Day 16: Duuuuuuuuuude...

On my third day in Sydney, I was still feeling very lost when it came to my plans for my stay in Australia. I craved a sense of stability, or any sort of plan or event that I could base my first few weeks around, and so in an impulse move, I dropped $470 on a four-day learn-to-surf-camp, departing from Sydney on the 25th and returning on the 28th. I now had a set time when I would be leaving Sydney, which helped me plan what I wanted to do with the interim before my departure.

As far as my goals and desires for my time in Oz went, learning to surf was never really on my list, but in my typical ‘Why not?” fashion, when I was presented with a screaming deal ($75 off the normal price), I couldn’t resist asking myself “why not learn to surf?” Yet another instance in my life where that simple, two-word question has been incredibly rewarding.

Picture paradise, then add surfboards, and you’ll roughly know where I have been the last four days. Located about 3 hours south of Sydney, Seven Mile Beach is Australia’s premier learn-to-surf spot, and located only 10 minutes walk from said incredibly long beach is the Rip Curl surf camp, a collection of small cabins grouped around an outdoor common area. The food was plentiful, the company was new and exciting, and of course, the surfing was excellent…braah.

The regiment was simple: two, 2 hours lessons every day, with a lunch break in between. Wetsuits and boards were assigned on the first day, and the fifty-person group was divided into three teams, each with two instructors. New skills were taught in the morning lessons, and practiced in the arvo (Aussie slang for afternoon). Our first day was spent learning the basics of positioning, standing, and riding the wave, and I am happy to say that I was riding with some consistency by the end of the first day.

Our second day happened to fall on Australia day, a holiday akin to July 4th in spirit and method of celebration. After a day of learning speed control, a massive barbeque was held at our site, and was followed by a night that I promise to go more in to depth about in another post. I will say, however, that getting up the next morning for our first lesson was almost impossible, and that riding a unicycle after getting a lobotomy would be easier than surfing with a hangover.

The third day’s lessons were devoted to learning to turn our boards in the water, and to catching larger, more difficult waves, all so that we would be prepared for the surf sessions on our last day. After a beautiful 7 am surf which was well worth the early wake up, our final outing was a free-for-all surf where our instructors finally joined us on boards and showed us how it was done. While I couldn’t manage any of the fancy tricks that they were doing, I still felt like a pretty accomplished surfer, considering the duration of my surfing career.

It may not be a skill I get the chance to show off very often, but learning to surf sets the standard for my future Australian adventured high in terms of enjoyment.