Dear Australia...

Dear Australia, 

I've never met someone who has spent time with you and doesn't love you.  You're big, you're warm and you only have 20 million people or so... and they have funny accents that make me laugh.  And kangaroos hop around everywhere.  Still never managed to get the one picture I wanted... me boxing one with big red gloves on.  Maybe next time.... if your peeps will let me back in, I seemed to have overstayed my welcome by a bit. Doooh!

12 Apostles, South Coast

I've still got a lot of exploring to do with you but managed to make it to your West and South coasts this time around.  I made a conscious effort NOT get myself stuck in Byron Bay this time and got to see some other shweeeet places.  After leaving the crew in Sydney and watching NYE fireworks on the harbor, I hung with the Newports in Melbourne.  Great city.  Fun and lots going on but a bit far from the waves.  And the weather needs to make up it's mind.

West Oz

Then I decided to head out to the wild wet to meet up with my long lost Kiwi friend Nic in Margaret River, hadn't seen her in over 10 years... crazy.  The West is pretty laid back, has beautiful beaches and the waves fucking pump!  I'm surprised more people don't live there. Plus it's a real short hop to Indo.  I had a blast.  Can't wait to get back there.

Echidna

Your people remind me of the Kiwi's.  They seem really united and they have pride in that.  For example, during your big floods in Queensland, when downtown Brisbane was under water, there was nobody stealing anything.  It was weird.  Look at New Orleans during the same situation.  Looting left and right.  Fights.  Stupid gang shit.  Rapes in the shelters.  Disgusting and shameful stuff.  I cant even imagine what would happen if LA flooded... it would be full on anarchy.

Watching your politicians on the news was a breath of fresh air.  They actually sound like they have brains, they don't skirt questions, they're accessible.  You almost want to believe what they say... it's great! 

I love: Meat Pies, Eating your Kangaroos, the fact that the West coast blows offshore most of the year, listening to Aussie girls talk. Bare-Boobied beaches.

I don't love: All the fucking shark attacks, deadly spiders, deadly snakes and the most persistant annoying flies on the planet. The outrageous price of alcohol.

Until we meet again... mate!

Cheers, 

Me

 

Margs

Curl Curl

Margs Pumping!

 

Curiosity of Cyclone Bianca

 

Ready to hunt fishies

Dinner

Nic... about to make me late for my bus!

Not a bad place to climb around.  James with his life in my hands.

Swedish Meatball Eyeball

Swedes+Beer+Plastic cow=This

The one that make have killed Mr. Irwin... not sure.

Gnarabup Sunset

Scoring on a short stop in Fiji

After getting deported from Oz and the bullshit mission getting back to Fiji... once I stepped off the plane, felt the hot humid air, had a whiff of that sweet island smell, and heard the dudes jamming island tunes in the immigration line, everything was good again.  Not sure I could have asked for a better last few days of this 4 month journey.

 

Stayed up waaay too late drinking Fiji Gold and playing pool with Che and crew that night, woke up the next morning, had a giant breaky at Cardos and hopped on a few skis out to score head high Restaurants and then over to pumping overhead rights at Swimming Pools with a handful of guys out.   Guys were saying they haven't seen it that good.  Fiji is magical.  Kicking myself for not having my camera this day.... damnit.  Wore the wrong shirt in the water and my nipples got rubbed raw. Scabby nipple tips are not fun.

The Comp

Wilkes going nuts across the channel

 

Hit it hard in Nadi Town that night and hopped on the boat early to head out to a local comp at Namotu Lefts.  Thanks to Uri and Adrenaline crew for one hell of a day!  It was the best I had seen it. Some good ones coming in but still turned a bit fat after the drop. I filled in for Che in the comp (His eyeballs were absolutely fried from the previous day, everybody's were...  had to be something in the water) and ended up making the Semi Finals. We decided to bail on it and head over to Restaurants to get a few... best call ever.  Restaurants was head high and perfect.  Such an amazing wave.  Long, fast, hollow. It keeps growing bigger as it rolls down the reef. What more do you want in a wave?  Maybe a reverse version of it.  Yeah, that would pretty much be all... Restaurants as a Right. Heaven.  Ended my last session in Fiji with a nice little one, a few good whacks off the top and tucked into a cozy little tube that just barely let me out.  Cold beers back on the boat.  Life can be a dream.

Back at Cardos for beers and a big feed and that's where we met Dr. Bones.  This old hippie guy pops out of nowhere and next thing we know he's sitting with us slamming beers like they're water and talking about the 13 crystal skulls of the Mayans, portals on mystic mountain tops, energy crystals, Indian priests, and the end of the world in 2012, and also something that's gonna go down this March 20th... "You thought the quake in Christchurch was bad...".  He's been living in Puerto Escondido for 15 years eating peyote or something and healing injured surfers.  Now he's starting a (witch?) doctor clinic on an island in Fiji. The guy is a trip. The weird part about Dr. Bones showing up was he just happened to have a box of some crazy Chinese eye medicine that he dropped in our sunburned eyes.  Stuff worked.  We were all sitting there screaming with tears rolling down our face... it stung like hell but worked.  Trippy... man.

Dr. Bones doing some painful voodoo on Che

That was it.  Easy flight home.  Now I'm sitting here at home in Uggs, fuzzy pants and jacket and a beanie on one of the coldest days of the year... sunburned, jet lagged and completely stoked!!

 

Special thanks to Che, Cardo, Teh, Chloe and the Adrenaline crew for taking real good care of me! I'm in debt to you.