I’ ve heard the saying “when in Rome” used quite frequently during my travels throughout Australia. For those new to the term, it broadly suggests that when you are visiting another country, you should behave like the people in that country. So for my next adventure, I did just that. I spent 4 days learning the ins and outs of Australia’s favourite pastime, surfing.
When telling my mom about my next adventure consisting of surfing in Australia she responded, “what a dream”. That it was, that it was. My surfing adventure took place at Spot X Surf Camp, a secret surf location located 7 hours south of Brisbane on the East Coast of Australia. It’s secretive location makes it popular with travelers from all over the world. I traveled with Gresa, who is my roommate and Canadian friend. Once arriving at Spot X we understood why the surf camp location was such a well kept hidden. It is located in the small town of Arrawarra where it seems the only thing for anyone to do is in fact surf (picture a town smaller than Douro).
For 4 days I lived and breathed surfing. My days at the beachfront camp consisted of an early morning surf lesson where we would learn techniques on the beach with an instructor, followed by an hour of water time where we put to use the skills we had just been taught. Group sizes varied each day from 4 of us to upwards of 50! After lunch we would head back out to the water where we had 2 hrs of free time to master our surfing once again. I loved the free time and the discipline that was required to keep going wave after wave despite several rough falls. Like many, I was covered with cuts and bruises from falls and collisions during my practice on the water. Nighty activities at camp consisted of pub quiz nights, card games, going to the local golf driving range, campfires and dance parties with surfers from around the world. Gresa and I were lucky to make a good group of friends from England, Germany, Denmark and Ireland.
I was extremely lucky and caught on to the surfing techniques quite fast. Despite multiple falls, I was able to stand up on my surf board with confidence, improving each time I went into the water. By my last day of camp I was working on turning and walking forward on my board while surfing the waves. I really enjoyed surfing and the feeling of standing up on my board, waving my hands in the air. After each successful ride to shore, I was so eager to turn around and head back to the deeper water to repeat it all again. I am now in love with surfing and hope to get out on the water again very soon.
Below is a video I made highlighting my favourite moments from surf camp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVu2-gY0S4&t=1s Enjoy!!
Adventures of Tracey 