Home at last...

A long and stressful journey has come to an end. Our cats Sebastian and Catalina have made it through two weeks in a kennel, a fifteen hour flight, an hour drive, 32 days of in country quarantine in Sydney, another hour drive, then another hour flight to Brisbane. From San Clemente to our door has been six weeks of living in cages interspersed with moments of terror. Yesterday I watched from the terminal as they were carried from the plane and could not help but wonder what this whole ordeal must have been like from a cat's perspective. One day they were happy and fat in San Clemente, then the next they were in a cage for weeks, then they were put into the belly of a really loud thing (jet), and flown for 15 hours to who knows where and in another cage for a month. I am really glad they are here but i can't say that I recommend the ordeal to anyone. It was tough on us all.

When we got to our apartment we opened the carriers and they made their way out very slowly and cautiously. They both headed under the couch where they stayed for two hours or so. After a while Catalina, always the adventurer peeked out and took stock of her new surroundings. An hour after that she owned the place and eventually Sebastian followed suit.

We have noticed how close they have become after spending six weeks in a cage together as they are hiding together and sleeping together and seem to be calm as long as they can see each other.
They both looked tired but good. They will be needing a bath soon but we will let them adjust before we put them through that ordeal. I was really afraid that after a month in a cage with nothing to do and no exercise they might have gotten fat. Although I think they both gained a pound, they are not obese.

They will have to move once more once we find our permanent address as we are still in our temporary apartment but that is nothing considering what they have been through.

Well, they are brave and now they are here. Just think, our cats have traveled more that G.W. Bush did in his whole life before he became President of the United States.

My Hero

He held a party and invited everyone from his internet social website friends list, 500+ people turned up and ended with loads of cops, helicopters etc. He frightened the neighbors and is ducking his mom and dad. Watch the entire clip and you will see why he is now my hero...


CLICK ME!!!!

Throw Them Out

George McGovern, 1972 Democratic Presidential Nominee has written a stinging editoral in The Washington Post calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

It is an excellent summary of the lies, corruption, treason and treachery of what veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas (who has covered every president since Kennedy) has called "the worst president in American history".


Write your Congressperson (if you haven't already) and let them know that your mad as hell and not gonna take it any more!


You can read it here:


Click ME!!!


or here

Click ME2!!!

Kirra!

I headed up The Gold Coast Highway from Burleigh Heads with the intent of checking out Coolangatta as I figured sitting on Point Danger and facing a northerly direction would give the best chance of shelter from the remaining storminess and provide some surfable conditions.

As I drove up The Gold Coast Highway through Tugun I approached Kirra. Looking out to sea I was greeted with the vision of over head rights, spinning down the point. I stopped at the car park at Kirra Beach Club and watched for a while.

Kirra is made up of two points, Big Groyne and Second Groyne starting at Coolangatta. Kirra is a legendary spot that was considered one of the top waves in Australia (and the world) until the dredging and installation of a sand pump at Tweed Heads added 3.7 million cubic meters of sand up the point at Coolangatta, creating Snapper Rocks in the process but robbing Kirra of it's sand and degrading it's perfect sandbars down the coast. There is a large grass roots effort here to extend one of the Groyne's and install a second pump to catch more sand at Kirra and return it to its past glory and therefore also spreading out the intense crowds that plague the point. Occasionally with the right swell and sand it gets very, very good but it is rare.

By just my luck I happened to catch it pretty good, and when I mean good I mean breaking at probably half of it's potential which is still pretty darn good.

