Let's Go Surfing, Surfing By-ron Bay

Live music Saturday night

This weekend in Byron, I was actually able to volunteer at the Byron Bay Surf Festival. It ended up being a relatively busy weekend for me because I was meant to volunteer in the morning and at night, as well as work a short shift in the middle of the day at the Lazy Italian.  

And I say I was meant to work in both the morning and at night because I couldn't find the information tent in the morning for the life of me.  I asked several different people, and no one knew where the tent was. 

I got to wonder around all of the different shops being set up in large tepees, which was a really cool idea.  Vendors were selling everything from wet suits to surfboards to just food to keep the fanatics well-fed.  Nonetheless, I couldn't find the information tent anywhere so, overtired, and a bit cranky, I walked back to the Arts Factory.  I  got to relax for a few hours until my shift at least.  

A combie everyone colored
on with chalk

Once finished with my 3.5hr work shift, I wondered back to the festival, and actually found the tent this time.  I was given a t-shirt and told to help pack up the tent.  After that was done, we were meant to just be crowd control for the live music.  It was definitely not a bad gig, especially since there was already security there.  We basically just had to try to pick up trash and keep an eye on people, while listening and watching the show.

By the time the main act, Donavon Frankenreiter, came on, the whole area was packed.  Aside from picking up a little bit of rubbish, we basically just got to chill out until about 10pm.  It was an early night for me, like usual, but it was a really fun day in general.

Sulking: No Surf

Because of the long weekend (Labour Day weekend), I got another chance to surf yesterday.  Lois had to work, and she was my board hire connection, so I just assumed I was going to have a lazy day at the beach.  However, two of my friends (Douglas and Tice) were already surfing when we got to the beach.  

Within 5 minutes of us getting to the beach, Douglas was ready to retire his board so he asked me if I wanted to try.  I don't think he expected me to want to surf as badly as I did, but he didn't end up getting his board back the rest of the day.  

I spent the next 3 hours surfing.  It took me a bit to get back into the hang of things, but eventually I was standing up and riding waves in.  I even had some private lessons from one of the men out in the water.  He must have been able to tell I was quite the beginner.

With a scratched stomach (because I didn't wear a rashie) and a sun-kissed face, I finally went in for the day.  It was lucky anyways because about 5 minutes later, a lifeguard called everyone out of the water because a shark was spotted.

Our view of the beach this morning

I decided that I really wanted to surf in the morning before work, so I made a point of going to bed early and setting two alarms for the morning.  I actually got up this morning, got dressed and ready to go, and headed into town with Lois and my board. 

When we got to the beach, however, we were wildly disappointed. The waves were small and extremely choppy.  We walked up the beach trying to figure out how we could possibly ride some of the waves. In the end, we just decided to walk back to the Arts Factory.

I was quite angry just because we got up early, got ready, and walked to the beach with our heavy surfboards, only to find that we couldn't surf.  At the same time, I think this morning taught us a few things as novice surfers:

• Surfing isn't always better in the morning
• Walking to the beach with a board sucks, so make it count
• ALWAYS check the conditions
• Always give yourself enough time

We have yet to successfully surf in the morning, but one day we will.  Hopefully even this week.  I know for sure though that I will ensure that the conditions are worth waking up and trekking down to the beach for.

Sunday Surfing

My friend Lois and I had been talking about going surfing for the past two weeks, but we kept putting it off for various reasons.  Either it started raining (even though I've heard surfing in the rain is quite nice), we didn't wake up early enough to go or one of us had to work.

We finally went again yesterday.  Lois takes photos during the surf lessons for Mojo and one of the instructors wants to sell one of her boards.  Lois really likes the board so she wanted to try it out and see if it'll be a good board for her.  The only problem is is that Lois is a beginner surfer, and the board she used is a short one, which is more difficult to surf on.

I was able to use a surf board from Nomads in Byron because they sort of partner with Mojo.  Although they had long boards available, I wanted to try one a little bit shorter.  I assumed the one I grabbed was a mini mal, or a fun board, but it was actually just a hybrid board that was half of a foot longer than Lois'.  I figured I would give it a go anyways.

