Surfing
As with everything
safety is the biggest thing with surfing. The beach and the ocean are a big part
of Australian culture. Make sure you know the
rules of the beach before you hit the water. Take
some time to read the warnings posted at the
beach. There should be a report posted on signs every day telling the conditions of the
waters. Don't swim or surf alone in unwatched
waters. If you are out for a swim, then swim
between the red and yellow flags. If you are out
for a surf, then stay between the blue signs.
Australia has some of the best life guards in the
world, be sure to stay close to where they can
see you. Most deaths in the water happen to
tourists that don't know what they are doing.
Check out the Surf Life Saving site at http://www.slsa.asn.au/ .
If you feel safe
in the water, that is all well and good, but you
should still get lessons on how to surf. I took
lessons at Cheyne Horan's School of Surf on the
Gold Coast http://www.cheynehoran.com.au/ or http://www.schoolofsurf.com/ . Cheyne is a big time surfer, he
recently braved a 100 ft wave in the Jaws
competition in Hawaii. If you are lucky enough to
hit a day when he is out on the beach it is well
worth the lesson. The rest of his staff is really
awesome too. However if you are not in the Gold
Coast just pick up a flier in the area you are
staying. I also did a half day in Byron for fun
with Kool Katz surfing school. If you are in
Byron, I totally recommend going out with this
outfit. The guy that ran our lesson was a hoot. I
saw him recently on the "Wild on...
Australia" on the E! cable channel. He is a
crazy guy and you should have fun.
After you have
taken some lessons, you need to figure out what
you are going to do about a board. You can rent
them most places for around $AUS25 a day or so. I
went ahead and bought two different boards, Bu and Nu. If you are
just starting out, I would recommend getting the
biggest thing you can get your hands on. I'm
talking the size of a door. You won't be able to
handle it all that well, but the most important
thing at the start is to be able to stand up, and
that is much easier with something big and
stable.
Where to surf is a
big question, all the beaches of Australia are a
hell of a lot better than anywhere in Champaign.
Names can be deceiving though. Jamie and I chose
to live in Surfers Paradise because we figured
hey great surf, right? Not the case, south of
Surfers down the Gold Coast in Kirra or
Coolangatta is actually the real Surfers
Paradise. But these beaches will be more crowded,
so its all up to what you want. I actually still
just went out in Surfers every day that I could
because it was close and to me just paddling out
and laying on the board some days was refreshing
enough if waves weren't rolling in the way I
wanted them to.
Get to know your
surf shop owner. This will help a lot. I went to Surf Savage on the Gold Coast Highway. It is a nice
little shop and the guy there took good care of
me. I jawed with him a lot and learned quite a
bit from him. So... um yeah...
There are also
books and all kinds of references on surfing.
Check out the local surf stores for magazines,
and the local book stores for books.
I recommend to
anyone to get caught up in it. You probably won't
become a pro surfer in your short time in
Australia, but you can learn to stand on the
first or second lesson most likely, and after
that it is all up to you what you want to do. The
ocean is a huge beautiful thing, and be in it
will teach you to respect it. Hopefully it will
help you relax too. The ocean and the didgeridoo are
the two most meditative things that I have ever
experienced. So in the words of Cheyne Horan
"Have a good surf."
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