Free Your Mind...

I actually started to work on Saturday. The weather was nice but I didn't think the surf was going to be that great. When I got in the office I made a Latte, checked my e-mails, then opened Coastal Watch to see how it looked. Snapper was head high and reeling rights down the point.

I got on line and went to Abel Rent a Car and reserved a unit to be ready in thirty minutes. I ran down there a sweaty mess and got my ride, twenty minutes later I had board in car, wax in hand, surf on the mind, and was speeding down the M1 to Coolangatta.


Coolangatta is about an hour South of Brisbane.


If I could live anywhere in the world it would have to be The Gold Coast of Australia...


So how was it???

Australian Clouds

Sorry for the lack of posts but not every day is an adventure... Check back soon for updates...

PG13 Surf Wax???

Australian Wax Job...

It's the Other Red Meat...

I'm at the market and in a victorious mood after my day's finds and near fatal mountain adventure and am pondering dinner. I am usually healthy and not too into beef. Chicken seems so tame, especially after my heroic stand on the mountain, in the name of photo journalism.

What's that?

I was not sure at the butcher counter and there was a decent looking lad next who looked "local". I explained to him I was a yank and if I should try it...

"Have you ever tried it before?" I asked.

"Aw' Muate, it's me favorite! It tastes just like fillet of beef! You'll love it for sure!"

Sold!!! I took a few Satay and Spicy Thai chicken skewers just to be safe so if the meal was not as advertised I would have a plan B.

I stopped at the corner pub for a warm up then back to the barie to prepare.

Like the man promised, it was tender, tasty and I am ready for more. I highly recommend this bounding, hippity - hoppity dish...

Don't Get Off the Boat Man!!!

On my way back to the city I saw the most amazing mountain formations I have ever seen. I had not noticed them on the way up as they were to my back. I was trying to snap pictures in the car but could never seem to get a good shot.

As luck would have it, I saw a turn off for a "lookout point" for these mountains. I had the time so I pulled off for a quick gander. I followed a lonely road for about a kilometer and just as I thought I was lost I came into a clearing with a gravel parking lot. I was the only one with exception of the highway, for miles. It was hot as it gets and kind of spooky to boot. A cement trail wound up a hill into some trees and out of site so I put on my back pack and headed up the trail.

The initial going was a bit rough but manageable in the 90 degree, oven like heat. I noticed some really fast ants running about but kept on going. A sign told me "lookout point 700m ahead".

Then came the flies. At first they were annoying and small but as I got farther they became bigger, faster and started to kamikaze my face and body. They would hit you with a force and it started to hurt. Their buzz sounded like a chain saw.

Walking faster now...

Now a big dragon fly like creature barley misses my head at about 30 mph.

Now I am almost running while flailing up the hill. I notice the ants are getting bigger and faster than before. Note: I was on a surf mission and I am in flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt.

I have now had enough and I can see just enough of the view to get a picture, if I can just get around this tree... I stepped off the trail to get the shot and I looked down and saw the ground just teeming with big, fat, red, fast-as-hell-and-looking-agitated, ants that I am guessing were about 1/4 to 1/2 inches in length! Right then a wasp or something started hovering about my face, I'm out of here!

Now I am running down the trail the way I came and at a dead sprint. Wait, the Picture! I did not come all this way for nothing. Dammit, I must get the shot! I need TOTAL COVERAGE!!! I stopped, ran back up and leaned out over the ants nest and snapped a quick shot, the next one was at a run and the third was at a full gallop but I got the goods.

Just remember what yours truly goes through to get the you the 411.

The Sunshine Coast: Caloundra

The next stop on my quick tour of The Sunshine Coast was Caloundra. It kind of reminded me of a cross between a really small Laguna Beach and Pas-de-Calais but with 85 degree weather and perfect surf.

I love this place. It sits in a small bay with a pristine beach. On the southern end there is a rocky point with very nice apartments and houses on the top. In the center is a small downtown with cafe's, shops and art galleries. There are wineries on the outskirts of town.

The beaches are crowded and with the summer heat they are a cool alternative. In California the beaches tend to be strewn with garbage and it is sad and makes me angry. Here the beaches are warm, the water does not smell and is clear, salty and clean. I have never seen one speck of trash and I think the people here would kill anyone that did not pick it up and take it with them. They are an environmentally conciouse lot. I took a nice swim here and sat in the sun for a while.

Then there is the surf, the southern end has what appears to be a long right hand point break. In the center of the bay there looks to be a reef with a right and a left although it would be quite a paddle. On the north end is a lava rock head land with a really heavy looking left breaking into a channel in the bay. The one person I talked to about it says it gets good but is quite sharky.

The day I was there a good south swell was running but the NE winds are an issue right now. I looked for alternatives but to no luck. I hear next week there is to be a reversal so I might be back.

I would live here in a heartbeat.

The Sunshine Coast: Maroocheeydore

In my rented car I headed out of Brisbane on the M1 to The Sunshine Coast to look for surf, explore, and just get used to this whole driving thing. I can tell you this much, I can die now and say I have been to the promised land.
The Sunshine Coast is about an hour north of Brissie and stretches from Caloundra in the south to Noosa in the north. I can tell you that it is littered with some of the best surf spots on the planet. It is very lush, hot, sub tropical and sparsely populated and very rugged country. I can imagine now what it must have been like for the original "convicts" that were plopped down here in the 1700's it must have been grueling to say the least.
First stop was Maroocheydore (Mah-Roo-Chee-Dore), a small coastal town with a nicely developed city center. It seems to be a popular weekend spot and had a healthy crowd but not hectic or touristy, walking about. The beach of Marroocheydore has a what I have heard a world class left breaking over a shallow shelf, it was wind torn this day and there were jet skis in out the back jumping waves but I will be back again. I was too busy driving to take pictures of the down town and I forgot the camera in the car when I was checking out the surf, sorry. I do have pictures from Kings Beach with Maroocheydore in the distance.

One interesting note: When the M1 Motorway crosses into The Sunshine Coast it becomes The Steve Irwin Motorway which passes by the Zoo he created. You hear his name allot here and I believe Australia considers him a first son. I always liked his shows and loved his conservation efforts.

Steve Irwin R.I.P.