settled in

I've been living in Bondi Beach for over a week now and have started to get to know the neighborhood fairly well. Our apartment is no more than a half mile from the beach so we've been spending a bunch of time there. It's quite fitting that I can walk to the beach but I have to take a bus to campus. Good to know that my priorities are in line.

The building I live in consists of around 30 people who are all studying abroad at UNSW. Most of the students are Americans, but there are a few Swedes and Norwegians living here as well. I didn't realize how international our neighborhood was going to be until we arrived. Bondi Beach is a huge backpacking destination so its not uncommon to hear lots of different languages on the streets. There's also lots of Canadians around these parts so its been fun to talk a bit of trash with them about how our Olympic hockey team is going to beat them again in the final (let's hope so). Basically, it seems like nobody here is a true local, which makes it much easier to fit in.

The weather has been in the high 70s and the ocean temperature has been around 74 degrees. The beach here gets absurdly crowded on the weekends but its usually not too bad on weekdays and in the mornings. The surf has been big so far, with a couple of days last week producing head high swells (there were a few 10 foot faces out there on Wednesday). That being said, the wind has been blowing onshore, making it blown out, choppy, and difficult to navigate the lineup. I've been getting plenty of good workouts while having to paddle through the slop in order to reach the outside sections. Hopefully there will be more favorable winds in the near future, as I don't think I've yet to witness the true potential of the waves in this neighborhood.

Tomorrow is Sunday, so myself and a few other guys are going to go and explore the town a bit. There are tons of Sunday markets that people set up on the side of the road in Bondi. Its basically a whole bunch of yard sales around town that can have great deals on skateboards, surfboards, clothes, etc. Hopefully we'll be able to find some good stuff. For the mean time though, here's a picture of the beach so you can get an idea of how built up it is. There's tons of buildings that are basically built right on top of it. The crowd that day was definitely modest, and I'd say it's usually double or triple that on weekends. Classes finally start this Monday and I don't know if I'm ready yet. No worries though, I can still go to the beach every day.

highlights

Greetings. I'm back and better than ever, sorry for the delay. My internet access has been extremely limited and my computer has been the last thing on my mind, but here I am in a wireless internet cafe in Bondi Beach, NSW, my new home for the next four and a half months. I don't have wi-fi yet in my apartment, but hopefully I'll be getting it soon so that my skype will be up and running. I just got done with a three day orientation with my study abroad program where I met a bunch of students and got to know the basics about studying here. The main reason I'm updating though is to recap my week-long surf road trip trip, which extended from Sydney to Byron Bay, around 2000km total on the Pacific Highway. What a journey it was. It ended up being difficult at times (seeing as we were driving on the left side of the road in a stick shift campervan on the other side of the world with no idea where we were going). However, it couldn’t have been more rewarding. I don’t even know where to begin. Without further adieu, here are the highlights and a few snapshots to go along:

1. Our morning surf session at Crescent Head on February 10th. The conditions were ideal. The waves were breaking straight down the point, all right-handers (meaning they break to the right). They were 3-4 feet with barely any wind. Here’s a picture I took from the parking lot right after rolling out of bed at first light.


2. Cutting open a fresh pineapple in the parking lot of Mullawarra Beach after a surf session in the afternoon on February 10th. While hanging in the lot, we encountered a local grommet (young surfer) that had ridden his skateboard down to the beach to check the surf. At just 13 years old, he was as stoked as can be about surfing and the local area. Topics discussed included his all-time greatest barrel, local board shapers, various parts of the coast, nearby resident and legend Mark Occhilupo (Australia’s modern surfing version of Michael Jordan), a secret spot down the road that he claimed looked like Maui on a “classic” day (surfers here love that word), and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. It was the best surfing conversation I've ever had, hands down. The young surfers here are truly a sight to be seen, they can fly and punt airs like it’s no big deal. Bottom line, they can rip and they know it.

3. Seeing several kangaroos on our drive north just after that session. Here’s a snapshot of one I took in the late afternoon. Little did we know that they’re quite a hazard on the roads, particularly around dusk. We learned the hard way, as one shockingly ran out in front of our van from the tall grass and slammed against the bumper. Lesson learned: always buy rental insurance (we thankfully had).


4. On our drive north, we stopped at a local meat pie restaurant called Fredo Pies located in Kempsey that we'd read about in our travel guide. Meat pies are apparently the rave over here, so we figured we had to give them a try. This specific place is well-known for its unique pies, which included ostrich, emu, kangaroo, and of course, as the sign says, crocodile. I stuck with chicken though, but if I make it back I'll have to be more adventurous the next time. The food was very good, and has been at most places thus far in Australia.


5. Surfing in great conditions at Broken Head on the 11th and 12th. While surfing there the first morning, I spotted a pack of dolphins out in the water. They are amazing to watch and can ride the waves faster that anyone or anything I've ever seen. I wasn't able to get any pictures of the dolphins, but here's a couple shots I took from the cliff that overlooks the point.



