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Surf camp! I checked out early this morning and walked down to Central Station to meet the surf van. It looks like there will be seven of us, three girls and four guys. The drive north, near Byron, took about six hours and we stopped along the way for lunch and the bottle shop. Kyle our surf instructor (and our driver) looks like a mid-30s washed up surfer dude. Time will tell if I’m correct, but I’d bet a Beez Neez that I’m right. After checking in, we still had 4 “surf hours” in the day, so we changed into swimsuits, picked out wetties (wetsuit, as previously mentioned, Aussies have a weakness for shortening words that don’t need to be shortened) and rash guards and climbed in the Rover. The weather was overcast, so we headed to the lake/river near the ocean. First task of surf camp, learn to paddle. We paddled all the way across on hard boards and then went out into the ocean to try and catch a few waves. I did pretty terrible. Hard boards are so much more difficult to grip because they need to be waxed. My Waikiki Beach surfing experience felt so much better than this. But this is real surfing, so I guess we need to toughen up. ;) After a bit of being thrashed by the waves, we paddled back across to the truck. To be honest, it was brutal. I was reminded that I have no upper body strength.
I’m glad I chose the “non-camping” surf camp. After being in the water, I just wanted a warm shower. Dinner was in the building outside, but there’s a roof, so it’s more of a pavilion. There was a vegetarian option and Rosco, the chef, is a decent cook. After dinner, we sat around the picnic tables and chatted with the other surf group who is leaving tomorrow (well two of the guys are joining our group). Ladies, please note: The male/female ratio at surf camp is about 2:1.