Return to Sydney

Ah, Sydney.  Back again! The weather was beautiful, and we were really looking forward to hanging out with our friends and family, as well as exploring the beautiful city.

We started off with a day wandering around the downtown, doing the usual touristy things – relaxing with a coffee in the Rocks neighbourhood with its cool old-fashioned buildings, walking across the iconic Harbour bridge and stopping in at the local history museum. All the while the spectacular shape of the Opera House loomed up on the horizon and called us over for a closer look. We opted to take a behind the scenes tour of the famous venue giving us a chance to learn about its interesting history and getting us inside the many performance areas that make the Opera House such an amazing addition to the scene in Sydney.

By now we had perfected travelling on the cheap, and took advantage of the many green spaces to eat our packed lunch.

On our way to meet up with friends, we strolled through the Botanical Gardens - it was sometimes hard to believe that we were in the middle of a bustling metropolitan city.

We had fantastic plans for the night courtesy of Ashlin: dinner at the Noodle Market, followed by a live show in one of Sydney’s bustling neighborhoods. We met up with our crew at the popular food festival and enjoyed a delicious boxed meal in the park. Ashlin’s crutches were a hit with the local Aussie kids who alternatingly tried to use them as weapons or pogo-sticks while we ate.

We then walked to the live show, where a stellar line up of bands rocked the night away. After the bands finished, dj's took to the stage to throw down a mix of 90's favourites. Given the age of the clubbers, there was a good chance that the music selection was meant to be "ironic" and so we only half-heartedly boogeyed when "Groove is in the Heart" came on. Fun night!

The next day was Saturday, and we headed with Keira and Dave by bus and then ferry to Manly Beach. Our friends Ritchie and Deirdre met up with us as well, along with friend and local resident Kristen, and we spent the day lazing around on the sand, chatting and catching some waves with Ritchie’s surfboard. 

In the late afternoon, we headed back in time to change and meet up with everyone at a cool bar in The Rocks district called The Hero of Waterloo. It is known for being one of the oldest bars in town, providing service for over 160 years, and we partied it up until closing time…midnight.  Like in the UK, the pubs tend to close early while the clubs stay open later. So we headed over to the bar at the Opera House to continue the celebration and were amazed at the fantastic night life in Sydney.

We woke up the next morning and recovered from the previous night over a delicious brunch we prepared for our awesome hosts, Kiera and Dave.  Our luck held with the weather and after a leisurely start to the day we headed over to Coogee for a last visit with Ritchie, Deirdre and Ashlin, enjoying the afternoon sunshine with an outdoor barbeque in the park. Australia has a great tradition of providing free outdoor barbeques with gas in the many outdoor parks throughout the country, activated at the simple flick of a switch.

We stretched out our visit to the last possible moment, chatting away into the night, until we finally had to say our last goodbyes in order to pack and get ready for our flight to New Zealand the next day.

We couldn’t believe that our time in Australia was ending.  It had been an amazing seven weeks...visiting with friends and family, becoming “radical” surfers and living the sweet gypsy life driving the coast in a campervan visiting some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  What a dream come true, much like the rest of our trip so far.  As we hopped our flight to Auckland (NZ), we looked forward to visiting our friends that live in...oh oh...Wellington. Oops, flew into the wrong city, but that tale is still to come..

Southbound Surf Chase

After leaving Brisbane for the last time, we set our sights on the nearby Gold Coast where the waves were meant to be bigger and the surf culture more intense. The first indication of a change of pace from our time up north was in reaching Surfer’s Paradise, which incidentally is nothing of the sort – huge towers, lots of congestion and outlying areas with names like Miami Beach. Definitely not our scene.

We pressed on to Coolangatta, a place that had been recommended by a few sources, and stumbled upon the famous surf break called “Snapper Rocks”. The Roxy and Quicksilver Pro events are held here and the local surf club had the names of former champions written on the stairs. Kelly Slater had earned a fair few risers. Clearly, we were in good company and that afternoon Ben caught some of his first “big” waves of the trip.

After our success in parking in the Noosa Woods we were emboldened and so when we found no signs forbidding overnight parking, we promptly set up shop in the parking lot in front of Snapper, with a view of the surf right out our window. This was perhaps the most incredible parking spot we got all trip. While hanging out and having our meals in the van, people would walk by and ogle with envy at our amazing set up. Unfortunately it was too good to be true and the following night we were woken by the park ranger and had to relocate.

