First attempts of surfing

Of course, the first place, which comes to your mind, if you are thinking about surfing in Sydney, is Bondi Beach, but the birthplace of Australia’s surfing is Manly. Even the New York Times mentioned Manly Surf School as one of the top ten spots in Sydney. Therefore I took my first surf lesson in Manly and by the end I manage to stand up a few times. It is not as easy as it looks like and like most things in live it is better to start early or you have to work hard.

After a few lessons at Manly I was excited about trying to surf at a place called Surfers Paradise (located at Gold Coast). So as my friends and I arrived there we immediately went to the surf school of the former surf champion Cheyne Horan. In the lesson we did really good and so we decided a few days later (at Byron Bay) to rent boards and go by our self. It was not that bad, but I figured out why beginners better use long boards. I had a 7 feet board and it was much harder to stand up, so nosediving was mostly the result. Back on Surfer’s I rented a long board and tried it again but these times weather conditions were pretty strong and so I was blown off the board a lot of times. However finally I catched some waves and this was enough to keep the passion.

See you soon

Next Break Terms

12 September - 19 September 2010
5 December - 9 January 2011
27 March - 3 April 2011

Gold Coast

Trip to Surfers Paradise

Because of ANZAC day we had one week off from school. These unexpected break terms gave some friends and I the opportunity for a vacation and so we decided about visiting Surfers Paradise.
With a small hang over from the obligatory end of school party we caught a flight on Saturday to the Gold Coast. Against my nature (everything has to be planed and tracked) we went there without knowing anything about that place. But the first thing you had to learn about travelling with South Americans is “relax“ and so I did. Interestingly, that worked pretty well. We just moved step by step without knowing the next one and we met a lot of new people and asked everyone about nice places to visit. If we got a good recommendation we drove to the tourist information centre of that place and asked them about the local attractions.

I am assuming this way we have seen most of the attractions of the Gold Coast. On the day after arrival we picked up another friend and went to Brisbane. She was coincidentally at the same time in Surfers Paradise as us. On the other days we visited Byron Bay – the most eastern part of Australia – and the beautiful beach called Noosa where we rented a boat to explore the place by ourselves and do some fishing. Between these trips we had enough time to discover why Surfers Paradise has got it’s name. But that is another story …

A Weekend in Sydney

Australian Easter

Fortunately we had a long weekend on Easter, and some friends of mine and I decided to visit the Blue Mountains for an overnight stay. The mountains are located 2 hours away from Sydney by car and were named after the evaporating oil of the gumtrees, which gave the air an amazing blue gleam. I considered that this could be a great Easter as I was exited about the imminent trip.

There was a lot to discover at the Blue Mountains but there was also something we didn’t anticipate. As soon as we arrived on Echo Point (one of the famous lookouts) we became overwhelmed by the stunning view. We took this in and then went off to Jenolan Caves where we spend the rest of the afternoon. After that we decided to bring our luggage to where we were staying, have dinner outside and buy some beer for the night. After dinner we discovered that there was a catch. In Australia it’s not allowed by law to sell alcohol for take away on Good Friday. It was nearly ten so we stayed in Blackheath where is not much except one pub. We entered it just to realise that it was closing at ten. However this was enough time to meet some people, and that is how we bumped into Kathy and Phil. This couple from Canberra was in the same situation; just arrived but no idea where to go. After some small talk we invited them to our house where it turned out that they had a big esky full of Corona beer in their car. So here Good Friday gets it’s happy end. On the next morning we had Breakfast in a nice little Café in Katoomba (the biggest Town in the Blue Mountains) and then we spent the whole day enjoying nature, e.g., bushwalking, riding the Scenic Railway or visiting the Featherdale Wildlife Park.

This was the first part of my Easter weekend. The rest of it I spent with a friend in the City and on Manly Beach where I took another surf lesson at Manly Surf School. The water was rough and I tasted the salt water again as a result. However I managed to stand up a few times on my board. Because of the rough seas the lessons had a real workout character and I became very hungry. As a result of a hint I visited BenBry Burger where - without overstatement - I had the best burger ever. Seriously I can recommend everybody to try one of these. While watching the sun set over the beach I remembered the inscription at the harbour of Manly: “Seven Miles from Sydney, but a Thousand Miles from Care”

See you soon

Blue Mountains