Winding Down - Thurs-Fri, March 12-13

[Photos above: exposed rocks at Snapper Rocks; me surfing]

My days in Coolangatta are numbered. I'm feeling the end drawing near and I'm none to happy about it. I have completely adapted to the time zone and my skin has decided that it is no longer allergic to Australia. I've even worked up a nice base tan although most of the time the weather is overcast with showers threatening constantly. The beach was actually closed on Thursday due to "extremely unstable beach conditions" so I was unable to surf. The rocks at Snapper Rocks are now completely exposed with no sand on top to walk over them. At least it cleared up in the afternoon and I was able to enjoy a little beach time. Could the end of the bad weather be in sight?

Regrettably no, the high winds and rains were back with a vengence on Friday. Mom, Dad, and I walked all the way to Kirra Surf in decent weather. It then started pouring as we made our way back. We took a short cut going up over an incredibly steep hill. At one point it looked like we wouldn't be able to make our way to the other side but luckily it was open to pedestrians.

Once back I surfed in the rain and ended my surfing days by paddling onto a wave and riding it all the way to the beach. Sweet. Tomorrow I'm off to Sydney for the weekend before making my way home. I wish I could be one of those people who are anxious to get home after a vacation but no matter how much I love my life back home I never want any vacation to end.

Byron Bay – Wed, March 11

[Photos above: views from Byron Bay]

Another overcast rainy day. Damn cyclone! The rain here is like in Hawaii where it blows in suddenly, downpours, and then goes away. So, while not the best day for sightseeing, there wasn’t much else to do in this weather.

We drove south to Byron Bay. It is only 50 km or so from Coolangatta. I’ve been there before on my two earlier visits to Australia and wanted to return for the out-of-the-world views and cool shops. Upon arrival we drove immediately to the lighthouse for the best views of the coastline, beaches, and back to Byron Bay. Like the other times I’ve been there we spotted a pod of dolphins playing on the waves below. Because the water was so stirred up we didn’t see their whole bodies so much this time, mostly their fins as they came up for air. It was still really cool. We hadn’t been out of the car for 15 minutes when a downpour blew in. We ran for the lighthouse and killed time in the gift shop waiting for the worst of the storm to pass. While there I found a cool wooden bracelet for only $10 so all was not lost. When the storm had died down somewhat we headed back out to take in some more of the picturesque views.

Our next stop was the main street of Byron Bay where we had a little look-see in the shops before having lunch in a sidewalk café that didn’t look like much but had wicked sandwiches. I’m eating avocado in everything here. It is so good.

We then left Byron and traveled north of Coolangatta to Benowa to pay a return visit to the RSL lottery house. Mom and Dad had really liked the artwork in the house and wanted to see if they could source it for their house. They referred us to a few shops that we also took a look around in.

We ended the day at Jupiter’s Casino in Broadbeach. This time I took in $55 playing Blackjack. I was up $105 at one point and should have quit then but as I was doing well I decided to keep going. Oh well, at least I still quit while I was ahead. I’m now up $160 in casino playing this trip.

Surfin’ Safari – Mon-Tues, March 9-10

[Photos above: Warning sign at popular surf beach which may explain why Aussies are so tough - natural selection takes care of the weak. Me at said beach.]

A couple of days chillin’. Began each day with a morning walk which was followed up by surfing. Monday was tough. Waves were really choppy and breaking apart. A cyclone from the north was really affecting things. On Tuesday I headed out at 8:00 am instead of 10:00 am to try to get better conditions. It was super deep as tide was in and high. I had to paddle onto waves rather than push off the ground. It made it tougher but more gratifying when I did catch waves and ride them in.

Otherwise I spent my time walking to the mall, booking flights to Sydney, taking in a free movie at Twin Towns club, reading my book on the Wurtele sisters, and sipping shanties at the Coolangatta Hotel. The Cooly Hotel is really more of a pub than hotel. In Australia hotels are pubs. Clubs are pubs. And pubs are pubs. Basically every public building with the (possible) exception of schools and churches are pubs.

The surf competition is still on. It’s winding up to the finals. I may check it out again this afternoon before my trip back to the Coolie. Ahhhh, life is tough….

Roxy/Quicksilver Pro Tourney – Sat-Sun, March 7-8

[Photos above: crowd at tourney, Winner of Roxy Pro Tourney)

The Quicksilver Pro Tournament (Men’s World Championship Tour) returned to Snapper Rocks at Rainbow Bay on Saturday. Rainbow Bay is where I surf so while I managed to catch some great waves Saturday I elected not to rent a board Sunday as the buoys marking the competition are now covering most of the bay. What little area remains is full of the weekend crowd. The last thing I want to do is make myself infamous by being the surfer who drops in in front of one of the pros catching a big break.

