Surfers paradise is not what I expected. I imagined a town of laid back surfers with perfect waves rolling in hour after hour. This was the place I thought we would master standing on the board. Everything I thought was wrong.
As we drove into Surfers Paradise we were struck by the number of high rise buildings, it felt like we were driving into a holiday resort on the south coast of Spain, not an Aussie surfer town.
“Less surfer town, more chav town or as the Aussies say, ‘bogan’.”
As we walked through the town to the beach front there was still no feeling of this being a laid back surfer town. It was half past ten in the morning and a guy at a kiosk on the side of the street asked us if we were here to party for the night, as he could sort us out with great tickets for entry into the local clubs!
Our first thoughts on Surfers Paradise weren’t what we expected them to be. Less surfer town, more chav town or as the Aussies say, ‘bogan’.
“The water was warm enough to wear just a rashie and board shorts/bikini.”
We found a place to hire surf boards on the beach front and left the chaos of the main street for the windy beach and waves. There were a couple of surf lessons taking place so we positioned ourselves next to them and took to the sea.
The water was warm enough to wear just a rashie and board shorts/bikini which was a pleasant change from the freezing cold water of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.
What wasn’t different from Jeffreys Bay was the strength of the pounding waves and current. In fact the currents were so strong that the depth of the water changed constantly beneath you. Waist deep water turned into ankle deep water with the passing of a wave, making it really difficult to paddle at times and sore when you ended up falling off the board.
Falling off into water that cushions the impact isn’t too bad but falling into five inches of water and grazing your skin along the sand is another experience altogether. Of all our surfing experiences on our trip so far (which are few to say the least), this was our worst attempt yet.
“This was not the surfing dream I had in mind.”
The waves came in quickly and at differing angles. Before we were able to even try standing on the board we were getting thrown off left and right. Success was defined merely by getting two feet on the board and attempting to stand.
Rich was successful. I bowed out ungracefully after swallowing another mouthful of salt water that saw me coughing and spluttering my way back up to the beach. This was not the surfing dream I had in mind.
I’m sure good things come to those who practice, practice, practice, so this won’t be the last time we’re on a surf board this trip. We were sure we just need a few days for the grazes to heal and our egos to recover before contemplating it again.
Rich liked Surfers Paradise for one reason and one reason only. There was a Guzman y Gomez burrito place! After another huge burrito each to replenish the energy levels we headed back to Brisbane, with broken dreams of standing on our surf boards and a determination that we would crack it one day.
Let’s hope it is one day soon.
Lambs on the loose 