6. Having two people recognize Martha's Vineyard while we were in Byron Bay. One of them was a waiter who saw my Al's Package t-shirt and immediately began talking about the movie Jaws and how he'd read about the island in a book. The other was a surfer we met at Tallows, who immediately asked if we were from Martha's Vineyard (without even seeing my t-shirt) when we mentioned we were surfers from New England. He had somehow heard that there was a surfing contingent on the island and he said it was the only place he'd ever heard of from the area. It turns out the surfing world is a lot smaller than we thought.

7. Seeing a wild guana at a campsite at Broken Head. Apparently they are fairly common for that region. Here's a picture of Jordan sizing up the reptile. Don't see too many of these back home, that's for sure.


8. Surfing at Soldiers Beach on the morning of February 15th before heading to Sydney to meet up with our study abroad group. The waves were as good as I've seen all trip as we were getting out of the water to pack up and head out. That's just how it goes sometimes. Here's a picture I took while standing on the point. This wave was easily overhead at takeoff.


Those were just a few of the many great moments from the trip. Now that I'm settled into my apartment at Bondi Beach, I have over a week until classes get started on March 1st. I plan on exploring the city and doing a fair bit of surfing at the local break, which is literally a half-mile from my front door. I've already been out twice, and amidst the massive crowds, there has been solid surf that will be much more available once the temperature drops and the crowds decrease. That's all for now. Not sure when I'll be back on here next, but I'm sure I'll have something worthwhile to check out.

moving up the coast

I'm at a campsite on Broken Head Reserve, just a few miles outside of Byron Bay, a famous surfing and backpacking town. I can hear the noise of the ocean in the background and there’s a quality point break just a few hundred yards away. There’s a night breeze, the air temperature has been in the high 70’s, and the ocean temperature has been roughly the same. Jordan and I just finished a cold beer (or “tinny” as they say here) while sitting on the beach, checking out the constellations, and talking to a few Australians visiting for the weekend from Brisbane. I’m still waiting for somebody to pinch me and end this dream.

What an extraordinary country. The scenery, surf, people, culture, and wildlife have all been spectacular. Australia may very well have some of the most entertaining people to talk to that I've ever encountered. Words can hardly even begin to describe the past few days. Pardon me if I start to throw in bits of Aussie lingo over the next few months, their dialect is undeniably contagious.

So far we have traveled almost 800 km north of Sydney while stopping at various beaches to surf along the way. We have been fortunate enough to have great surf at five different beaches up the coast of New South Wales: Soldier’s Beach, Crescent Head, Mullawarra, Broken Head, and Tallows. (I’ve marked all of them on the map on the right). We will likely be waking up early tomorrow morning to surf before we begin to head back south toward Sydney. We plan on stopping at a few new places along the way and possibly at a couple from before. The swell has decreased since we first arrived, but hopefully it will stick around a bit longer.

I’m going to recap the trip soon by providing some of the highlights, but I'm planning on waiting until we get back to Sydney on the 15th to do so. For now here’s a couple of pictures from our morning session at Crescent Head. The beach at Crescent Head is a reserve and is protected by a surfing trust, meaning it’s similar to a national park. I took the second photo from the cliff after I got out of the water. It gives a good idea of the distance that could be traveled on the waves that day. Make sure to check back soon for the highlights from the trip. It was one I’m never going to forget and never going to be able to replicate.

taking off

Friends, family, and random internet travelers, welcome and thanks for tuning in. I'm about to embark on a remarkable journey, which will span over 9,000 miles. In just a few hours, I'll be boarding a plane leaving Atlanta, GA that will take me to Los Angeles, CA for a brief layover, and then directly to Sydney, Australia, where I will be spending the next four and a half months. During that time I will be studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, while also pursuing one of my greatest passions, the sport of surfing, in my spare time. I'm currently a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, majoring in Communication Studies and English, both of which I will continue to study during my time abroad.

While outside the country, I will be using this blog as a means of documenting my travels, sharing my thoughts, telling surf stories, and most of all staying connected to the people I care about. I'm hoping to have fun with it and try to make it as enjoyable as possible for all parties involved. That being said, please pardon my overzealous amount of surfing references if that's not really your thing. I'll try to translate as best as possible if it gets too extreme for normal words.

This journey represents somewhat of a pilgrimage, as Australia is one of the surfing capitals of the world. Without a doubt Australia is a stark contrast to my humble surfing past in the quaint island town of Chilmark, MA, which I will talk about at a later time in more detail.

Because my program doesn't actually start until February 16th, I've decided to travel to Australia early alongside my close friend and fellow surfer Jordan, who will also be studying abroad with the same program. Upon our arrival in Sydney, we will be renting a campervan and taking a week-long surf expedition north of the city. I will try to give updates, but internet availability is not a given during that time. Check back soon for more details.