First Try at Surfing

Who wouldn't want to try surfing with such great weather and beaches so close by? Every time we go to the beach, either for a walk or to stick our toes in the water, the locals are having a blast playing on the waves. Michelle and I each have wetsuits now, so it was only matter of time before we gave surfing and body boarding a try.

Yesterday morning we went with Keith and Laura to the North Wollongong beach. The surf was supposed to be good due to storms in Queensland. Keith had a blunt-nosed surfboard (what beginners use) and a couple of body boards. The waves were indeed good, but moreso for experienced surfers instead of us beach weenies. The locals called those types of waves "dumpers," because they will essentially dump your butt right into the sand. Dumpers have lots of foam, obvious churning at the shoreline, visible streaks of sand getting washed out to sea, and are not small. Dumpers can also cause injuries to the unwary, the most serious being back sprains.

Obviously, it's easy to guess we got about as far as struggling with the waves and that was it. To call it surfing or body boarding would be to mock those two sports. The waves were big enough and breaking close enough to shore that it was nearly hopeless to get past them enough to be able to ride them. Once the waves break, there's no riding them. I did have one somewhat decent run laying down on the surfboard, and did nothing but get thrown everywhere when I tried the actual body board. Michelle had one good run on the body board, but then got tossed about roughly on the surfboard. We both came away with bruises and achy muscles, but we still had lots of fun.

Next weekend we will go to Kmart and get a couple of cheap body boards for ourselves so we can do this again and more often. I would like to get a surfboard at some point, but good ones are expensive ($300-$500). Riding the waves is addicting, and it's a great way to have fun and get some exercise.

The Hunter Valley

We spent the past weekend in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. It's well-known wine country, full of rolling hills and many vineyards -- all very picturesque. There are also olive groves and cheese factories. We went with some friends of ours, Keith and Laura. None of us had ever visited a wine region before.

Through extended friends, we heard about a little cottage resort we could stay at. We left Wollongong late Friday afternoon and arrived at the destination about 4 hours later. The drive was very scenic. The cottage was nicely done, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen with all the basic items, a fridge stocked with a small assortment of food, a living area, and an outdoor grill.

For the first half of Saturday, we drove around to a couple of cheese and chocolate shops, in addition to visiting a couple of wineries near those stops. After having lunch, we drove to a bike rental shop and rented bikes so we could all enjoy the wine tastings and not have to keep one person sober for driving. Nearly all the wines were good, and vineyard staff quite helpful. We learned lots about the local wines. Prices varied greatly, from A$10 to A$70 per bottle. We also went to the Blue Tongue Brewery and sampled several different beers. Blue Tongue makes a good alcoholic ginger beer.

Sunday morning we rode the bikes into a retirement neighborhood with a golf course. Michelle and Laura reported seeing kangaroos the previous morning on their run. About twenty kangaroos were munching grass and playing when we arrived. Two young ones were boxing, which we thought was just an urban myth. I got several videos of the matches.

Overall, we had a great time and would definitely consider doing a trip like that again (though next time I might bring my own bike). We bought a couple of bottles of sparkling white wine, a white dessert wine, and a white and red fortified wine. As the local food shops are all very expensive, we saved lots by bringing our own food and cooking at the cabin.