Day 29: Surfer's Paradise

Today started rather early as we departed for The Gold Coast at 7:45. An hour train ride and several buses later, we arrived at the more commonly referred to Surfer's Paradise. I fell in love with the clean streets and surf shops, restaurants, souvenir shops, and amazing beaches. It really was a paradise, and a unique one at that. Surfer's Paradise combined the best of Manly and Bondi Beach with the shops and boutiques of Manly and the beach scene similar to Bondi's. I will say, I've never experienced rip currents quite like Bondi's and today's. The waves came in clusters of three or four, washing up 100 meters into shore, then all flowing out at once. It swept you off your feet as you tried to stay put or swim out, not to mention you were pounded with 3-5 foot waves every 5-10 seconds. We swam, body surfed, played beach football, and of course, surfed.

I was initially hesitant, as I've always been terrible with anything requiring hovering above solid ground, and haven't done really any of it. Skateboarding, skim boarding, wake boarding, skiing, rollerskating. You name it: I'm horrendous. Jack rented a board, and near the end of the day I said screw it and set out to shred some tsunamis as be local kiddos call them. After 6-7 attempts, I was standing, and two more attempts led to me riding a medium wave for 8 seconds. I was a kid in candy land. The whole wide smiles thing this trip hasn't seized to stop, and surfing is yet another hobby I plan to pick up. We returned and finished the night with kangaroo tacos, and they were phenomenal. Not to mention the meat is 98% lean, much like venison. Family dinners have been superb. This trip has helped me in so many ways, and today was the day that kind of shook me awake.

I've learned a lot about myself: what I struggle with and how I differ from other people, when to pick and choose my battles, how much I love photography, how being single is such a blessing, time management, anddd getting over my deeply rooted fear of water. I don't freak out necessarily, but I've always gotten tense when water gets rough or when I get overwhelmed with an unexpected wave. When I initially swam at Bondi, I slightly freaked out as the tides jerked us around, and the waves pounded you with sand and foam. By the end of that day, I felt a lot more comfortable with just going with the flow and not thinking, just doing. Today reaffirmed that necessary repetition, and I fell in love with the water. I never really thought I'd say that, but I'm so glad I can. I have a long way to go before I become a hardened swimmer, but I chipped away at the only fear I have in this life.