CHINESE NEW YEAR: for some it's an excuse to eat, spend time with family, and collect money-filled red envelopes. For others it's an excuse to flee all things Chinese and explore the wonderful world down under. With a mission to improve our surf skills and detox with a little sand and saltwater, PK and I set out for a fabulous 6 day surfari in Byron Bay, New South Wales. The stars had perfectly aligned - Chinese New Year happened to fall on the same day as "Australia Day" this year, meaning we had even more reason to celebrate. And if our trip is any indication of what's in store for this lunar year, I think it's safe to say that the Year of the Ox is going to be epic. Kung Hei Fat Choi.
After our flight was re-routed to the Gold Coast, fears of bad weather and bad karma gave us a little bit of a slow start, but before we knew it we found ourselves in beautiful, sunny Ozzie beach heaven. Despite our aspirations to truly embrace the pristine Australian outdoors and sleep on the sand and bathe in the ocean, we decided to succumb to our sophisticated side and splurge with a beach house rental. Our house was officially named "slow dance", and slow dance we did...at least slow down. No internet, no watch, no phone, NO WORRIES.
With PK at the wheel and one trusty map, we navigated our way up and down the coast of northern NSW. Favorite beaches were Wategos, Tallows, Clarke's Beach, The Pass, Brokenhead, and Tweeds Head. Perfect weather, and more importantly perfect waves. A few strong currents here and there and a handful of reported shark sightings, but nothing strong enough to deter us from conquering the surf and honing our longboarding skills. With the help of Simon the surf instructor we learned how to define our personal surf styles, ride the wave, and avoid fighting currents (in the ocean and life...deep).
After our flight was re-routed to the Gold Coast, fears of bad weather and bad karma gave us a little bit of a slow start, but before we knew it we found ourselves in beautiful, sunny Ozzie beach heaven. Despite our aspirations to truly embrace the pristine Australian outdoors and sleep on the sand and bathe in the ocean, we decided to succumb to our sophisticated side and splurge with a beach house rental. Our house was officially named "slow dance", and slow dance we did...at least slow down. No internet, no watch, no phone, NO WORRIES.
With PK at the wheel and one trusty map, we navigated our way up and down the coast of northern NSW. Favorite beaches were Wategos, Tallows, Clarke's Beach, The Pass, Brokenhead, and Tweeds Head. Perfect weather, and more importantly perfect waves. A few strong currents here and there and a handful of reported shark sightings, but nothing strong enough to deter us from conquering the surf and honing our longboarding skills. With the help of Simon the surf instructor we learned how to define our personal surf styles, ride the wave, and avoid fighting currents (in the ocean and life...deep).
Byron Bay boasts just the right amount of "crunchiness" to make my list of top beach destinations. Vegetarian-organic-gluten-free everything, farmers markets as the main social attraction, and surfers with day jobs as acupunturists. Needless to say the food was divine (or maybe it was just the absence of msg hangovers?), everything must have been spiked with endorphins - 2 weeks later and we are still on a high.
Activity highlights included: hiking to the Wategos lighthouse to see the sun rise, swimming and paddling practice in a sacred Aboriginal (red!) tea tree lake, exploring the Eastern most tip of Australia, and of course putting shrimps on the barbie.
We spent our last 24 hours down under enjoying and exploring Sydney - the perfect transition back to China as a direct return might have been a lethal shock to the system. This city might just be one of the all time greatest, it's really remarkable how happy Sydney makes me - and it doesn't hurt when it's accompanied by great company, great weather, great food, and a great complimentary hotel room :)
The hardest part of the whole trip was mustering up the courage to get on the (packed, red-eye) Hong Kong bound flight. Not only did we bring back our sunburns and surf wounds (maybe some bigger deltoids too), but I like to think we also brought back with us a little bit of the Ozzie way of life.... step aside Asian work ethic.
Next up for the power beach duo: keeping up our surfing skills with frequent visits to Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong, most likely followed by a permanent move to Byron Bay in Sept. 2010. Look for us selling organic produce and baked goods out of a van to subsidize our surf shenanigan lifestyle.
Activity highlights included: hiking to the Wategos lighthouse to see the sun rise, swimming and paddling practice in a sacred Aboriginal (red!) tea tree lake, exploring the Eastern most tip of Australia, and of course putting shrimps on the barbie.
We spent our last 24 hours down under enjoying and exploring Sydney - the perfect transition back to China as a direct return might have been a lethal shock to the system. This city might just be one of the all time greatest, it's really remarkable how happy Sydney makes me - and it doesn't hurt when it's accompanied by great company, great weather, great food, and a great complimentary hotel room :)
The hardest part of the whole trip was mustering up the courage to get on the (packed, red-eye) Hong Kong bound flight. Not only did we bring back our sunburns and surf wounds (maybe some bigger deltoids too), but I like to think we also brought back with us a little bit of the Ozzie way of life.... step aside Asian work ethic.
Next up for the power beach duo: keeping up our surfing skills with frequent visits to Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong, most likely followed by a permanent move to Byron Bay in Sept. 2010. Look for us selling organic produce and baked goods out of a van to subsidize our surf shenanigan lifestyle.
1 comment:
What a fun trip!!! I love keeping track of your adventures, Karissa. It helps me satiate my wanderlust vicariously. :)
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