Surf's Up!

Australia might not have invented surfing, but they have a good case to make that they're the world's premiere surfing nation.  So I thought it was high time - and good circumstances - to try surfing.  I had never tried surfing, boogie boarding or body surfing.  Never snowboarded or skateboarded or done anything where you ride "sideways".  Closest equivalent would be waterskiing when I has young.

There was a surf school in Coolangata at Rainbow Bay (not to be confused with Rainbow Beach on the Sunshine Coast).  It's small, but run by a former surf champion.  Turns out that I was the only one to sign up for a group lesson, so I ended up with a private lesson with a local surf legend who looked somewhat like Michael Palin.  Can't say enough about those guys - they didn't mess around, just got you right in the water, and gave great feedback.

Rainbow Bay is know as a great learn-to-surf spot, and the waves were just right when I headed out in the morning, so I surfed both of the first two waves I tried to catch!  Sarah missed taking photos since she figured I'd be falling off for the first while.  In those conditions, it was much easier to catch a wave than I imagined.

Surfing Canuck, woo hoo!

Getting ready

Getting up

And surfing!

Rode a few waves right in to the beach

Owner and his dad on the left, my instructor on the right

Several days later, I took another surf lesson at Rainbow Beach on the Sunshine Coast.  (The first was so successful, I figured I needed to build on it.)  This was a group lesson, including a 30 minute beach drive in a 4x4 to get to the point break on the other side of the bay where the surfing happens.  (That's right, a point break - I got to channel my inner Swayze.)  Sarah wasn't there to take photos, but there was less to shoot anyway - the surf wasn't that great (another student said it was way better the day before), and there was a lot more walking and paddling at this beach.

Beach driving

The conditions

Chad in his "rashie" (rash vest)

Somehow I managed to wrench my back during this surf day, though I have no idea how.  I didn't fall awkwardly, or strain myself, or crash into anything.  I just pulled myself onto my board one time, and discovered I had shooting pains through my back and ribs.  If I had done something stupid I could write it off as being old and overzealous, but that's not it.  Unfortunately, this has limited further surfing opportunities since then. (Try finding an available chiropractor over Christmas holidays in Australia - impossible.  It's now into the new year, and my ribs/back are still tender.)  Perhaps some upper body and core exercise would be in order once the back is feeling better!

Anyway, surfing is great, and it's not that tough to catch a wave if conditions are right.  (I think the childhood waterskiing really helped my balance, though.)  The hardest part is paddling out into the waves (exhausting) and choosing the right wave (requires experience).  But let's be clear - becoming a good surfer is difficult.

Now I can be one of those annoying guys who doesn't really surf, but who talks about it constantly and uses all the right lingo.  Sweet!  :-)

Mooloolaba and Rainbow Beach

Next up we drove north from the Gold Coast, past Brisbane and to the Sunshine Coast area.  First stay was in Mooloolaba, another beachside town with lots of waterfront homes & harbours, a popular holiday destination.  Only had time for some walking around before heading off the next day - a nice enough little spot, but still a bit too "polished touristy" for us at this time.

Main beach as seen from the spit.

Looking back towards the spit.

We drove a lot further north to Rainbow Beach next.  It's a very small town, with not much besides small holiday condos and hostels catering to visitors going to/returning from Fraser Island - the world's largest sand island - which is just to the north.  The name comes from the multicoloured sand cliffs that surround the beach and bay.

First night at our hostel, just before sunset, we joined a group walk up to the Carlo Sandblow - a sand dune-like area that flows down to the beach below.  I gave sand sliding/surfing a shot, though the sand was loose so you had to find a steep area in order to generate any respectable speed.

Sand's up!

Looking out to the bay and point where I would take a surf lesson in 2 days.

Sliding down the sand - fun, but only for about 7 seconds.

Finally looking a little wind-blown and sun-exposed.  In my case, the overly-long hair helps.

There are, perhaps not surprisingly, many Subaru Outbacks in Australia.  Even more common are SUVs fitted with elaborate bush bumpers and snorkels, such as the above.  I would say no more than 5% of those SUVs have seen some outback and forded flooding streams - the rest are shiny and new and have probably never seen a serious dirt road.  Still, a better fashion statement than a Hummer.

The rainbow cliffs as seen from the point break on the far side of the bay.  (More on surfing later.)

Rainbow cliffs.

Our hostel - pretty good for a high-volume young backpacker place.  24-hour coffee always helps.  :-)

We took a drive to the north of town, to the peninsula just below Franklin Island.  Sarah drove for the first time, then handed the keys back to me when the drive was over...

A very rare cache of beer bottle litter near the tip of the point.  Stubbies - how very early-1990s-Canada...

Looking out towards Franklin Island from the top of the peninsula.  I wonder what that sign says?

Ah, probably a good policy.

We decided not to visit Franklin Island, though it's supposed to be really nice.  It was quite expensive and time-consuming to get transport to the island and to stay overnight - even a day trip was about $150 each.  So we decided to save our money for another surf lesson for me, and a short dive/snorkel trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, far to the north.

Rainbow beach was small, slow-paced and relaxed, and finally let us feel like we were on vacation as opposed to "travelling."  Good stuff.