Surfcamp Green Island

A German lost in a Surfing-Paradise:

Watching the crowded city beaches every day can be exhausting. On the second weekend of February I was privileged to join a surfcamp down at the southcoast in Bendalong. We as a group of four people (Wayne; Surfcoach, Oliver and Angus; already professionals and I) prepared for the roadtrip out of the multiculturism city into the "real Australia" on Friday afternoon. By traveling south the coastline we already saw the differences between the daily city life and the australian relaxed life. Having a snack at Halftime (at Hungry Jack's), going on in the car and seeing the beautiful landscapes while sunset was just increadible. When we arrived in Bendalong then in the evening, we had a closer look at the waves at the opposite beach, before we went to the camp. Even before the surfcamp really started, everyone was excited, so we went to our caravan and got to know the others. Dimitri, his wife Elena, their oldest son (eight years) Anton and their younger daughters. Dimitri and Anton were the lucky ones, they were going to surf with us as well. Until the sun would rise next day there were only seven hours to go, so we preared our boards for the first surfsession in the morning and went to bed early. Woke up with the sound of the waves, breaking directly near our caravan on the beach and the sunlight, that shone through the various trees the Saturday morning could not have started better. After checking out the waves and recognizing we would have the waves for our own, we did our first surfsession next to the caravans at the camp. When the session was finished we noticed a group of other people feeding two to three ft tall stingrays on the beach in the clear water. I have never been so hungry, we left the caravan without breakfast, but when we went back we had a typicall aussie-breakfast with eggs, bacon and pancakes. After some resting time, we went out again to search for other places to surf. We found another spot then, everybody was ready to catch some waves, only Wayne forgot his boardshorts, so he had to watch. In the end it was not that easy, because the sea was restless and the wind was quite strong. Nevertheless it was fun and a new experience. On our way back we had lunch in a little town, where we ate some meetpies and sweets. Oliver, Angus, Wayne and I visited a surfshop then there. A guy who works there, showed us surprisingly a picture from a shark, he laughed at that. Guess where the photo was taken. Just at the beach and some time ago, where we have had our first surfsession in the morning. While the Australians were joking about that like:"There was a shark? Then just let's go tothe other side of the beach and catch some waves...", I asked myself:"Are they serious? They must be crazy." Probably the shark smelled and followed us. In the afternoon we checked out the storied Green Island. At first we wanted to go there earlier, but the conditions weren't the best. But now the experts, Wayne and Dimitri, noticed that the wind changed and that would be great for left-hander and regular surfers. We had to paddle out, all the way around the island, because the waves were there. So we finally surfed for what we waited for. I have never seen such big waves before. There could have happened everything, if you were not carefull, the waves breaking down on you and you just want to survive. And even when you were carfull, honestly? I got smashed several times. Nonetheless I caught my best wave until now. In the beginning you just want to avoid 6ft tall or even higher waves, then you look around and everybody is excited and Dimitri tells his son Anton:"Don't worry, the waves are just 6ft tall, let's go." If I had to describe the Australiens in one word? Crazy! In the evening we went back to the caravan and had a big dinner together, with hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and a lot of more meat. I think on Sunday morning I just had the best surfingexperience in my life so far. Not a cloud in the sky, no wind around and perfect waves at Green Island again. At about half past six we thought we would have been there early. But from a surfers point of view we were late. When we went down the beach we warmed up, and then another surfer was already finished. He talked to Wayne and said, that he was there at the point at five o'clock. Unbelievable. He paddled out in the dark and probably he caught his waves without seeing anything. There is no better feeling than paddling out in the warm water, next to you some other surfers and of course the sunrise, this light reflecting on the water like a mirror in your face. Your head is above the crystal clear water, your feet can't touch the ground and then you see these towering waves approaching you. You just master to paddle over the wave, feeling each waterdrop, which the wind blows in your face and there directly waits the next challenge. You pull against the stream, so that you are not drifting away, seeing others in the barrel of the wave, while the sun on the horizon creates the most amazing feeling. Even when this place is famous for sharks and dangerous reefs and rips, the Aussies don't really care at all. They just want to surf."A shark? Don't care, whatever let's go surfing"- Wayne Ryan. By the way; When we finished Angus was lost. He just got smashed and stranded on the island. But we found him and he was fine. After having breakfast again I actually wanted to rest, because I didn't feel fit, all the surfing was exhausting. But there was no time for resting. We started to paddle out one last time to Green Island to take our final session. In the end it was quite busy, because everybody wanted to surf there with these perfect conditions. After all I stand on the board for some seconds. Nevertheless we all did a great job, even when I couldn't catch more than three waves. When we finished, we went back to the caravans. Having a great lunch and a break there, then we prepared for the way back home. At about four o'clock we left Bendalong into direction Sydney, Dee Why. What nobody expected was, that the way back home would be much more interesting than thought before. Just before six o'clock Wayne noticed that the car had not enought fuel for the whole way back. We had to stop under a bridge, then Wayne and Oliver searched for a patrolstation, while Angus and I watched out the car. 40 minutes later they came back with petrol, so we could go on. Just ten minutes after that we stopped, but this time to watch some evening surf. It was just 15 to 20 minutes before the Royal National Park, where we also took a short break. We enjoyed the sunset in the mountains and of course we also took some pictures and videos. Our last stop was in Sydney then, because we nearly starved.

But this is what makes the surfsessions and the life here in DownUnder so special. Everybody is relaxed and friendly.

#Surfcamp #Greenisland