Gnarly Swell

Just back from surf camp! What a weekend. Went on a 2 day trip with Mojo Surf and yes, they did name it after Austin Powers. It was founded by 2 aussies and a NY frat guy named Ian, whom I met in Cairns and got me to sign up. They have their own coach bus and it was suppose to pick us up friday at 6:15... typical for Australia, they were an hour and a half late. We ate dinner at IH then got a friend to drive us to the train station at 6, then booked ass to catch a train so we wouldn't be late. We ended up running off the train to the stop where we were suppose to meet them, only to find out the delay due to traffic. I was carrying 2 six packs of Toohey's Extra Dry for me and 1 six of Toohey's New for my buddy Frank. I had em in this green-friendly grocery bag and forgot his were on top, ended up dropping his 6 pack and 2 bottles popped, so we had to skull for the sake of not loosing a $10 six pack.

So there was a group of about 30 Newcastle kids sitting at this train station on the side of a highway for an hour and a half with all our alcohol we were instructed to bring for the weekend. Needless to say we had a bit of a party on the side of the road. The bus finally pulls up and out pops your stereotypical blonde, shaggy haired surfer dude - "WHASSSUP DUUUDES YA'LL REEADY TO SUUUURF" Hell yeah we were! Threw our stuff on the bottom of the bus and hopped on. I was the last to get on bc Frank was finishing his beer, and there were no empty seats. 2 girls were taking up 2 seats each, so I asked one to scooch over. Completely random, BTW.

The surfer had us play the name game, where he put on a song and we had to march down the runway of the bus to the front and introduce ourselves over the microphone and say our turn ons and turn offs- there were some good responses considering people had been drinking. So one after one goes and this one chick said she was from Maryland! Turns out from Bethesda, going to St. Mary's! Then the chick next to me, whom I asked to move over, says she's from Maryland too! Turns out... SHE GOES TO TOWSON. What a flippin small world! And she WAS in ZETA but disaffiliated and knows Steph! HAHA freeeaky.

So we watched American Gangster on the ride up, very decent movie but long, never got to see the end! It was about a 3 hour drive up the coast to our destination - Crescent Head.


We had to go for about 30 minutes on a dodgey dirty road with so many potholes... couldn't go more than like 10 mph, really had to go to the boondocks to get to this place! Saw some Kangaroo's on the road as well! And a Gohanna lizzard.



Finally we make it to camp and get our rooms. The big room that slept about 40 people got filled, so I made my way to the loft rooms and stayed with a guy from VT named James, and an Irish couple and German couple - James and I were lerious the couples might try something late at night. Although we were sleeping on a thin foam mattress nailed to 8 milk crates. Not comfy. Mojo has this huge compound with a giant house that sleeps like 60 and another house that sleeps about 40. They have an outdoor kitchen that fed all of us, showers and bathrooms, and private walk to this secluded beach - soooo nice!

We all headed to the beach for a bonfire around 12:30 or so. I didn't stay too long cuz I knew we had to be up at 6:30 on Saturday. They gong to let you know food is ready.... 6:30 came wayyy too early. We had some cereal and fruit, picked up a surfboard and wetsuite, and were at the beach by 8am. The wetsuits all had names written on them signifying their size - Each name started with a S(mall), M(edium) or L. My name was Loopy. Some other kids got Lactating nipple, Mankey Boobs and Smelly Anus - surfers are clever folk.



So we got the typical lesson of how to paddle and jump up on the board, then they pretty much let us loose. Everyone charged the water with our 9 foot massively heavy boards (the bigger and heavier, the easier to ride a wave). Majority of kids were done within an hour and up on the beach sun-baking. First 2 tries I wiped out pretty bad, but the third time was a charm and actually got up and rode a wave! Seriously, the feeling of riding your first wave is nuts you feel like you've achieved this impossible task! After that, I maybe only caught 2 more in the next 4 hours lol. Surfing is harder than they make it look! There's sooo much paddling and jumping up quick enough and being in position. My board kept nose-diving into the bottom of the wave before I could stand up - learned I was too far up on the board and had to push up with my hands back at my chest. You're spose to have your toes just hanging off the back of the board, near the fins.

Path to the beach:



So we stopped for lunch - massive spread with tuna that had corn and peas in it - delicious! Lizze/Bunny - try it! Also had lunch meats and more fruit. Then we had 3 hour down time which I appropriately spent in a hammock the entire time. After that we headed back to the beach for some more surfing. Didn't do a whole lot better in the avo. So we called it a day around 6 and headed back for cold showers and a barbie. After steak, hamburgers, sausages, salads, and everything else- we all grabbed all our beer and headed to the beach for a bonfire.

Played some lame campfire games... everyone progressively got very intoxicated. I talked to the Irish couple for an hour or so and learned how the girl's dad was a professional rugby referee, like the 4th highest one in the world - pretty cool! Irish people can reallllly drink! Next thing I look up and everyone is naked sitting around the campfire playing some crazy drinking game. I decided it was time to walk to the water with some other sane people. I can't begin to describe what I saw at the beach at night.... this place is so in the middle of no where, I saw more stars than I thought existed. It was the most beautiful, humbling thing I've ever seen - even in the country someplace with no lights in the states, you wouldn't see this. Australia has got the view. Someone pointed out the southern cross to me... the American's kept looking for the big and little dippers, which apprently we can't see from the southern hemisphere - oops. But I have never seen any sky like this... I'm still in awe.

We stumbled back to camp through the pitch black trail (takes about 8 minutes to walk from the beach to camp) and were in bed by 2am. But not before Kristy and I raided the outdoor kitchen for a late night snack attack haha, we ended up in a corner with 2 burgers in our hands and pasta salad in our laps. Good night.

At 8am we were back at the beach on sunday for one last day of surfing. This is when it all came together. Something just clicked and I was up on every wave! It was incredible.. the majority of kids were again done in an hour, but about 10 of us were troopers and stayed out till noon. My body has never been so tired in my life but after each wave I caught, something in me made me paddle back through about 10 waves breaking in my face and toppling me over just to catch 1 more wave. Frank and I rode wave after wave in and kept saying - 1 more.






In the middle of surfing, the instructors decided it was time to surf naked. So 2 of em caught this massive wave and stripped off their wetsuites while riding it! Nuts. Literally. Everywhere. They surfed for the next hour butt naked and paddled alongside us like it was everyday thing. They did flips and handstands nude on the boards... some positions you just wouldn't want me to repeat. OH, and they have this pitt/mix dog named Grummit, or Grummey for short - she's a better surfer than me! They took her out on the boards and rode waves with her on it! Talent.

Andy, crazy surf instructor and our bus driver:


So the weekend ended with a sad goodbye, but the glory of actually being able to catch waves! All of us were on the bus pulling away, only to be saluted by all 8 or so surf instructors coming running out of the house butt naked- as they proceeded to ride brooms around, ride a girls tricycle, and just rolling around butt naked. Australian surfers are truly insane. But they know how to have fun. They honestly have no shame and hold nothing back. We couldn't get over how this was their job- they get to surf all day, party at night, and get paid for this. What a life.