The conditions had improved considerably down the coast and with none of the massive runoff and debris that littered Burleigh Heads. The water was murky but clean and 4-7 foot rights were reeling off of Second Groyne into the bay. The winds were slightly on shore and most waves were sectiony but the odd wave would showcase what a good sandbar can be like with a 150 meter long barrel, perfectly marching down the line.
I got there early and the crowd was relatively light letting my get into a couple of decent waves however by nine a.m. it was a zoo with a hundred guys out and some of the worse surf etiquette I have ever witnessed.
About ten am, the winds shifted to slight off shore, the sun came out and there was an hour that Kirra looked perfect with a lightly scalloped surface and big beautiful barrels screaming past. I sat on the shoulder to watch as some of Australia's best got some all time tube rides like I have never seen in person. With the drop ins and power struggles and high level performance surfing, it was quite a show.
The current running down the point is immense and after three and a half hours of paddling against the "the conveyor belt" I was sun burnt and tired and caught an inside drainer to get me in. It was by far the most interesting surfing experience I have ever had. The good news is that with me surfing more my arms are coming back from their atrophy, and if I surf places like these a couple times a week I will be a paddling machine in no time. I have been impressed at how many Aussie surfers are in excellent shape and after surfing some of the spots here I can really see why. It involves considerable effort.

Big Muddy

Last week on the 29th a large tropical low formed ever Fraser Island just off the Queensland Coast. While it never made it to Cyclone level the low was named "Herbert"and spun in place for over a week before tracking North, sending powerful SSE winds and huge surf towards The Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Massive rains and wild storms inundated Southern Queensland. While most points and beaches were huge and out of control, selective, sheltered spots were in classic form. Noosa Heads was six to ten foot and perfect, Mooloolaba was pumping, and tow teams were charging Burleigh Heads, Rainbow Bay, Currumbin, and Coolangatta which at one point was hitting a solid 15-20+ feet according to Coastal Watch and off shore buoys.

By Saturday morning the swell and winds had backed down to modest proportions rerendering the coast semi-surfable to the rest of us mortals. After a week and a half of watching perfect surf on the web cams, out of my reach, I rented a car, packed the board and headed to The Goldy in search of some surf.

First off I checked out Burleigh Heads which sits just north of the Tallebudgera Creek. The creek was now a full on river there were reports of massive flooding miles up stream and tons of silt, drift wood, logs, dead cows, and who knows what else, was flowing out to sea and into the Burleigh lineup. The point was six to ten foot and semi surfable, there were some guys out but with the hazardous conditions and large debris floating on the inside, I opted to drive further south to see what conditions were like elsewhere.



The first shot was taken by Coastal Watch on Thursday up the road at Currumbin (note PWC on left of screen for scale) and my shots were taken Saturday at Burleigh.

NSW Surf Part 2

My favorite surf of the trip was the second day. We woke up and had a really good breakfast with a couple that was living in Melbourne. From there we headed off on our own and headed down to the legendary Lennox Head.

We took a look at it and although there was some swell about, the tide was a tad high and it was backing off quite a bit. You could sure see the potential, and from the pictures I have seen of it when it "is on", it looks to me like the Australian version of Jeffery's Bay, South Africa. It has been put on my short list of "must get it good at least once in my life". When I get a car and we get some good, clean swell, I will charge the three hour drive and get to it. I think will have to wait for the bigger boards to arrive though.

From there we headed further south. When we rounded the Lennox Headland there was a small valley that gave a quick view of the beach below and I caught a quick glimpse of a decent right wrapping around some rocks. "Hold it there!!!" I yelled and looked for the nearest turn off. It turned out to be Sharpe's Beach. A small rocky point with a good right that wraps into a small rock lined bay. The wave jacks up off the rocks for a steep take off then flatens out a tad and hits the inside reef for fun, racy little wave. We watched for a while and it was chest to head high and looked fun. I waited to watch a couple of guys paddle out as I could not figure out how to get out through the house sized boulders. It turned out that if you walked around the backside of the point there was a small keyhole through the rocks and with ten strokes you were in the lineup.

It was a really fun little wave and the best surf I have had so far in Australia. There were only a few people out and everyone was friendly enough. As the tide dropped the takeoff got a little faster and there was a rock on the inside that the wave would suck out over creating a nice little hollow section. The Nickster even got a little head dip too!

The water was clear and blue and a pod of dolphins swam nearby. The surroundings were stunning and it is by far the prettiest spot I have ever surfed.

Mariana got a couple of snaps of me paddling...

Water

One evening in Byron we walked out to the lighthouse and checked out The Pass. The Pass is a surf spot that according to my surf guide book is more of a long board spot there are heaps of other spots and better spots around but this one is quite prominent. Being Christmas week, every surf spot in Byron was packed to capacity so I never actually surfed in town. Crowds aside, it is a beautiful place.