We made the most of our time at Snapper and Patricia had one of her favourite surf sessions of the trip, catching perfect long board waves all morning amongst very friendly local surfers who encouraged her all the way. We also took advantage of the beautiful beachside areas to jog, relax on the beach and enjoy a beer at sunset.

Ben even got a chance to try his hand at touching up his second hand board, definitely a step in the right direction towards becoming a "real" surfer!

As we were to learn, good surf is never guaranteed. Finding the perfect wave is the pursuit of every surfer and it requires so many forces of nature to come together all at once – tide, swell, wind, bottom conditions, sun, etc. And as the surf ebbed in Coolangatta, we made our move south, stopping in briefly at Fingal Head (no surf) and then reaching Carabitta where we took the opportunity to catch enough waves to send us to sleep at a caravan park with a nice fatigue from the effort.

The next morning we made our way back to the beach for another go at the waves and set our sights further south on the backpacker mecca of Byron Bay. We had timed things to arrive in Byron on a Saturday for maximum night life, given that we had been mostly in small towns and mainly chilling in our van. If we wanted people, we found them! Byron was jammed with van people, tons of backpackers and just about everyone was out to enjoy a meal and a drink. We had also heard that Byron was a very artsy town, filled with musicians and on this count we were definitely not disappointed by the local talent.

 

We walked near the beach, stopping to check out a drum circle that had formed and found a big Brasilian man in the middle running the show. Next up was a delicious meal and wine in the van (always doing things the cheapest way!) before heading out to find what action we could. The sweet sounds of acoustic guitar lead us around a street corner and we joined the crowd as a great musician entertained a packed restaurant. Further on, we found a big old building with quite a clamour coming from inside and a burly bouncer outside. After inquiring, we were told that it was a free punk show. Yes, free! We went straight in and had a really entertaining night listening to the local bands and chatting with fellow revellers.

That night we slept in a rest area and made the decision to carry on further south as we realized that we both preferred the charm of the small Aussie surf town. Next up was Brunswick Heads where the surf was really starting to pick up. Ben jumped in and caught the corner of the odd huge wave and otherwise tried not to get crushed. Meanwhile, we found the local Fisherman’s Co-Op and packed the van with fresh delights from the sea and also bought fresh veggies from the local market.

We also couldn’t resist stopping in for a piece of grilled cod at the Fisherman’s Co-Op which we spiced up with our own potatoes and salad. Patricia completely perfected pan fried fish during this period of the trip and each meal seemed better than the last.

It was during this time that we also stayed at a great little rest area called Yelgun where we met a really interesting young German couple and hung out together after dinner. They had been living in their awesome 4x4 camper truck for the last two years, along with their dog, taking tree planting contracts when available and traveling when not.

The town of South Golden Beach was just nearby and so we dropped in to check out the surf. Since it turned out to be quite churned up, we opted to head out for a run along a great little path that wound through the woods and town. The people of South Golden were incredibly friendly and the local café let us leave our computer charging while we enjoyed the outdoors. We had so many great experiences with friendly Aussies along the coast, it was really quite inspirational.

Waking up the next morning we decided to give the surf at Brunswick another look and what we saw pretty much took our breath away. The swell was massive, 6ft+ according to the forecast, the biggest of our five weeks on the trip, and a handful of the best local surfers were out putting on a show. We watched, spellbound, from the safety of the breakwater with coffee in hand as successive riders took on huge waves, sometimes with poetic success.

As the swell died down and the surfers paddled in, we hopped in our trusty van and headed further south towards Broken Heads. There we found a great caravan park located just opposite the beach where we shacked up for the night. It was a beautiful and secluded beach with a big headland creating an amazing point break. We hopped in the water that afternoon and Ben had his heart racing with a mix of excitement and nervousness after getting a hold of a few big ones. It’s an amazing feeling to race down the face of a good sized wave with the sound of a crash just behind you and white water licking at your feet!

We got a few good surf sessions in at Broken Heads and as the short board waves died down, the longboard waves improved and Patricia had a great time out there.  The sun in Australia is really strong, but she managed to beat the heat with an interesting outfit that looked like a mix between a Japanese fisherman, white-faced geisha and fifties pin-up girl. Oh yeah!

It was hard to leave, but we did so reluctantly that afternoon with the promise of dramatic scenery and more waves at Lennox Heads. As the surf wasn’t cooperating that night or the next morning, we returned to our beloved Broken Heads where we took a walk down 7 Mile Beach and had another lunch with a great view.

