We went on a five day surf camp on our way up to Byron Bay. For the first three nights we stayed in woodlands, a 30 minute drive from Seals Rocks, one of the Beaches we used. We stayed in a block on bunk beds, a short distance away were outbuildings including a block where the staff provided us with food. All of the days were similar, an early start, beginning with a hearty buffet style breakfast (a mix of cereals toast and warming foods such as French toast or fried eggs). Over breakfast, people talked with hoarse yet excitable voices, about the inevitably alcohol fueled antics of the night just gone. Our Scandinavian dominated group moved fast after breakfast, rinsing plates before donning a wet suit and climbing aboard the well worn bus to be whisked along dirt tracks to the beach.
The most irritating part of the day began here, clumsily lugging the awkward boards down dirt tracks to the waters edge. Apart from the initial day ( where we were shown in 15 minutes how to get on a surfboard) once on the sand everybody was left to attempt to surf themselves-it’s a game of trial and error.
Dragging a heavy surf board over the relentless waves to break point was hard graft (though us not always using rips or channels where water drains off the beach didn’t help), then once in the calm beyond, you had to pick the ‘right’ wave and paddle like a maniac before catching the wave front and standing up. Sounds simple, however most of the time you ended up being tossed like a rag doll, be it from paddling to fast or slow, or going off balance or not having your board completely aligned, before being battered by the next white wall- this all meant then when you did catch a good wave it gave a huge buzz and much satisfaction.
At the end of the day, with red raw skin ripped off on the rough boards, the bus headed back to the hostel, via a small beachside shop where people bought drinks and the like.
Though the surfing left everybody tired, the group was up for drinking and the evenings were spent playing drinking games with the ever keen instructors. The instructors were the real deal, proper surfer types, blonde hair and chilled out plus they were phenomenal surfers as this picture of Joel shows.
On one of the nights, I ended up in the pool fully clothed with my phone and wallet in tow, courtesy of a drunken welshman (one of many things alongside my mp3 player and clothes which broke/disappeared in these few days). The only major issue with the place was that there was no clean running water- the showers and taps operated from a borehole and so what came out was coloured brown and heavily soiled- in fact after a shower you smelt worse than before you went in. The only place you could access drinkable water was at the eating area where blue containers rested on the bar.
For the last night we went to a hotel in a town called Maclean 3 hours away. The clean water and the luxury of a hot bath(the first in months) made this place amazing. When surfing the next day both Rob and I caught a wave before it had broken which was awesome- ie we surfed properly(unlike in these photos which we took at the start of the trip!).
The trip ended in Byron bay where the group was dropped off, however everybody met up later in a bar called cheeky monkeys where we got a starter, main course and two beers for just $5 courtesy of a discount card from Waves(the surf school). Byron Bay is a hippie town, so much so that there is no McDonalds- the locals didn’t allow it. The place was sleepy by day as the town drained onto the beach to surf, before waking up at night with plenty of bars. When there we spent a day dealing with some trip logistics before walking 40 minutes to the lighthouse at dusk, from here we had a great view of the sun setting over the hills.
We took our first greyhound to Surfers Paradise where we spent the afternoon and following night. The place is the opposite from the organic juice bars and frugal shops of Byron, with massive Skyscrapers and chain restaurants and shops right next to golden sands. The city doesn’t sleep, with restaurants and bars open all night. In spite of this it does have the same relaxing ‘beach bum’ feel as Byron.
