Right now I can probably say without a shadow of a doubt that last weekend may have been the best of my life. A couple weeks ago, three friends and I decided to sign up for a weekend long surf camp thinking we would have a fun weekend learning to surf and camping on the beach. Little did we know that the weekend would end up being the most amazing experience in Australia so far. On Friday we embarked on a 3 hour bus ride (that of course ended up taking 4 hours) with the camp to a camping site South of Sydney. And of course we ended up sitting in the very back of the bus--but don't worry, the weekend gets better. When we arrived it was dark so we couldn't see the amazing view of the water right from our kitchen area, but we were greeted with freshly cooked hot dogs and a few beers. The tents were all set up for us, and it's sad to say but the cots we slept on were actually more comfortable than the beds provided by my apartment at home. So after a great night of sleep, we woke up early to the amazing view of the sun rising over the ocean. Our camp site was on a cliff right over the water so it was absolutely breathtaking. With breakfast hot and ready for us, we quickly ate up and headed off to the beach for our first surf lesson. Our head surf instructor's name is Billy and he was absolutely amazing! I learned so much more from him in just the first 30 minutes of our lesson than I did after 2 full lessons in Costa Rica.
By the end of our first two hour lesson, we had learned how to paddle, ride the wave in while laying down and steering, and finally how to stand up and catch the wave. We of course were exhausted at the end and our arms were so tired we could barely cary our boards home. However as soon as we got home we all got a second wind because we were heading off to feed sting rays on the beach. I've seen sting rays before in theme parks but I've never experienced anything like this. There were tons of them, all different sizes, and they would swim right up to the shore to your feet. We had a bunch of little frozen fish that they would suck up right out of the palm of your hand. A few of them also tried to suck up my toes in the process haha! We got to pet them and even write our names in the sand stuck to their backs. While I was a little nervous at first because they all still had their huge stingers on the back (don't need to pull a Steve Irwin), but the fear immediately went away after feeding one my first fish.
After a quick lunch we hiked down to a bunch of rock pools formed during low tide. We got to dive in the pools and swim around for a while before going back to get ready for our next surf lesson. For our second lesson we drove to a different beach that was incredible! From where we parked we had walk down a trail for a bit, and right when you thought you were almost there, you noticed that it was about a five minute walk from where the sand started to where the water was. The beach seemed endless and we had it all to ourselves! I did really well in this lesson and was even catching waves myself and getting up almost every time. After mastering the art of standing up on the board, I think the hardest part is getting the timing right to make sure you catch the wave and maintain your speed. I was having so much fun out in the water that I never wanted to leave. I'm pretty sure I could just sit out there on my board for hours without getting bored. When our instructor yelled 10 minutes left I was so sad and I tried to stay in the water for as long as possible.
That night after the sun set, we headed down to the beach carrying piles and piles of sticks to have a bonfire! We all brought a few beers and blankets to sit on, and sat in a circle around the fire playing drinking games, telling stories, and even going around the circle singing our national anthems all night. It was also one of my good friend's 20th birthday the next day, so we counted down at midnight and all sang her Happy Birthday loud enough that they probably heard us in New Zealand. We ended up staying up pretty late on the beach which was great because we had to get up at 7 am the next morning to go surf. Let's just say that I am not a morning person, however it was pretty easy to get up that morning knowing that you're heading back out to the water! Surfing on Sunday proved to be much harder than on Saturday because our arms were so tired and sore. However when you're paddling as fast as you can with a wave coming behind you, the pain in your arms is usually the last thing you think about. After a 2 hour surf lesson that felt like 20 minutes, we headed back to camp to pack up and eat lunch. I was so sad while packing up because I never wanted to leave. It's hard to express in this blog how amazing the weekend was. There was so much more to it than just surfing or petting stingrays. Spending time with people from all over the world, as well as our instructors who worked at a coffee shop during the week and did lessons on the weekend, really made you feel like you could do anything. The vibe of the weekend was so inspiring and made you feel invincible. Right now in my life I feel like I'm constantly being asked what I want to do with rest of it. As if I'm supposed to know at only 20 years old, what I want to do for the rest of my life. I always want to answer by saying that I want to see the world and experience as much as I can, but of course that's not the answer most people are looking for. They want to know what kind of job I want or what graduate school I plan on attending. Spending the weekend at the surf camp really made me feel like it's ok to only know that I want to travel in the future.