After we had finally gotten our boards squared away, Lois, Douglas, and I headed towards the beach.  There are several beaches for us to choose from, but we decided on Belongil Beach.  Douglas and I decided against wet suits, although Douglas probably should have grabbed one--he had to keep getting out of the water because he was so cold.

Belongil Beach

We headed out into the water where there were decent waves, but also plenty of seasoned surfers who intimidated the three of us.  We tried to somewhat stay in our own area just so we could stay out of the other surfers' ways.  Sets kept rolling in while we attempted to catch waves.  I had never even surfed on a regular board--I had only ever surfed on a foam board at surf camp--let alone a short board.  I tried, and tried, and tried, but didn't manage to stand up all day.

Regardless of my success, I had a fun day overall.  I also was able to successfully complete an Eskimo roll!  It felt good to get out of my tent for the day and spend it in the ocean, even if the only progress I made was tackling my fear of Eskimo rolls.  Eventually Lois had to go because she had to work at 4 pm so we grabbed our boards and headed back to the Arts Factory.

We were feeling determined to get a better day of surfing in, so the three of us decided we wanted to get up at 5:30 am the next day to surf.  Needless to say, we didn't get up this morning and surf because Douglas and I didn't have wet suits, and we know we would have been freezing this morning.  Even I wasn't that brave to surf in the early morning without a wet suit.  Hopefully today we will have wet suits, though, so that we can go in the morning.

I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to go to sleep early tonight so that I can actually get up early to surf tomorrow before work.  My upper back is sore just from the paddling, but I love muscle soreness, especially since I haven't worked out in quite a while.  Hopefully, if I actually get in the habit of surfing nearly ever day, I'll be more fit and in better shape in no time.

It's Not Good-Bye; It's See You Later

Me with Maren and Yuan the last night I saw them

One of the most bittersweet things here at the AFL is meeting new people because it means eventually you have to say good bye to them.  People come to Byron for visits, not typically to stay long term.

Kyle

You make friends with them, hang out with them, go to the beach with them, and then they travel elsewhere.  The nice thing is that you meet people through people and the overlap of friendships is constant.  You're definitely never alone.

Alice

Nonetheless, I have still had a few people leave since I have been at the AFL. First it was Maren and Yuan.  They came to Byron when I did after our week at Spot X; they only stayed for a few days.  One of my friends from California left a week ago already, and now, my friend Alice leaves today at 11 AM.  I was fortunate enough to see her this morning in the kitchen so I could at least say good bye.  The nice thing about Alice leaving is that she just started her one year visa, so she plans on traveling, but also plans on coming back to Byron again.  That will be awesome to see her a couple of months down the road.  It'll be like a reunion.

Conor

Contrary to the people who leave are the people trapped by the cool vibes of the AFL, unable to leave.  Conor was one of those.  He had actually planned on only staying for 2 nights; it turned into over two weeks.  He even had a bus scheduled at one point; an hour before he was meant to leave, he decided he was going to stay for a few more days, even though he couldn't get his money back for the bus he missed.  I believe he actually leaves Australia today to head back home.

Douglas

 Then there are the people who get jobs and plan on staying in Byron for the long haul.  I am extremely happy for my friend Douglas in that aspect.  He was running low on money and was thinking about leaving Byron to head back to Sweden, but yesterday he found out he got the bus driving job at the AFL.  He already did his farm work so now he just needs to apply for his second year visa.  He plans on staying in Byron for another 6 months.

At Kelly's in Oshkosh. Note: Even the bar owner is in this picture.

It's funny because the AFL reminds me a lot of my home back in Oshkosh.  It's known as a college town--the university is really what keeps the town alive, in my opinion.  My favorite bar attracts all kinds of people, and it really becomes a big family.  So many of the people I hang out with back home either have worked at Kelly's, do work at Kelly's, or drink religiously at Kelly's.  The problem is that when they graduate and need to find real jobs, they leave Oshkosh, sometimes to different parts of the country.  They almost always come back at some point or another, but it feels like losing a family member.