Next stop on our surf run was the fun-sounding town of Yamba. As usual we stopped in at the surf shop to acquire some local knowledge. There we met “Grumpy”, a grizzled veteran of the surf community in Yamba and much friendlier than his nickname suggested. Given the current messy conditions, he confided in us about a protected break along Pippi beach (in exchange for our vow of secrecy) and sure enough the waves were just right. More than that, each time we caught a wave in to shore, the headland rip brought us back out to the break with minimal paddling, like a moving sidewalk. That night we shacked up in the harbour parking lot and dined on fresh fish from the Co-op.

Next morning we drove out to Angourie, to check out what according to locals was the inspiration that drew most of the people to the Yamba area. There we found an amazing view down to the mythical point break (which unfortunately wasn’t working), had a breakfast and imagined ourselves surfing that spectacular sight.

As usual, we had to tear ourselves away from paradise and hit the road to check the surf which was rumoured to be good near Arrawarra. Upon arriving, we needed to get down to the beach across the property of a backpackers resort. As we walked through, a surf instructor ran frantically up the beach shouting about a medical issue and Patricia quickly offered to help. It turned out that one of his students had suffered a dislocated shoulder, which as we drew up on the scene had popped itself back into place, so our good doctor offered some advice on taking care of it over the next few days. The relieved instructor was more than happy to direct us to the break at the next beach over called Mullaway, a gorgeous spot, where Ben caught some waves with a couple of locals. As usual, the van had a pretty nice parking spot…

The surf wasn’t spectacular so we moved on to a spot we never would have discovered if it wasn’t for the incredible “Grumpy” of Yamba. He asked that we please stop in at Scott’s Head. On arriving, we knew he had made a memorable suggestion as the protection provided by the curving headland created a great point break and the town itself had done an incredible job in protecting the natural feel of the place by keeping development away from the forested shoreline. Patricia took full advantage of the fantastic right hander, catching some nice long rides into shore while Ben worked the fast closing beach break waves further away, getting a chance to practice popping up quickly as well as duck diving underneath the powerful force with increased confidence.

We found everything we could have wanted here: Nice clean bathrooms with separate indoor cold showers, free outdoor power outlets for our computer, a protected parking spot with an incredible view to watch the surf and super friendly locals. For our nightly parking spot we found our favourite rest area of the trip where we set up underneath the shade of some huge trees away from the road, giving it the feel of back country camping. Scott’s Head even had amazing mosaic art around the surf beach buildings. It was a magical destination that kept us hanging around for four days.

Managing to pull ourselves from the gravity of Scott’s Head one morning we made the trek to Crescent Head which boasted a better known point break. Popular it truly was as the water was packed with hopeful surfers. It was so crowded that Patricia actually got tangled up with another surfer on a wave (!), who was quite friendly about the whole situation as he unwrapped himself from her leash. We caught a few waves here, but the atmosphere in the water and in the town just couldn’t live up to Scott’s and so we moved back to our favourite spot after a morning session.

Our stay at Scott’s finally came to an end as the surf flattened out and our timing for returning to Sydney was getting tight. We selected Seal Rocks as our last go at the waves before returning to civilization, a rugged and beautiful place that gave us a perfect send off. We managed to fit in a run through the nearby National Park and an amazing breakfast by a freshwater lake where we sat in our comfy van sipping coffee and watching the incredible array of birds float by one after the other – pelicans, ducks, black swans. The wildlife buffet continued as upon returning to the coast we spotted dolphins cruising near the rocky point. The show-stopper was still to come when sitting on his board waiting for a wave, Ben spotted a pod of nearby whales playfully rising out of the water only to crash spectacularly down again. An incredible display!

 Finally, the time had come to return to Sydney, but we had arranged for ourselves one last ocean treat. Battling through morning rush hour traffic we arrived at Bondi Beach, a famous and beautiful surf spot in the city, to take on our last Aussie waves. Bondi didn’t disappoint in dramatics as the swell had built up to massive overhead height. Patricia worked a protected spot at the north end of the beach, catching a wave or two, including a spectacular flight through the air, while Ben tried his hand at the open break managing only to dodge the crushing waves and catch a "small" one back in to terra firma. We considered this a huge success in that we surfed a busy spot with big swell alongside experienced surfers with the feeling that we belonged out there. We were definitely now surfers! Wooooooooo!

