Surf Camp!

Good day!  (click on any photo in any post to see in full size!)

     For spring break I was fortunate enough to take 17 days off of class and do some activities in Australia and New Zealand!
     Spring break started out with a 3 day stay at a surf camp up north near Queensland. We caught a 4 hour bus ride (longer than expected) up to the camp and got in around 1am. Upon arrival a few of us were wide awake so we attempted to find the beach. It proved to be quite the adventure trying to find it in the pitch dark. We finally found the beach after a good 45 mins. In the morning we discovered that there was a beach under 5 mins away we just took a wrong turn.  The camp was very cool, pretty rugged and something you would see right out of the movies. My sleeping accommodations for the 2 nights was a Teepee! I was pretty pumped about this. Others in the group felt differently about this and resulted in some crying..... After some breakfast we hit the waves and never stopped! We were supposed to have 1 lesson in the am and 1 in the pm but with a little smooth talking and being in the right places in the right time I got to join about 4 lesson and spend about 6 hours surfing that day alone. In the pm there were some great waves! I was able to catch one and turn onto an angle for the first time giving me my
longest ride yet! It was great being out there with a bunch of friends all cheering each other on.

      After a long day in the water it was time for some dinner and a nap in a hammock. What better way to close out a day of surfing than with a party on the beach. It was amazing hang out on a totally seclude beach with music, a bon fire, lighting storms all around, and friends old and new alike. The night even included the ever cliche skinny dipping and cloths stealing.  Around the campfire I got to meet some of the instructors, mainly two blokes from the surf academy, Flow and Casper. They are both studying surfing and come from Denmark and Germany.  They actually study the theory of surfing in a classroom as well as physically going surfing.
      During the trip we met a very interesting fellow by the name of Johnny. Johnny was one of the coolest/most interesting people I have ever met.  He come from the land of Alberta, Canada and is spending 5 months traveling all around Australia. He only had a small school backpack, a didgeridoo, and a flute with him. It was good to meet Johnny, I hope his travels are going well.
      After another day of surfing it was time to pack up and head 4 hours back home. This was probably one of the best bus rides I have ever had. The windows on the bus were huge and opened up 100% basically leaving you feeling like you could fall out. My self and my friend Austin spent those 4 hours hanging our bodies out the windows taking in the wind and changing scenery.
      Oh and the surf camp had birds with a very cool call it was a high pitch single note screech, followed by a pause and a cool water droplet sound.
     The surf trip was awesome and furthered my love for the sport.  After getting back home we had less than 18 hours before we headed out for 2 weeks in New Zealand!

Cheers,
  Evan