The Surf coast in Victoria definitely produced some gems once the onshores pissed off, but the crowds came with that, as it had been onshore for a long time prior. So many characters along the way, with toilet stops in old world pubs having you rubbing shoulders with blokes who have lived it all and now live life at an entirely different pace, predominantly revolving around their pint and the footy. All the while you’re maintaining the flow of movement in accordance with weather maps and gut feelings. It wasn’t always perfect timing however, with a stop at the infamous Bonnie Doon being a highlight and a curse. If anyone has seen the cult Aussie movie The Castle you would know where I’m talking about. And the serenity was indeed, very high. But this had me missing a swell on the NSW south coast, which was the recurring theme as I was making my way up the Eastern seaboard. You should have been here yesterday. And this one set up out the front of my mate’s house looked amazing, but will have to be saved for my next lap. At the hippie/ surf/ hipster town of Byron bay I didn’t rate my chances of finding an empty wave, but as it was up and down the east coast, pull away from the hordes, look down the beach a bit and there’s a perfectly fun wave wave to be had by yourself. And do a little bit of extra exploring and there’d be way more gems to be found. But again, the age old enemy of time was looming above me. I was a Morning of the Earth imposter. Roaming the coast but with a commercial agenda. I hit the accelerator as the swell dropped and turned onshore. Visited shops at a more rapid pace and then went to visit my sister in Brisbane. A lovely place to go for a flat water cruise, and our day trip up to the surfing Mecca of Noosa was about as flat. Lovely place to check out none the less. And I got her to stroke into her first ever wave, even though it was ankle high. She was still really stoked.
But then with the uneasiness of a Harry Potter movie, Voldemort was calling again. I should have hung around for an extra day on the Goldy to show boards, but I don’t know why. I just had to leave again. NOW. And I did. So it was off into the night on the return journey, once again staving off fatigue with No Doze, but they didn’t do a thing. I was too tired and had to nap. Then I was off again, looking forward to the distraction of the next country town. East and west coast country towns are quite similar and share the fact the that