I am still getting used to the water and the changing colors. When it is overcast it has a grey, green tint to it and is clear but the real beauty occurs when the sun comes out and it turns into an electric blue. Most of you have seen water like this or even better depending on where you have traveled but I have not and it's my blog and I'll brag if I want to. If you have seen better water then start your own damn blog and leave mine alone.

There have been quite a few shark sightings in Byron and North New South Wales recently and one small attack a few weeks ago. They get Bull Sharks, White Tips and the odd Great White although I believe the Great Whites are more common in the south as the water is colder. There have never been a fatal attack in the area and when I surfed I never felt spooked or unsafe. It was far scarier surfing in Northern California than here and there have been more attacks there than here. Enough doom and gloom.

So, if you are ever looking for safe, clear, clean water than this is your place.

Pinch me, I'm dreaming...

We drove around and explored a lot of Northern New South Wales and I have to say so far it was my favorite region of Australia that I have seen so far. I have seen very little so far so I expect that to eventually change but if it does, it would have to be really good to surpass Northern New South Wales. If given the chance to live here, I would not say no.

Northern New South Wales reminded me of a sub-tropical version of Northern California. The beaches were rugged, littered with headlands and points with balmy temperatures and warm water. The beaches are a combination of sand stretched with lava formed points. It is also a surfers paradise as it is some of the best in the country with fewer people than most regions.
The interior is made up of cattle and horse ranches speckled with coffee plantations and macadamia groves on low, rolling hills, jagged rock formations, and the extinct volcano, Mt. Warning dominating the horizon. It is hot and rainy and bugs the size of small cars but wildly interesting.

We drove down the coast to Lennox Head, then made a turn inland and drove to Lismore which was about 40km inland, then turned north and drove to Nimbin. The small town of Nimbin was quite a spectacle. It is a hippie town in the truest sense of the word. The history of the town is quite short. It was the site of The Aquarius festival in the early seventies at a small shire. Some of the people that came for the music fell in love with land and set up a town that has grown to a population of about 1500. It is the only part of NSW or Queensland for that matter that Cannibus while illegal is openly consumed and distributed. It is a real throwback and I wish i had gotten pictures to show, there were allot of hippies about and some interesting characters to say the least.

After Nimbin we headed back towards the coast and ended up at Tweed Heads, then back down south to Byron. It was a fantastic drive and I can't wait to get back.

I am already planning my return. This winter I plan on renting a small camper for ten days and exploring in detail Northern and Central New South Wale's surfing potential.

Surfing North NSW, Part 1

Of course for me the highlight of the trip was getting what has become the rare chance to surf. We are without a car for the time being until we get a permanent address and I get my visa so we can go out and get a loan. It has been refreshing to not have a car and car payment but without a consistent vehicle to get to the beach I am starting to go nuts.

I have learned that the East Coast of Australia is quite fickle. It has some of the best surf in the world but in order to get those classic days you have to be on it. Most of the swell here is short period, local storms and cyclones that kick surf at us from the north and south. Since it is coming from such short distances it can be flat in the morning and six foot by noon.

Winds are a big factor. From what I have seen so far, any thing from the North West will kill all spots. Anything from the South West will kill some spots except the largest points, i.e. Snapper, Noosa, Byron etc. Any winds with west in them will make some points fantastic and some moderate depending on the specific direction and strength.


What I will do when we get in our own place is put a map of the East Coast of Australia on the wall and start planning a couple of days ahead.

We are hoping that by this time next month we will finally have our own automobile and I will be able to start getting out more often.

These pictures were from the first day of the trip. We drove down the coast and Snapper was blown out, I went to the other side of the headland and Duranbah was five foot with some chop but it looked fun. My mistake was not staying there, I thought that the grass was probably greener on the other side so we headed further down the coast to Cabarita. It was blown out and junky but four to six foot and some decent rights to be had. The sweep was killer and my arms have atrophied slightly with the lack of surfing. Rubber arms and junky surf aside it was a beautiful spot to surf, the water was warm and it just felt great to be out again.

Shot three is your truly.