That afternoon we went out for our last surf lesson before driving home. Our bodies were so tired from the past two days which made it really hard to actually catch a wave. Regardless, we all had the time of our lives out in the water and were so sad when our instructor yelled "10 more minutes!" The past weekend was truly an inspiring one and I'll never forget it. I'm hoping to buy a surf board soon and continue living the dream and catching the waves for the rest of my time here.
Right now I can probably say without a shadow of a doubt that last weekend may have been the best of my life. A couple weeks ago, three friends and I decided to sign up for a weekend long surf camp thinking we would have a fun weekend learning to surf and camping on the beach. Little did we know that the weekend would end up being the most amazing experience in Australia so far. On Friday we embarked on a 3 hour bus ride (that of course ended up taking 4 hours) with the camp to a camping site South of Sydney. And of course we ended up sitting in the very back of the bus--but don't worry, the weekend gets better. When we arrived it was dark so we couldn't see the amazing view of the water right from our kitchen area, but we were greeted with freshly cooked hot dogs and a few beers. The tents were all set up for us, and it's sad to say but the cots we slept on were actually more comfortable than the beds provided by my apartment at home. So after a great night of sleep, we woke up early to the amazing view of the sun rising over the ocean. Our camp site was on a cliff right over the water so it was absolutely breathtaking. With breakfast hot and ready for us, we quickly ate up and headed off to the beach for our first surf lesson. Our head surf instructor's name is Billy and he was absolutely amazing! I learned so much more from him in just the first 30 minutes of our lesson than I did after 2 full lessons in Costa Rica.
By the end of our first two hour lesson, we had learned how to paddle, ride the wave in while laying down and steering, and finally how to stand up and catch the wave. We of course were exhausted at the end and our arms were so tired we could barely cary our boards home. However as soon as we got home we all got a second wind because we were heading off to feed sting rays on the beach. I've seen sting rays before in theme parks but I've never experienced anything like this. There were tons of them, all different sizes, and they would swim right up to the shore to your feet. We had a bunch of little frozen fish that they would suck up right out of the palm of your hand. A few of them also tried to suck up my toes in the process haha! We got to pet them and even write our names in the sand stuck to their backs. While I was a little nervous at first because they all still had their huge stingers on the back (don't need to pull a Steve Irwin), but the fear immediately went away after feeding one my first fish. 
After a quick lunch we hiked down to a bunch of rock pools formed during low tide. We got to dive in the pools and swim around for a while before going back to get ready for our next surf lesson. For our second lesson we drove to a different beach that was incredible! From where we parked we had walk down a trail for a bit, and right when you thought you were almost there, you noticed that it was about a five minute walk from where the sand started to where the water was. The beach seemed endless and we had it all to ourselves! I did really well in this lesson and was even catching waves myself and getting up almost every time. After mastering the art of standing up on the board, I think the hardest part is getting the timing right to make sure you catch the wave and maintain your speed. I was having so much fun out in the water that I never wanted to leave. I'm pretty sure I could just sit out there on my board for hours without getting bored. When our instructor yelled 10 minutes left I was so sad and I tried to stay in the water for as long as possible.
That afternoon we went out for our last surf lesson before driving home. Our bodies were so tired from the past two days which made it really hard to actually catch a wave. Regardless, we all had the time of our lives out in the water and were so sad when our instructor yelled "10 more minutes!" The past weekend was truly an inspiring one and I'll never forget it. I'm hoping to buy a surf board soon and continue living the dream and catching the waves for the rest of my time here.
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