves in the sunshine.

This is probably the best shot of my own efforts. You can see how clean and glassy the waves were, and I was having so much fun.

The only downside to our first day was the receipt of an email from the campervan company I had used in New Zealand. It told me that the lovely Berghaus jacket I have travelled half the world with and whose waterproof capabilities were working so well in the picture here (taken at Iguacu falls), has been lost in the post between there and Australia.

It is my own fault for leaving it behind, but I probably wouldn’t have done so if there were not so many issues to deal with in the van I had been given. However the upshot of this news is that I have pointlessly been waiting for three weeks in the rain without a coat and not wanting to buy one because I wouldn’t have had room for it in my bags going forward.

I am now down a $500 coat with no chance of any compensation, and not at all happy about it.

I suppose it is one of the reasons why I took out travel insurance, but I am anticipating them doing everything possible to avoid paying out for it, not to mention dreading the administrative pain in the butt that will go with the process.

None of the above improves my mood. Sorry Neil.

We wake up to discover that Andy Murray has won the Men’s Singles at Wimbledon. Congratulations to him. It is fantastic for a Brit to have finally gotten another victory in the event there. I am sure Fred Perry would be pleased.

I am up with the sun and sort us some supplies for bacon and egg rolls to get Neil and I off to a flying start. After enjoying that we get the van rigged properly for the next week and can see that the waves aren’t up to much locally, so we drive north to Newcastle in the sunshine.

The beach is right in the centre of town and there are a few people out so I don’t need much encouragement to get into my wetsuit even if the waves are not huge.

Neil hasn’t got much board time under his belt so sits this one out, getting a few pictures of me in the water instead.

I have been having far too many technical woes of late so don’t take my camera out with me, because I couldn’t cope with another failure today! (As an aside here Neil deserves an award for his patience in this regard over the next few days. I reiterate that he wouldn’t have believed the problems I have been having if he hadn’t seen it himself, but it isn’t his fault and with more patience than I deserve he deals with the grumpiest of surf bloggers for a few days until things settle down.)

The waves were ok at Newcastle and I caught at least my share whilst in the water for a couple of hours, but they were far from anything special. The biggest thing of note was the current which kept dragging me towards the rocks at the north end of the bay. I had it covered though and enjoyed myself in the midday sun before rejoining Neil in the van.

Neil is at the wheel today so once I have dried off he drives us all the way up to Tuncurry where we stay the night in a camp site there. We also go out in search of some fun, but manage only a cheap meal in the sports club there. However it was a great first day to get Neil in the spirit of things.

Once the hangover from the Lions celebrations has subsided it is time for me to get back on the road. Australia has so many great waves which I’m keen to bag on this tour.

I have secured another campervan for the next month and a half, but before leaving Sydney my first order of business is to go and collect my buddy Neil who is going to be my copilot for the next leg of my travels. He has flown over here on business and to see his family, but has time for a few waves with me.

Apart from being a top bloke generally Neil is the person who has helped me get this blog operational, and has also been the poor sod whose ear I have been bending everytime things stop working.

It is the first time I will be travelling on this trip without flying solo and it is great to have some company while I explore Australia’s east coast. It is already late in the afternoon when I pick Neil up in Sydney so we throw his stuff in the back and then drive north to the Central Coast. There is a lot of traffic on the road so we call time on our journey when we get to a town called Blacksmiths.

Despite our best efforts we cant find a place there to have a celebratory beer in a pub because it is Sunday night. So after drinking what supplies I had put in the fridge before departing we settle in for the night.

The van has two beds, one of which is in the roof space, but we don’t realise how cosy that is until we set it up for the first night. I volunteer for the short straw because Neil is only in the van for a week, but you can see from this picture how cramped it was with a big lump like me in it.

It feels like I am sleeping in a coffin and it takes a few nights to get used to. The ply-wood beneath me is bowing with my weight so I don’t think Neil sleeps too soundly the first night either!