Surf Camp Australia: Wipe outs, nose dives, and a bit of actual surfing

When I think of surfing, one person always comes to mind: my uncle, Kevin. He was such a cool guy; he surfed, was an artist, and always had a great story to tell. Though there were quite a few nose dives and wipe outs this weekend, I think Uncle Kevin would've been pretty proud (and amused) if he saw me surfing.

Getting out of bed this morning was very hard. Literally the physical act of getting out of my bed hurt. Not only was it 6:20am in the morning, but I could barely move. My whole body ached after this weekend. My back, my arms, my legs, my torso... Pretty much everything hurt. Along with being sore, I have bruises all over. The aches and pains are well worth it though. The weekend at Surf Camp was amazing! 

This weekend Isabelle, Anita, Tord, and a bunch of our other friends and I went on a weekend trip with Surf Camp Australia. The Friday to Sunday trip cost $245, and included transport, meals, accommodation, and surf lessons. On Friday evening we headed to 7 Mile Beach (Gerroa), approximately 2 hours from Sydney. Our transportation, the double decker bus, was late picking us up, but that wasn't the end of the world. I was too excited (and a little nervous) about the weekend to mind. 

Once we got to the Surf Camp, we were introduced to all the instructors and the rest of the crew working there. After being notified of rules and regulations (and signing away our lives... yet again), we were assigned rooms. Isabelle, Anita, Tord, and I ended up sharing a dorm room with 4 other Norwegians and one German guy (poor Ralf had to deal with 8 Norwegians the whole weekend). The living arrangements were decent. Nothing too fancy, but definitely nice enough for two days.

There were about 90 people at the Surf Camp, and the majority were students from Macquarie University. Great way to expand the social circle! The big group was split into two smaller groups, and this determined surfing times. Our dorm room was in Group 2, so we had a late start on Saturday (9am) and an early start on Sunday (6:30am). We had two 2-hour surf lessons on Saturday, and one 2-hour lesson on Sunday. You may be thinking "Oh, that's not a lot of time for surfing!" (which is what I initially thought), but two hours is plenty. Believe me - surfing is much more strenuous than it looks! 

After breakfast on Saturday morning we were each given a wetsuit. We were told this would be our new best friend for the weekend. I would have to say I had more of a love-hate relationship with mine. It kept me warm while I was in the water, yes, but it itched like crazy at times. Also, putting on a semi-wet wetsuit for the second round on Saturday and first thing on Sunday morning was insanely cold. BRRR! 

The surf instructors were GREAT. They were all extremely helpful, friendly, and encouraging. You could tell they really enjoyed what they were doing, and really wanted us to enjoy our weekend. Not only did we get lessons on surfing technique, we also learned how to do a surf check and got information on different types of boards and equipment. 

Kiefer, Caitlin, Whinney, myself, and the stereotypical surf instructor, Shayne

The weather wasn't the greatest, but it did clear up a few times during the weekend. It's not like it really mattered if it was rainy or sunny; we were getting wet either way. 

Tord and I have got it down

Our awesome surf group

Ready to surf

The Surf Camp had their own photographer that took pictures of us while surfing, capturing all the Kodak moments. In addition, the surf instructors had a GoPro camera that they filmed with. Stay tuned for a great video later this week! 

I've only surfed once in my life. When I was about 12 years old, my cousin, Johnny, and I took a surfing lesson while on vacation in Maui (Hawaii). As you can see, that lesson TOTALLY paid off. No wonder my whole body aches. 

It's harder than it looks, but is definitely manageable. Lots of fun, too! Oh, and by the way, surfing is a great way to clear out your sinuses. Nothing like getting a gallon of salt water up your nose and down your throat. 

Though it may seem highly unlikely after seeing the wipe out/nose dive pictures, I did manage to get up and stand on the board. Quite a few times, actually (I'd say much more than a few times, but less than heaps of times). Let me present exhibit A: 

Exhibit B:

When the video is up, you can also see footage of me running into one of the surf instructors (exhibit C). Hurray! I think Isabelle, Anita, and Tord also enjoyed their weekend. 

Isabelle

Tord

Anita

We headed home on Sunday evening. We were all pretty wiped after a fun weekend of surfing. I'm hoping that my body will ache less tomorrow. It's 10:21pm, and I'm taking my aching, bruised body to bed. Ouch. Goodnight! 

Love, 
Suzy