That afternoon held one last hilarious surprise for us when Ben returned the van and the attendant seemed more relieved than normal. Turns out we had totally messed up the date and honestly thought we were returning on time when we were actually one day late. The company had been calling and emailing to try to track us down for more than 24 hours. “Woah man, you lost a day!”, exclaimed the rental guy (who chose not to charge us anything extra due to his happiness in getting the van back). But we saw it the other way around. We actually gained another day on the beautiful surf coast of Australia, a trip that seemed to just keep on giving right up until the end.

Northern Sojourn

We decided to take a chance on driving up north to see if there were some good waves to be had and nice looking beaches to be enjoyed. We had heard that the towns of Rainbow Beach, Agnes Water and 1770 were picturesque and the most northerly locations where there might be some rideable surf (further north the Great Barrier Reef shelters the coast from the swell). Our departure from Noosa was made easier by the knowledge that we would pass by again on our drive south towards Sydney.

We arrived at Rainbow Beach in good time and stayed in the town caravan park for the first night in order to charge up our van. That same evening we went for a jog along the beach and watched the sunset in a blaze of colours over the water – sunsets in Australia seem to be made out of molten gold with tones of pink and orange almost every night.

  

The next morning we were disappointed to find out that Rainbow Beach is not known for its surfing.  Instead, a favourite pastime for locals and visitors alike is to drive their 4x4s along the beach front, which makes for interesting distraction when you're trying to relax on the sand. In order to get to the surfable point break, you need a 4x4 or a decent amount of cash to arrange a ride down the beach, so we opted to catch what we could off the main beach, where we did manage to find a few decent waves.

After every morning surf session we would have our ritual breakfast of hard boiled eggs, natural yogurt, strawberry, bananas and muesli with coffee, all cooked up and served in our little van right in the beach parking lot, usually with a view of the ocean. Great way to start the day!

We also found out there were camping spots along the nearby national reserve where we could stay after buying permits of about $5 each. There was no electricity or showers, but a drop toilet was available and the views of the beaches were stunning. We pulled into a sandy little lot and enjoyed some cold beers in the sunshine, pleasantly fatigued from our day. That night we had an outdoor dinner with our feet in the sand.

People in Australia are REALLY into camping, with the full gear of caravans, trailers, generators for electricity, bringing everything including the kitchen sink. It was fun to walk around and check out all the different set ups.

The next day we surfed again, and having taken advantage of all Rainbow Beach had to offer, we pointed north for Agnes Water and Town of 1770.  It ended up being a massively long ride of five hours, partly because our until-then trusty GPS, “Leggy Bruce”, took us on very random back roads which we afterwards found out happens regularly with GPS’s around that region. Fortunately for us a friendly farmer showed us the easiest way to make our way through the forest and “Leggy” was temporarily retired. Thank goodness Australia has many "driver reviver" stops, where one can have a free coffee and cookies to help stay alert on those long hauls.

Since we weren’t going to be getting into town until way after dark, we decided to pull into one of the many rest areas along the way for the night. We found one with lots of shade from gigantic trees, complete with huge bats rustling around in the branches at night, making the bathroom visit a bit of an adventure.

The next morning we made it to Agnes Water, and although it had a cute little beach and very, very small town, we were again a bit disappointed with the surfing conditions. It did have a location to camp with a cheap permit, at Workman’s Beach, with cold water and drop toilets. We had to stay the first night in the Caravan Park to charge up, and that day went for a long run on the beach and then Ben decided to go for a paddle in the late afternoon.

We drove a short distance out of town and found a place to buy fresh fish and delicious veggies, and as we rolled out, we were treated to the sight of Kangaroos hopping by, including a mama with her baby in the pouch. Australia!!

From Agnes Water it was a short jaunt to the Town of 1770, a very literal name that refers to the date when Captain James Cook first landed on the continent. Given that the area had been built up a bit in our minds, we were surprised to find that a town it was not, more a collection of getaway houses and Captain Cook’s famous landing was commemorated with a simple pile of rocks. The views were pretty, but the charm was fleeting and so we made our way back the short distance to Agnes Water.

The next day the forecast was predicting some of the best surf for the region, so we woke up bright and early to get to the beach on time.  It was a fun session, albeit with smallish waves compared to the nice sets we had become accustomed to at Noosa. So it was that after only one day in the area, and the swell decreasing, that we decided to head back for another glorious run at Noosa Heads before stopping in to Brisbane to visit Kevin again. Such is the luxury one is afforded when chasing the surf fulltime!

Noosa Heads

Who would’ve known? Noosa Heads was a dream.  Yes, a little too perfect perhaps, but we fell in love with the “free” overnight parking in Noosa Woods, where you could wake up in the morning and go straight from you campervan for a walk to the beach for a surf.

