Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
5 days til Christmas!!!! It doesn't feel at all like that here though... We've spent the last two days learning to surf and living the surf lifestyle. We're staying in a surf school called Spot X on Arrawarra beach near Coffs Harbour. The camp is in a great location, at the mouth of two small creeks and practically on the beach. And the best bit is, all our food is included... and there's lots of it! Even better, we don't have to wash up!
Our first day of surfing was great fun, we started with a quick explanation of the basics on the beach, including jumping up onto our feet and how to catch the waves. It was then off into the water to give it a try. Matt was almost immediately surfing like a pro (what a git!) whereas I was enjoying the taste of sea water and grazing my knees on the sand. At one point a big wave caught me unawares and not only took my surf board but also took my bikini bottoms... Luckily I grabbed them just in time otherwise this story could have been a bit funnier.
We surfed for two hours with the instructor helping us (me) up onto the board and dishing out useful tips. Toward the end of the lesson, the instructors spotted a suspicious looking fin in the water. They initially thought it could have been a whale but, on further inspection, they thought otherwise and swiftly told everyone to get out of the water. The photographer was adamant it was dolphins but he's from England too so he knows about as much as we do about these things. So, for the record, it was a shark... a big one... Jaws!
The main point they wanted us to take away from the lesson was to "look cool and have fun", so we at least managed half of that. The surfer's greeting/celebration was a thumb and pinky extended (called the Shaka), accompanied by a "yeeeew" noise. Our initial plan was to rent a board to get some practice in the afternoon, but the instructors advised against it as the water had become a bit choppy.
We had our second lesson this morning. The weather conditions made for nice consistent waves. Shame they were consistently huge! We (Matt) both managed to stand a few times and got some good pictures to remember our experience. Fortunately the photographer wasn't looking my way when a big wave almost took my bikini bottoms off! We are looking forward to trying it again in New Zealand.
- comments
Jan Clayton Hiya Pip and Matt - Christmas Greetings from Lymington - guess what................... we got married on Monday 19th Happy Christmas from Peter and Jan Kemp xxxxxx
chipper lol about the bikini bottoms, sounds like you both (matt) pros! teach me when you come back yea :P cool, have fun you crazy kids!