I'm experiencing the same sort of feeling here in Byron Bay; bittersweet is the perfect word for life here at the AFL.

Sunrise in Byron

One of things I have wanted to do while in Byron is see the sunrise at the lighthouse, seeing as it is at the most eastern point in Australia.  A large group of us, maybe 10, decided this past weekend that we were going to hike up to the lighthouse for the sunrise.  We planned on getting up at 4 AM, getting pies at the 23 hour-a-day bakery, and then trek on.  The problem is most of us stayed up well beyond midnight; it was, after all, a Saturday night.  I went to bed at around 2:30 AM myself and was hoping I would be able to wake up.

I actually woke up to my alarm.  Very, very tired, I shuffled my way to our meeting spot outside of the AFL to see who made it up.  Not a soul was to be seen.  I went to the bathroom and saw that Coner had actually gotten up.  We waited till about 4:15 to see if anyone else was getting up.  No one did, so the two of us made our trip up.

According to my phone, sunrise was meant to be at 5:45, but we could already see the day breaking in the distance.  We started speed walking because we didn't want to put in all the effort and then miss the sunrise.

Huffing and puffing, we finally made it to the top.  A few random groups of people were up as well.  We found a spot to sit and just waited.  Conor saw a whale jump in the distance but I totally missed it.  You could see them spraying up water though, which was cool anyways.  A pod of dolphins as well were circling in the water.

And then the sun broke.  Slowly but surely, the sun rose with the most beautiful hues of pink, orange, and yellow.  We just sat and watched while people snapped pictures.  It was one of the most beautiful and serene moments I had had in Australia.

JAWS: Byron Bay

In addition to the snakes and spiders and box jellyfish and other animals that can kill you in Australia, there is one predator that you fear as a surfer: a shark.  When I was at Spot X, we were asked to name some dangers in the water.  The two responses the instructors were waiting for were rip currents and other surfers, but someone almost always made a joke about sharks.

You know they're out there, but you just don't really focus on them.  If you only ever worried about shark attacks, you'd never venture into the water.  Besides, supposedly more people in the world die from being hit by lightning than from shark attacks.  But they do happen.

I was just sitting in the Mojo offices, catching up on my blogs, when I heard on of my bosses say on the phone, "Did you hear about the shark attack in Byron this morning?"  I stopped typing.  I turned around to the other marketing girl in the room and asked, "Did she just say what I think she said?!" 

http://stabmag.com/fatal-shark-attack-in-byron-bay/

Immediately I started Google searching this supposed shark attack.  Sure enough, a 50 year old man had been bitten by a shark on Clarkes Beach in Byron.  I was in shock.  It could have been a shark attack on any beach in Australia, but it just happened to be in the town where I'm living.  

Throughout the evening I kept talking to people at the AFL about the attack; everyone had heard about it.  Everyone was sharing stories because many people had been at or near the beach when it happened.  A guy I met from California said he had been surfing about 100 meters away from the man when he was bitten.  Other friends, unaware of the situation, told me about how they were in town when they saw police vehicles and an ambulance head to the beach.

http://stabmag.com/fatal-shark-attack-in-byron-bay/

There was a buzz everywhere about the shark.  To be honest, though, it doesn't detour me from swimming or surfing.  I don't plan on going into the water for a couple days, but if the weather is nice this weekend when I'm off of work, I will definitely go for a swim.  Terrible things can happen, but the possibility that they might shouldn't keep you from living.

First Real Day on the Job

I woke up early, like always, and headed into town.  I needed to buy a couple things from Woollies, especially laundry detergent because all my clothes reeked from sitting around the fire at Spot X.  

My diet has consisted of carrots, peanut butter, wholemeal bread, and apples since being back from the surf camp--I miss the food immensely.  Until I get a second job, I'll be eating on a college students budget again.  So every morning, I make myself some peanut butter toast and head on into the office.