Then it was back to the campervan for breakkie looking over the trees while our surf stuff dried out in the sun. Digesting was done on the beach in the shade after breakfast, where we whiled away the hours playing guitar…

 

admiring the view…

and showing off Ben’s wicked surfer tan.  Surf’s up, dude!!

Then back for another go at surfing in the afternoon!  

It was a perfect arrangement, and things got off to a tremendous start when on our second visit to a surf shop at Noosa Junction we met the owner of Underground Surf, Ondi.  A teddy-bear of a guy, super cool, who not only kitted us out with our gear (8ft foamie longboard and 6’3” Dempsey Fishtail) plus wetsuits, but also helped us with some great advice about surfing in the area.  He pointed us to Noosa Woods with the usual caution: “If the rangers come up to you, just tell them you are on your way north and needed a place to “stop, revive, survive” for the night, and cross your fingers you don’t get a $400 ticket”. And it was thus that the adventure began!!

Our campervan was amazing – we made every meal there, from breakfast to dinner, and rarely splurged on coffee and a beer at the bar. Who would need to when you can ensure a near bottomless supply of wine with a 4L box for $15! We swear it wasn’t terrible.

We got used to the cold outdoor showers and daytime public toilets on the nights where we parked for free in Noosa Woods, and this allowed us to stay clean despite living in a van with no bathroom.

Noosa downtown was very posh, and we generally avoided it because we couldn’t afford much, but enjoyed driving past and looking at all the locals – the rich, blond and beautiful of Australia. Very entertaining! This was more than compensated for by the beauty of Noosa National Park, where we saw our first Koala at a distance of two arm spans – crazy luck!! For some reason it decided to make its bed on a fork of a tree just overhanging the park trail – a very strange decision if privacy was what it craved. We even saw it move (!), which apparently is as rare as hen's teeth.

Also, the Park is where we found Tea Tree Bay, our first wicked point break in Australia that Ben fell in love with when we first discovered it through word of mouth. It was never that good again, but it always kept us coming back for more despite the fiften minute walk with gear and supplies from the car park. It was fun to walk with our boards along the coastal path, admiring the view and getting some exercise before surfing to our hearts content.

We were lucky with perfect weather, and on the last day Patricia went for an unforgettable jog through the National Park and saw whales cruising just off of the lookout. The sunsets from the parking lot were unbelievable, a molten rose gold of beauty.

We did go out a couple of nights, on the search for good nightlife, but really didn’t find much! Let’s just say Noosa is not the best for going out, but if you have to, the Surf Club on the main beach strip and the Irish Pub on Noosa Junction are good bets for a pint.  The best hang out we found was a cool restaurant called Mooshka, where we spent a relaxed afternoon catching up on our emails during a brief afternoon rainstorm.

The Surf Club did provide one interesting night out where we were wowed by a 40 something cover band that rocked all of the big hits of the 80’s. Our Canadian crew will be proud to know that “Summer of ’69” drew the biggest dancing crowd. It was there that we met two hilariously matched friends in “Tap” and his friend “big Rugby guy”. The big dude spent most of the time pumping his fist to the music while encouraging Ben to do the same (or else!). He turned out to be something of a big rugby star back in the day and was hanging out with “Tap” as they were in town for a conference and had both gotten into fights with their wives that night. They then proceeded to wander into the same bar where they met and decided to drown their woes together. Luckily “Tap” made up for his friend in being a great guy and he shared with us a hilarious anecdote regarding his name. He apparently has a twin brother with the exact same first name except with one letter different, pronounced the exact same way, along with the identical middle and last name...Hippie parents can be funny that way. The four of us drank beer, chatted, pumped fists and had a very random night indeed.  

We ended up leaving Noosa twice – the first time after a 5 day stay to go up north, and then the second time after a five day stay on our way back down south. Obviously, we fell in love with it, and this first place we visited ended up being the spot where we stayed for the longest. 

Noosa is also the place where, on our very last day, Patricia had the most epic surf session on her long board, while Ben waded into the water to capture the magic on film. Those longboarding waves were to be some of the best on the entire trip! Patricia only left the beach once her arms could no longer hold her up, and she had caught waves to her heart’s content.

Ben was already looking forward to the day when the surf would be big enough for his short board, when he could also have an epic day catching the perfect wave! This story is yet to come…

On our last day we went and said goodbye to Ondi and had our first delicious Aussie meat pie. What a great way to end this fantastic chapter of our trip!