Ah, the spirit of adventure, that's what traveling is to me, going somewhere you've never been, not knowing what's around the next corner (and there were plenty of those after 3500 kilometers in two weeks). Experiencing a place for the first time is always interesting It's funny, but I always have a pre-conceived idea of what it will be like and, yet, it always turns out different than what I envisioned. This trip was no exception.
On Sept. 25, 1996, my wife, Marisa, and I flew out of San Francisco on Garuda Airlines. The best part about flying on Garuda is that they don't charge you an additional fee for surf boards. I usually (always) cringe when I check-in and the airline staff ask that dreaded question, "uh, how many boards are in that huge bag you have?" I like to think of myself as an honest person, but with six boards in two (at $50 per) I have been known to stretch the truth a little. Fortunately, with Garuda, I was never asked and my conscience was allowed to relax.
After 18 hours of travel, we finally arrived in Perth, Australia. During our taxi ride to the hotel, the driver informed us that we arrived on the heels of the wettest Sept. in recent memory. The ground was so saturated that, earlier in the day, a terrible tragedy had occurred in Cowaramup -- a group of surfers were buried by a landslide while watching a surf contest. One of those surfers had been the organizer for many amateur surf contests in the Margaret-River area. Apparently, since his passing away, a lot of surfers in the area have been working hard to make sure all of his efforts to support young surfers continue.
After all that travel, we checked into a hotel which had an in-room Jacuzzi-tub -- just what the doctor ordered after 18 hours of travel and rigor mortis setting in. The hotel was the Bel-Eyre -- well worth the US$75. They're located at 285 Great Eastern Highway. Telephone number is (09) 277-2733 and fax is (09) 479-1113. A cheaper option we discovered later at $45 per night was the Regency Hotel at 61-69 Great Eastern Highway (phone (09) 362-3000).
If we were on a hardcore surf mission, the call would have been to bolt straight down to Margaret River, but we decided to hang out in Perth for a couple of days and play tourist and recover from the jet-lag. We happened to catch a wildflower festival at Kings Park, which overlooks Perth. It was definitely the most awesome display of beautiful wildflowers I'd ever seen. Actually, with the recent rains, we were treated to blooming wildflowers everywhere we traveled, especially north of Perth.
The drive to Margaret River from Perth takes about 3 hours. The countryside was beautiful with rolling green hills which reminded me of the Sierra Foothills. As we neared our destination, we passed wineries and their vineyards. The Margaret River Area is like the Napa Valley of Australia. We sampled and bought a bottle of wine and some local cheese, and consumed it while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean --spectacular!
Unfortunately, the surf was small and had a stiff side-onshore wind on it, which made it a bit stormy. It was nearing the end of the wet season, but it wasn't over yet. There was periodic rain squalls, and the wind still had that crisp feel to it.
We stayed at a great caravan park near the beach called Prevelly Park for US$20 per night. A great thing about traveling in OZ are these caravan parks you come across. You can pitch a tent or rent a trailer equipped with kitchen facilities for very reasonable rates. A nice feature, if you're in a social mood, are the communal cooking areas equipped with stones and BBQ pits. The bathrooms in Australia are also worth a mention. Whether you're in a park or at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, they're kept immaculately clean. Some public bathrooms even offer hot showers.
The first couple of days, the ocean was small, ugly, and blown out. We put off the surf and occupied ourselves with other activities: wine tasting, exploring different beaches, hiking in the Karri Forest, and exploring Lake Cave, one of the many caves in the area
We decided one afternoon that, since we hadn't seen a kangaroo yet, we would visit the Barahmah Wildlife Park. Though there were a lot of native animals on display, it was sad to see them all in cages, especially considering the wide-open spaces they're accustomed to. On our way back that evening, Marisa made up a joke, "How does a kangaroo cross the road?" "With a hop, skip, and a jump, of course." As soon as the words left her mouth, we spotted our first wild roo, hopping, skipping, and jumping across the road 50 yards ahead of us.
It was dusk when we saw the roo, which is a bad time for driving out here. Kangaroos come out to feed in the evening time and create quite a hazard on the roads. Most cars in Australia are equipped with "bull bars," a massive bumper on the front of the car which will bull a roo over if one gets in the way. However, a good rule-of-thumb is to do your driving in the middle of the day, especially if your rental car doesn't come equipped with bull bars.
The last day in Margaret the swell finally jumped to a solid 6', though it was kind of choppy due to a strong side-onshore wind. As I paddled out to sample Margaret's for my first time, the crew of 4 - 5 guys all went in. It was a great feeling being in some Indian Ocean juice far from home and sharing it with a whale that was playing out back. The surf looked a bit mushy from shore, but once I got out there I realized that the waves were fast and powerful due to the close proximity to that invaluable area to surfers called the "Roaring Forties."
It was now spring time in Australia and I noticed a similar weather pattern to the spring we experience in California, strong winds and choppy conditions. I was informed by the locals that their cleanest conditions for surfing are during their fall season from March to May. Apparently, the way the storm systems approach creates a nice offshore flow.
After a few days, we decided to head North for some warmer weather and, hopefully, better surf. It's odd being down under because everything is backwards (though the locals will tell you that you're backwards). In California, you would head south for warmer weather, but being on the other side of the equator, it's the opposite. One major thing to get used to was driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Although any Aussie will tell you they're right and we're wrong. Fortunately, the foot pedals on the cars are the same.
What really threw me off was walking down the sidewalk, keeping to the left of oncoming traffic. I kept finding myself dancing a little jig with the other pedestrians. To turn on a light switch you pull down instead of up. Weather systems rotate in the opposite direction down here. The toilet even flushes down the drain in the opposite rotation (although I didn't look close enough to verify).
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