I got to the Mojo offices and was told I needed to email my resume to my boss, Celia. I hadn't even looked at my resume in ages so that took quite a bit of tidying to do.  After I finished with my resume, then I had to start blogging.  And here I am. For the next 6 months I'll be discussing my experiences as a traveller from the U.S.

Our offices are very open which can be a good or bad thing. My first day it started pouring outside which was comforting for two reasons.  Firstly, I love the rain, especially when I'm not drenched in it.  Secondly, I was at work so it didn't matter if it was raining anyways.  When it's sunny and hot, however, I have a feeling I'm going hate that the outdoors are only several feet away.  It'll be the ultimate tease.

Work went by relatively quickly but I had an extremely uneventful evening. I spent ages submitting my resume and filling out on line applications to numerous jobs.  Then the Internet stopped working and I was out of luck.  Being in bed by 8 PM is sad for a 22 year old but I'm sure that'll change in time.

Nude Surfing

My week at Spot X was so much fun, it was disappointing knowing you were headed to your last lesson.  To be honest, I almost didn't want to go surfing just because I really disliked being pummeled by waves the day before.  But I went anyways because after all, it was my last day to surf.

The tide was much lower that Friday and the waves weren't nearly as large as they were the day before.  Surprisingly, I actually forced myself to go back out to surf on the green waves.  And I am so glad I did!  All of us who were on our 7th surf lesson went out in the back.  I didn't stand up right away, but after a few tries I was getting the hang of things and stood up twice.

Yuan surfing in a bikini

Now, Yuan and I talked earlier in the day about surfing in bikinis, so her and I walked our boards up to shore, took off our wet suits and got back in the water in just bikinis. It was definitely colder without the wet suits but it was nice as well because you had much more freedom of movement.

Earlier in the week Josh said something along the lines of, "Now if you guys wanna surf naked, go for it! I have nothing against nudity so it's totally up to you."  I thought that was a random thing to say but as the week progressed I thought it would be pretty daring to actually surf naked.

Well I was already down to my bikini so I figured why not.  I waited for Colin to raise one finger, which meant you could catch one more wave and then the session was over.  I ducked mostly underwater, took my bikini top off, and then slid my bottoms down past my ankle and onto my leg rope.  I spotted a good wave, hopped on to my board with my bare butt in the air, and paddled like mad.

I actually caught the wave and flew right by Colin as I glided across the water in the buff.   His face was priceless. I hopped back into the water and quickly put my bikini on.  Sadly, none of the girls I had been hanging out with during the week got to see my nude escapade, but at least I had a couple of witnesses.  On the first day we were told to always surf with a buddy in case you do something really cool; then you at least have proof.

It was time for lunch so I had to tell the girls what I did.  They didn't exactly believe me right away, but at least Colin could vouch for the validity of my story. It was a great last wave.

During the afternoon session I just watched and took pictures.  I was hanging out with Lukas, who was mostly sculpting butts into the sand.  The weather was not the nicest and several of the people stopped surfing for the day quite early, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much.

Top to bottom, left to right:
Yuan, Me, Maren, Tom, Ben(Instructor), and Colin(Surf Academy)

We headed back to the camp and had a couple hours to just chill out before our 5:30 bus came.  It was a relaxing afternoon, though a bit sad because we didn't want to leave.  At least Izzy, Maren, Yuan and I were all on the same bus to Byron.  The bus came.  What was really cool though was the fact that Ben and Colin came to see our group off and gave us all hugs.  The relationships you can build in just 5 days are pretty awesome. I would suggest the surf camp to everyone.

Crash and Churn

Thursday proved to be a rough day for me...I woke up with a splitting headache from the wine the night before.  Squeezing into a cold, drenched wet suit only made the start to the morning worse.  Regardless, I was ready to surf again.  Thursday morning was my 5th surf lesson.  After warm ups and stretching,  we were taught how to make it out to the back of the last breaking waves in order to surf on the green waves. 

