Surf safari adventure

The Pimpin' RideBy Anna Warwick
You know the expression “feel the fear and do it ANYWAY”? Well that’s what my adventure with Surfaris was all about. When I rocked up to the Eddy Avenue bus stop at 7am on Monday morning, I was excited and nervous. ‘Who are all these people?’ I wondered; ‘Where are they going to take us on the little yellow bus with trailer full of boards in tow? What the hell am I doing?’ Luckily I had my good mate Emma-Kate Dobbin along for the ride.


The world travellers.It was too late for second thoughts now, and after a quick safety wee (no loo on the bus) we were trundling along (at max 100k per hour) and out of Sydney (yahoo!). Pretty soon Plenko (huge blonde wisecracking Aussie surfer/ex football player) and Pat (hilarious mile-a-minute chatterbox) the surf instructors had us all swapping stories like old friends.


At the camp.The Peeps
I was stoked to realise I was among some very cool adventurers – the kind of people you meet whilst travelling in strange continents. Many of the travellers were on the trip for the third or fourth time. Some had flown halfway across the world for two weeks and were to spend half their time in Oz on this trip. Good move! We were all so focused on surfing the whole time but some strong bonds were formed (some of which blossomed into romances once we got to Byron bay - apparently).


Up and surfing...At last we made it to the camp at the national park near Kempsie… and it was magic. We set up our tents, pulled on wetsuits, grabbed a board each (all fibreglass - no foam in sight) and out we went for our first surf class. Wow I was nervous but we were all learners (some were fairly experienced learners) and so away we went and to my amazement I got up that very first time - scrambling onto my knees and then standing up with my bum out for two seconds heehee.



Pat takes a yoga class...Just Go With the Flow
Six hours into the trip and already I was having a blast - the beers around the campfire, the yummy food, the hilarious conversations about everything and nothing… I LOVED it that for the whole week we had the guys driving us around, taking care of all arrangements, cooking our food and cleaning up after us! It was like being a kid again… all I did was book with Surfaris and show up with cash in hand, and I didn’t have to think again for a whole week.



Kyle, Plenko and Pat - big spunks!The Surfaris Boys
Plenko, Pat and Kyle are all great teachers, for one. But the best thing about them is these boys are so Aussie – they’re the REAL THING. They have wicked senses of humour, they have hearts of gold and they are cute in a sunburnt outdoorsy Aussie man way too. Emma-Kate and I had a great time kidding around with them, we loved them!


Sunset over the national park.Being with NATURE
I’ve been camping to some great spots but these guys have been doing this for years and years and years and they know exactly where to go (and they don’t tell anyone). All kinds of wildlife ('roos, echidnas, birds) and beautiful deserted beaches as far as the eye could see… wow. Sunsets, sunrises, I hadn’t seen these things without a building in sight for yonks. At one stage I found myself cartwheeling along one of the wide white beaches in the sun.