Cory U of CUExperiments

Just a few more postings of Australia, & my stories from this adventure are complete!

There was no other option for me to spend my last weekend than beside a beach & trying to surf yet again. Dom & I headed to Byron Bay for the day & did nothing but fight the wind & waves all day. I’ve never been so beaten up by a beach before that day. A month later & I still have a nice mark on my leg. Most surf tries, the board ended going one way while we got devoured in another. So worth it though!

This was another day where my amazing waterproof digital camera came to good use. Love that thing.

-Cory U

Finally got the “professional” surf weekend photos back & totally excited to finally be able to write about it & finish up my Aussie Adventure 2012 stories.

It was two surf packed days back at Mojo Surf & I couldn’t be more stoked try it yet again. Our group was smaller & just as multi-cultural as before. It was great!

Of course, before heading to the water, it was time for surf yoga yet again & a few lessons on the sand.

-Cory U

SPLASH! Near Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia.

-Cory U

PS I’m never going to a beach without this camera. Ever. 

My favourite photo by far is of Dom just about to get attacked by the waves. Couldn’t have timed it any better!

Just a few shots from our Surf Camp weekend. Gotta love digital waterproof cameras!

-Cory U

I don’t have the “professional surf photos” from surf camp weekend yet, but I do have some from the travels & beach…

A few days beforehand, I got a call saying there wasn’t enough people booked to do a catered pick up for the weekend. Instead of canceling they scheduled us on a free Greyhound ride which didn’t get us there at a decent time but got us there no less. We arrived late & headed to a shipping container shack with two guys already sound asleep inside. Just picture a metal box, two sets of bunks, & a toilet area sectioned off at the back wall by a shower curtain & you’re still probably imagining it nicer than it was. It wasn’t easy getting ready for bed that night in such closed quarters, & the fact that we couldn’t find a working light switch made it even worse. By the end of the weekend, we were all pretty good friends though so it really didn’t matter.

We had three lessons of surf & our times to relax we’re spent playing in the sand. Once again my waterproof camera came to be the coolest thing to have. Got some great shots & had a whole lot of fun just running around in the hot sun all weekend long. (More pics in upcoming posts…)

-Cory U

I love that feeling of water rushing across your feet with every wave.

Along the Goldcoast. Kirra Beach.

-Cory U

There’s nothing like a nice walk where the waves hit the sand…

-Cory U

Beach day at Kirra on the Goldcoast (Taken with Instagram)

(Video Here)

If I didn’t learn to surf while living in Australia, I’d have some very disappointed people to face back home. I’d be pretty disappointed too. (Apparently I have also to learn to throw a proper boomerang too. I don’t see that one being successful any time soon.)

It was our last full day of the tour & no time to spare. Once we arrived we had about 30 minutes to settle in until we were getting ready to head to the water. Surf yoga was first & then it was off to fight through some pretty rough waves for the next hour. The hardest part was walking through waters with a giant board that just wanted to push tiny little me away. There were plenty of times that digging my feet in the sand didn’t even help to keep me in one place while a wave came by.

With over 40 of us all surfing at the same time it was also real tough trying to stay out of everyone’s way. There were a few times where boards collided or where I had to strategically walk out of the paths of others. The first real wave I caught wasn’t so exciting since 2 seconds later I was in a head on collision with someone else.

Worst was finally getting up on the board & having a wave just die below me. I still have a feeling I might’ve been more successful using the other foot, but I did kinda sorta get up on the board once or twice. Glad I have pictures to prove it!

Here’s hoping I get another chance or two to try again when I head back to the gold coast next month!

NEXT UP: Day Sixteen/Weekend in Sydney

-Cory U

For the 2 weeks prior to surf camp, we kept hearing warnings that they’d be the worst accommodations of the trip. I heard them described as shipping containers set up on the beach & I was kinda excited for it. Unfortunately, that’s not what we got. Instead it was a cute little cabin of a place that was no where near as “bad” as I was told.

After surfing, dinner was held outside on picnic tables where we hung out for most of the evening. Definitely not the warmest night to be sitting outside, but besides my nose looking like Rudolph halfway it was alright for this Canadian girl.

Worst part? Finding a nice large beetle crawling around in the kitchen sink. Conveniently, there was smelly bug spray in the sink cupboard that stunk up the whole place.

NEXT UP: Surf Lessons

-Cory U

Drinks by St. Kilda beach. Dinner, drinks & penguins on a nice warm evening. Perfect relaxing night with the girls! (Taken with instagram)

It rained on & off that day. You wouldn’t really know it looking at this photo.

Watching some Volleyball on the boardwalk. St. Kilda Festival.

-Cory U

For those who don’t know, the first few weeks in Melbourne were spent sleeping on lovely couches of lovely friends of ours. We are SO great full that we were able to do so & thank them SO much for their hospitality.

After our hunt for our own place was over, we took them out for a thank you dinner to a place with a lot of local spirit. Good food, good drinks & good music. Can’t help but love the view of the location either!

Even found some cute wildlife hanging out among the trees.

-Cory U

PS Their thank you card is totally displayed in my hand there…

My LA to Australia video ended with some views of St.Kilda. Here’s a little more on this beautiful bay:

Still being the long weekend, we spent the day at St. Kilda beach. It was SO bright out that when taking the top right photo, we didn’t realize a dog was approaching us until after it was taken. We stayed mostly on the harbour side & watched groups of people try a go at Kyte Boarding.

This is the same beach where we spotted some penguins! Still hard to believe we can swim on a beach where penguins make their homes.

-Cory U