We were taught how and where to balance our bodies on our boards as we paddled out.  Also, with the less powerful whitewash we could do a sort of push up on our boards in order to keep up speed while making our way further out in the ocean.  Then we were taught Eskimo rolls.  I honestly didn't even attempt these because I was too afraid to try it.  Basically, when the bigger whitewash was about to hit you, you would grab onto the sides of your board, hug it tightly, and roll sideways with the board under the wave.  This sounded like a recipe for disaster to me.  Finally, when you needed to get through a wave just before its about to break, we were taught how to spear our boards through the wave.  And of course then we had the basics about how to actually ride the green waves.  

I was unsure as to whether or not I wanted to attempt to make it out to the back.  So I just practiced on whitewash first.  I was very flattered when Ben complimented my pop-up, saying that it was spot-on.  That was just the sort of boost of confidence I needed to take a step forward.  

I decided today was the day to graduate from whitewash waves to the big green waves.  I may have been a bit naive because the waves breaking looked absolutely gigantic.  I went for it anyways.  I got past the weak whitewash with my push-ups.  I got through the rougher whitewash by pushing my board over. No Eskimo rolls.  Then I waited for a lull in the waves.  I hopped on my board and puddled like mad so I didn't even need to spear my board either.  Then it was calm. 

I caught my breath and just sat on my board on top of the surging waves.  It was very peaceful.  Then Glen, the typical lean, tan, long-blond-haired surf instructor encouraged me to catch the next wave.  I had to quickly lie down, turn around, and start paddling.  

Before I knew it the wave was on top of me. It felt like I was under the water for ages.  My board pulled my body forward as it was dragged by the other waves.  I came up for air for only a second when another wave came crashing down on me.  The previous scenario happened all over again.  Under water for an eternity.  Dragged along by my board.  Terrified.  I came up for air again, my heart pounding, gasping for air.  I grabbed my board and started pushing forward.  I repeatedly got hit by waves but none like the first two.

Finally I made it to shallow water, exhausted and panic-stricken.  I remember thinking I never wanted to do that again.  My mind checked-out of surfing for the morning.  I was still a bit shaken up at lunch.  For the afternoon session I just worked on turning in the whitewash. I wanted to play it safe.

My mood improved just in time for dinner. That Thursday night it was Lasagna so we were all pretty stoked.  After dinner we had a relatively quiet night.  We sat around the fire because it was extremely cold and windy.  There was plenty of good conversation, ranging from talking about different jobs people held while in Australia to family demographics at home.  I was sad knowing I only had one day left.

Celebrating Surfing

Wednesday morning I was already walking down the dock to my 3rd surfing lesson.   I had been hanging out with two German girls named Yuan and Maren, as well as an English girl named Ashleigh.  We sort of formed our own group.

Today we had a new instructor: Ben. He had crazy blue eyes that Yuan fell in-love with.  I felt that he was a bit more serious than Josh and Colin but he was a good instructor regardless.  His warm ups were also more intense than the other instructors.  As a smoker, even going for a jog was exhausting, but the jog and stretching really got you loosened up for surfing.

The more you surfed, the quicker you could pop-up, the cleaner your movements got, the more you wanted to be out on the water. In the afternoon session, we began doing conditions checks.  We were taught to examine the wind, the waves, and the tide. For the wind, you'd hope for an off-shore wind. Otherwise the waves would be very rough and choppy.

In regards to the waves, you had to be able to tell which types of waves they were: spilling or dumping.  Also, you would want to recognize the actual size of the wave because you wouldn't want to take on a wave above your ability.

Finally, the tide.  If the tide was low, typically you would see more dumping than spilling waves and vice versa if the tide was high.  We had two solid days of a very high tide and it was incredible how powerful the water could be.

Overall I had a very successful day surfing so I was in the mood to finally have a few drinks.  Finally I felt like being social, and met quite a few people. Mostly Germans.  There were tons and tons and tons of Germans at Spot X, all in the middle of their own crazy adventures.  Lukas was a German spending his last month in Coffs Harbor but he had been in Australia for almost a year.  Izzy was also a German just on holiday before she had to go back to Germany for an apprenticeship.  Matt was an Englishman who was doing his farm work for his second year visa nearby.  He hung out most of the night with us and we went wading in the ocean.  We sat up till like 2 in the morning smoking cigarettes and listening to music.  Spot X was like heaven.

