Sunday, 7 August 2016

In the surf

There was only a small (and already crowded) wave on the beach outside the van this morning. Despite our early rising, the beach was already filling up with surfers, dog walkers, joggers and those who never made it to bed in the first place. Over at the point break at the far end of Byron, things looked more promising, so we packed up and headed over.


The waves were beautiful and kept peeling away forever. Clare got ride after ride of unbelievably long clean waves. She could whoosh down the face, then calve back up to top over and over again as she disappeared off down the coast! 
Along with the longboards she was having the time of her life. I had somewhat less success on my shorter board amidst the crowded take off. 
After a few hours we go out and moved on up the coast to Coolengatta for an afternoon session,at a quieter break where I had a bit more luck!


The difference that the short drive has made is staggering. For a start, the air and water temperatures are both warmer. But more striking is the coastal developments. Gone are the cliffs and trees at the back of the beach. Now the skyline is of tower blocks, developments and apartments. In the distance we can see the silhouette of a a place called 'Surfers Paradise'. It turns out that some bright spark got the town's name changed to attract the surfing tourists types! I guess the surf must be good there, but the skyscrapers hardly looks like a classic scene of what you'd think of as 'paradise'!


That said, it sure was good to be catching waves with the sun out at Killa Beach, where the waters were considerably less busy and more surfable on my board.


We'd planned on driving inland now for a bit, but the sunset on the warm sand easily convinced us to stay a little longer...



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