On Saturday I watched three heats of the Men’s competition. The last was won by Dane Reynolds, a US pro, who had one wicked ride which scored him a perfect 10. It was awesome to see live. At the end of the heat he walked right by me on his way out of the water. The pro surfers are really friendly and, though exhausted, stop to sign autographs and take photos with fans on their way up the beach.

Saturday night we met Mom and Dad’s friends, Heinz and Pirko, for dinner at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club as it was Pirko’s birthday. While the two couples stayed to play pokies I took a cab home and had an early night.

On Sunday morning we visited the weekly markets in Coolangatta. Mom and Dad bought a painting for their bedroom back in Canada. We all got to see the finals of the Women’s competition. It got really heated at the end with only minutes left with a local girl winning the title.

We are planning to barbeque dinner on the beach tonight so hopefully the crowds will die down.

Mount Tambourine/Surfer’s Paradise – Friday, March 6

[Photos above: In Coolangatta on the way to “hire” our car and in Mount Tambourine]

Road trip! We rented a car today to do something different. We started by touring the RSL Union house up for auction. It was gorgeous – an open layout beautifully decorated on a riverfront lot. I bought four tickets.

We then drove to the Hinterlands to Mount Tambourine. The drive reminded me of New Zealand – narrow road with no shoulders, occasionally down to a single lane, that creeped through beautiful countryside and up large/steep hills. The hills were labeled with gradient (most in the 14 degree area) which would be really cool if you were cycling them. But to be honest I have no desire to ride up or even down those hills on a bike. It was crazy.

Our first stop at Mount Tambourine was a winery where Mom and I sampled 6 white wines. Yum! I ended up buying a Chardonnay/Verdelho blend. We then went to the Gallery Walk where we had lunch and toured the shops. It reminded me of Unionville north of Toronto.

We then descended from the hills and headed back to the coast to Surfer’s Paradise where we browsed up and down the main streets. It is getting more upscale every time I come to Australia with an increasing number of designer shops. There is still a young scene as well with the backpacker bunch walking around barefoot everywhere. On a side note, I can’t believe how anti-footwear Australians are. I get walking barefoot to and from the beach but I’ve seen countless people dressed to go out in the evening barefoot.

We ended our day at Jupiter’s Casino where I turned my $100 Blackjack buy-in to $205. A fine ending to a great day.

Learning to surf is like learning to ski - Thu, March 5

I have come up with another story idea for CSIA Ontario’s Ski Talk magazine – “How learning to surf made me a better ski instructor”. Dave’s method has made all the difference in my surfing. Four years ago when I was in Australia I was able to catch, stand up, and ride in one wave out of 20 I tried. That one ride was so worth it that I kept at the sport. Today I was catching and riding in every second wave. Quite the progress! Why the difference? The first surf school I went to believed only in the true method of surfing – the jump up. The analogy I would use for ski instructors is that this would be equivalent to expecting all of our students to instantly be able to ski parallel. While some may be fast-tracked, for most this is not a reasonable expectation. Dave’s method where you get to bring one foot up, then get up, gets people up and surfing and enjoying it right from the get go, kind of the equivalent of teaching wedge turns to get to the end goal. Which would you prefer?

Koalas are as soft as you'd think - Wed, March 4

[Photos above: Me petting kangaroo, koalas]

It’s official. I’m allergic to Australia. I don’t want to be. I love Australia. Unfortunately since getting here I’ve been developing a rash all over my extremities. Yesterday the pharmacist gave me an antihistamine which dramatically reduced the swelling but alas after another day in the sun it’s raging again. Plus I cannot seem to put enough sunscreen on my face! My surf sessions are making my forehead and nose bright red. I’m hoping that by the end of my stay I’m rash-free and my red face becomes bronzed. We’ll see.

Today I rented a board from Dave, my surf instructor, and went out on my own. I did well catching a few waves on my own. I went out at 9:00 which is an hour earlier than I did for yesterday’s lesson. It was a mistake. The tide was still coming in and the waves were not as strong. I’ll go out later tomorrow.

The reason I surfed earlier today was because I wanted to get an earlier start on getting to Carumbin Wildlife Sanctuary this afternoon. Mom accompanied me. It was pretty neat. I got to hold a koala and have my photo taken with her. She was as soft and cuddly as you would imagine. We got to see koalas being fed which is the most active I’ve ever seen the critters. I also walked up to some kangaroos and petted them and saw crocodiles close up. All very cool.

In the evening we walked down to the Coolangatta Hotel for dinner.