No such thing as coincidence.

This trip to Oz has been more about work than surf..a first for me.

Since leaving Eliz at Sydney International Airport 3 weeks ago, Ive been trying to get some work under my belt.
I drove 2 tanks of petrol away to get down to a farm job near Canberra that promised great pay and good living conditions. When I arrived I found that we all had to stay in a dirty, run down caravan park. I was living in my van in the rain and generally hating life but the allure of earning $1000 a week kept me there. It took me 3 days of pruning vineyards to realise that everyone at the job was being seriously screwed by the company and there was no way humanly possible to earn more than $400 a week. A 7 day work week.
So after much deliberation I started the van up at 4am and drove away, I had no plan and nowhere to go. I just drove East, to the coast and into the closest National Park.
I needed a surf, I needed to wash away the dirt of the last 2 weeks, and I needed a place where I could park the van up for a while and formulate a new plan.
Murramarang National Park is an amazing place. I quickly started meeting the local surfers through van life. Got to know and tow a few of the heaviest waves down this way, and really started to feel happy and focused again. Ive been mountain biking, doing yoga and also had a few days work on the go.
I did some Wwoof'ing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) on a beautiful farm in the area, got my own cabin in the bush for a week, and met some really cool people.

Ive lined up work for the next 10 days painting a house and the swell forecast is looking pretty good.

Yass Caravan Park. Dont ever stay here.

 Worth the drive

 Nothing shitty about this

Such a fun wave

My cabin in the bush

I cant help thinking that surfing has helped all this positive stuff fall into my lap, just when I needed it to and that theres no such thing as coincidence.

Best Beachbreak Bonanza

Its been another week or so of cooking waves here in Straaalya. Long drives through the beautiful countryside, followed by hike-in / bike-in surfs, beach barbeques and free camps in friends fields leave me thinking I lead a charmed life. Theres been alot of swell about recently, but its all been from a wierd angle so scoring good waves has been difficult. I got to bust the big wave gun out though, rode some big lumps of water at Lennox head on a windy day last week with Pig. We dodged diving birds and cleanup sets for a few hours, sitting out the very back waiting for a connection.

Earlier this week I surfed some of the best beachbreaks Ive ever seen. Jeeez it was cooking, an all day bender of barrels and beatings that left me speechless and broken as I ate my fish and chips that evening. Straddie seems to be a saviour to the Goldy surfers, a powerful wedging beachbreak, secluded from the humdrum of the city by a sharky seaway that few dare to paddle. But once on the island its a piece of paradise, km's of peaks to choose from, warm water and sunshine. Cruising along the backline on the ski looking for uncrowded waves is so much fun, seeing the odd dark shape lurking down there isn't. But when the waves are that good its worth the risk I suppose. I was chatting to an old boy on the beach whilst waiting for the tide who said the further north you go the bigger and more frequent the tiger sharks get, looks like Pig will be first on the rope next time!

                                                           
                                                 Pig amping to get out there..                        

I come from a Land Down Under.

Heres a few shots Ive taken over the last week or two, I managed to get a cool app for my phone and did some tinting and retouching with it. The waves have been really good so far, and theres more on the way. A big South swell and offshore winds later this week, its snowing down south and trees are getting ripped out the ground by the wind, but up here on the Goldie its plain sailing, sun is shining and the birds are tweeting.

Eish..best Ale around.

The long walk to freedom..Greenmount

Firing

Moody Snapper

Moodier Dbah

"Occy" the van stuck in the mud

Adios Amigos

Just got back from a nice little camping trip with good mates, we scored fun waves and great weather. As I came in the door there was a delivery waiting for me. Two boxes of Tiki gear, I have been trying to keep a lid on the excitement for weeks as I knew one box was going to contain a Brand new FFX model surfboard. I dropped all the camping gear and ran into the kitchen to get a sharp knife, and I hacked and cut my way through the boxes and bubble wrap. Out came the funnest looking 5'9 I have seen in a looooong time, its bamboo/epoxy/carbon technology, and weighs less than a loaf of bread! I cannot wait to surf it over in Oz.
I hear the waves are cooking on the goldie and the crowds are down a bit. Il be meeting my mate Pig at the airport, and the rough plan is to buy a van, kit it out with the expert help of the aforementioned Pig, and drive down towards Sydney, stopping at some hidey holes I remember from last time. Waves, sun, adventures and hopefully some work await me down under. Until Next time..

Back in the Game...Sort of.

Been a mad few weeks for me, life has some funny twists and turns thats for sure! There I was stressing out about scraping enough cash together for my Ozzie visa and along came a nice little job, dont have to worry anymore. The waves have died now, warm spring rain is falling and we've taken up fishing instead of surfing. The knee is feeling strong. Im trying to do a solid rehab routine but as usual its harder to stay focused than I imagined. Watching the charts down in the southern hemisphere is keeping me amped, a few new boards on the way thanks to Hammer & Thresher and some summer wetties from Tiki, a new POV cam, and I'll be set for a good trip. I also just found out that Zigzag Surf Magazine have run a piece on me, apparently Aaron Pierce submitted a killer shot. So a big thanks to him and Will at The Zag.
Heres a short vid of a paddle session from winter. Enjoy.

In The Waiting Line

Sitting around waiting for your knee to heal has its benefits in this lovely spring weather. Heres a little video i put together filmed last weekend, Its filmed on my little Kodak Playsport which doesnt cope too well with the zoom, but its more about the feel than quality visuals..Hope you like it. Heres to Spring!

First Steps

Its been a while since my last post, but a lot has happened.
Ive finished my Yachtmasters course, started an Eco building course, taken apart my starter motor and put it back together again, and taken my first steps since the op. Ive also edited a few videos, the latest of which is just an average day from this winter, the waves weren't great but we managed to get a few before sunset. Its really nice to have the jetski to add a different dimension to an otherwise ordinary surf.
Hope you enjoy it...