Scribbles Abroad

We were really excited to head to OZ and get back to a first world country. I was especially looking forward to be in a country that regularly supplied toilet paper in their bathrooms. However, traveling through Australia would be a completely different style of traveling and would pose new challenges for us. First of all we’re going to be doing a lot of surf exploration and public transportation wouldn’t be a practical option. Second, it would be far more expensive than its South East Asian neighbors and would truly put our budgets to the test.

We figured we would either have to rent a car or try to buy a cheap car and re-sell it before leaving the country. Renting a basic car would have run us around A$39 a day and for a camper van around A$80, not to mention the price of gas. Kahi spent a couple days searching http://www.gumtree.com.au (the Aussie craigslist.com) and found a couple cars that were perfect for us. Our top pick, a 89′ Mitsubishi Magna white station wagon for A$1500. Considering we’d be in OZ for a little over a month, renting a car for 30 days would be more than buying one plus we could potentially re-sell the car and make some of our money back.

Our plane landed in Perth early in the morning, we breezed through customs, called the guy with the car, hopped in a cab to his house and bought the car. The test drive went pretty smoothly and it was just what we were looking for. The best part was the back seats folded down so we could sleep in the back.

Our new car. What a beauty!

All loaded up and ready to go surf hunting

After getting gas we drove south to Fremantel where our friend Billy, who we met in Sumatra, lived. He took us to a local pub where we met his girl, Angie, for a few drinks and dinner.

Billy, Angie, Kahi and Louise

After eating rice and noodles for months in South East Asia for months Kahi helped himself to an irresistible steak and red wine dinner.

Billy was a generous host and let us stay a night at his amazing house. Fremantle was a really cool town with beautiful beaches, but there weren’t many waves except those reached by boat so we headed south to Margaret River.

Billy’s place was once a church that was gutted and transformed into a grand house

Kahi called a friend and she hooked us up with a contact for Margaret River, Dillon. From Perth it was just an couple hour drive to his house where we met both him and his roommate Shane-o. They were great! They gave us invaluable advice on where to surf and even let us house-sit for a couple days while they were out of town.

Dillon, Louise, and Kahi

Kahi, Louise and Shane-o at one of the many surf lookouts in Margaret River.

Shane-o was a great host and showed us around the town. We had a great time with him and were stoked to meet such a great guy.

Margaret River is what people call the “north shore (of hawaii)” of Australia, where the waves are heavy and powerful. There were many waves along the stretch of coast ranging in difficulty from beginner to experienced. The water there is pretty cold so we purchased wetsuits to keep us nice and toasty. While in Margaret River we scored some pretty good waves, but not like those you see in the mags or videos.

Checking out the surf at the point

This wave picked up the most swell in the area and was pretty fun.

The point’s car park is popular place to watch the sunset and a great place to check out the surf.

Just up the street from Dillon and Shane-o’s place were a couple of spots where you could score some really good beachies (beach break).

We lucked out here and caught it while it was glass, barreling, and with barely anyone out. This picture does the break no justice, but you can see how the wave peals around the point. The wave is fast, steep and hollow at first then becomes a fun mellow wave with a carve-able wall. Perfect for most skill levels.

Another bonus to this spot is that it has a beautiful beach perfect for lounging around.

Across the bay are a couple of left-handers. This one didn’t pick up as much swell but longboarders seemed to be having tons of fun. The point in the far left hand of the pic shows another point with another wave, also a left but is more powerful and heavy.

Another wave up the coast from Margaret River. We didn’t surf here but it looks like it could get really good.

On our last night in Margs Shane took us to his buds for some pizza and music.  We got to chance to enjoy some really good music from a local and got to meet Cahn and his girlfriend.  Cahn is actually a long time friend of our bud Darryl Freeman in Kaimuki.  They both were professional downhill skateboarders.  Cahn was leaving the next day with his girl to the Mentawais.  They were going to work for six months and just score great waves at a land based camp.  Gonna give him a ring in a few months to see how its going.  Just another thing to add to our list of things to do.

Margaret River and the entire south western coast of WA is a gold mine of sick waves, but we really didn’t get to spend enough time in the area to get a good taste. We’ll be back for sure but next time for a couple months. The breaks are still pretty crowded especially on the weekends when surfers from up north drive down to score some waves, but with ample spots you can find some where that suits your taste. Even if you do not surf the area is gorgeous and is well known for its wineries. Definitely go on a winery tour and tickle your taste buds with their intoxicating concoctions.

One of the many vineyards in Margaret River

My parents we’re flying into Sydney in a couple weeks and originally we were going to fly over there but since we bought the car we decided to drive across the country and pick them up. We got mixed reactions when we told people we were going to do this. Many of them told us we were crazy and it would be a heck of a drive, it would take 3 days if we drove 24 hours a day. We wanted to take our time and surf in South Australia so we gave ourselves two weeks to get across. Before leaving we took Wallace (our car) into the mechanic to get him check out and make sure he’d survive the drive. He got an oil change, a new driveshaft, new breaks, and all sorts of other things done to him so he was cherried out and ready to make the journey!