Surfing Bootcamp

I woke up early; the jet lag had not worn off yet.  That at least gave me time for breakfast.  Breakfast was the same every morning; it consisted of porridge, bread with various spreads (peanut butter, Vegemite, butter, etc.), fresh fruit, and cereal.  It was a sort of grab-what-you'd-like basis. 

Time for the lesson.  We walked to the area with all of the surf equipment.  It was a very chilled out area.  There were hammocks and picnic tables to sit on.  On the wall in front of the picnic tables there was a painting of waves and a list of safety rules to follow.

Colin was my first instructor so I already felt a bit more comfortable.  After going over the rules, we put on wet suits, grabbed our boards and headed out to the beach.  

There we traced our surfboards in the sand and began practising our pop-ups a little bit at a time. We were told repeatedly to to start over and try again.  One instructor, Josh, even said, "Welcome to boot camp."  I think repeating the motions and steps to popping up on your board really helped a lot when it came time to get in the water.

We all struggled right away.  You had to get used to the movement and the way the waves took you.  Eventually, though, even if it wasn't pretty, just about everyone was able to pop-up and ride the wave.  It was definitely an exciting feeling because surfing just seems so exotic, especially to a girl from Wisconsin.

We finished with our morning lesson; it was time for lunch. Every day lunch was the same, like breakfast.  You were given a plate with either a tortilla, 2 pieces of sandwich bread, or both on it.  Then you were given 3 pieces of cheese--every time--and your choice of lunch meat.  At the end of the line was a table covered in ingredients to make your own salad. Along with potatoes.  I'm not sure what kind they were but they tasted amazing. It was a sort of tangy potato salad with mustard seeds in it.  I almost always got seconds.

After lunch we had another surf lesson, which really gave you confidence with each small improvement you made.  After your second lesson of the day, you're pretty worn out and are ready to just relax.  And wait for dinner.  Dinner Tuesday night: Moroccan chicken with vegetables.  It was just as good as the meal the night before.

Onto Spot X...

I woke up early Monday morning, found out where the Mojo offices were, and set off to start my internship.  Conveniently, the offices are located right next to the brewery, across the parking lot from the AFL.

Introductions were made and I was told I would be leaving for five days to learn to surf at Spot X in order for me to better represent the brand.  I wasn't complaining.

I packed a week's worth of clothes into my backpack and my boss, Sam, gave me a ride to the bus station in town.  About 3 hours later, I arrived at Spot X in Arrawarra.

Myself and 3 other girls were shown around the facility, which was a perfect party spot. First there was the movie room.  Around 10 large sofas were lined up in front of a large flat screen TV.  

Outside was a fire pit surrounded by benches made out of old surfboards.  This was a popular spot during my stay just because of the wind and cold weather. 

Our accommodation consisted of 12 person cabins with bunk beds.  

After the tour, I just relaxed until dinner. I decided to take a walk by the beach and watch the final group of surfers finish their lesson. Colin, one of the photographers as well as a surf academy student, was standing out on the beach taking pictures.  I walked up and started talking to him about the surf camp and he gave me a few pointers about surfing.  A pre-lesson lesson.

It was nearly time for dinner when the surfers finished their session.  The food was honestly probably the best part of the whole stay.  Obviously the surf lessons were awesome but I think most of the other participants would agree that dinner every night was highly anticipated. The first night we had chicken schnitzel with a massive pile of creamy mashed potatoes, corn, salad, and a bread roll.  I couldn't eat even close to all of the food, but I gave it my best effort. 

At 7 pm every night, there was a bottle shop run for anyone who needed to buy some alcohol for the evening.  I was already prepared with a bottle of wine in my backpack. I still didn't feel completely settled into Australia so I called it a night pretty early.