Back in Yamba (Take Four)

So guess where we went after camping in Minnie Water?!  Yamba of course!  In our rush to leave for Minnie Water, we left our trusty Lonely Planet book behind and so had to call into Yamba to pick it up.  Unfortunately Dori (the car) wanted to stay longer and decided to spring a radiator leak on us.  As it was a public holiday (thanks to our lovely Queen having a birthday) our Yamba mechanic was closed and so we had to stay another night in Yamba to see him the next day.

So with another sunny day to kill in Yamba whilst waiting for the mechanic to open we did the usual.  We took Charlie for a walk, got a pie and then we went to the beach and Jo took a surfboard.  We had a small pod of dolphins come close to us when we were swimming at Pippi beach and then we watched them ride the surf which was amazing.It was an awesome experience to watch them playing in the swell, magnificent.

The next day we took the car to the mechanic but he said it needed to send it to his radiator guy about 45 mins down the road.  Rather than wait we just decided to drive it to him.  We made a very hasty exit from Yamba (our speediest yet) and got on the road sharpish down to Grafton.  It turns out the radiator was on its last legs and although would be OK to drive with it would only end up getting worse.  So with a new radiator and with our wallets a bit lighter we hit the road up to the Gold Coast.

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Surf Lesson and Andy Irons

As my surfing days on the east coast of Oz are limited (apparently something called the Great Barrier Reef gets in the way as you go north) I decided to take a surfing lesson to improve a little quicker.  The guy who took me out is a relative of the Henwoods and is an ex-pro as well as a top guy.  We headed out to Pippi beach and paddled out to start the lesson.  We met up with Shane and Justin Henwood out the back.  As the surf was pumping they decided to switch shifts at the hostel and come surfing for the day.  The lesson was really useful and I managed to steal the wave of the day, which Justin was especially narked at.

After I got back to shore, I turned back to look for the boys and spotted a guy who was in a different class to the rest.  After watching him for a minute we figured out it was Andy Irons!  Apparently he was staying at Angourie for a few weeks getting a few bits of footage for Billabong.

Andy Irons surfing at Pippi Beach

When I got back to the hostel I told Ruth and some of our friends.  We decided to head down there to watch and take Charlie for a walk whilst we were there.  We watched him for about an hour (with poor Charlie not getting much attention).  It was easy to spot Andy from the other surfers as his paddling and riding was just effortless.  Justin and Shane went back out there with him and the rest of the locals but Andy stayed out of  the way and caught the waves people left.  Lots of the locals were a bit miffed at him as he kept showing them up!

Other pro surfers have also been known to surf around Yamba recently with Joel Parkinson showing up a few days late and legend Tom Curren riding Angourie.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see them but it goes to show how good the surf is around here.

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Fishing with Chook

On a sunny day We went fishing off the beach as apparently the storm was bringing in lots of fish. At the beach we found Chook one of the hostel owners who loves to fish. He gave us an expert class in what to do and we all managed to catch a Brim. Jo and a girl from the hostel managed to catch ones big enough to be legal but the rest had to go back.

A master class with Chook

We then took our rods and tried it on our own using prawns for bate. Again we all managed to catch one on our own but they were all too small but one of the locals caught a huge one which they reckoned was a kilo! It was great fun to feel for the fish taking the bait and pulling it in. Chook cooked the ones he caught (about 20) and we all had it for dinner, it was delicious.

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Bare Footing and Wake Boarding

During a drunken conversation with Justin (the Yamba hostel manager) we agreed to go wake boarding with his friend the next morning. After about 4 hours sleep we got up (easier said than done) with some of the other backpackers and went to give it a go. His friend lives in a beautiful house at a great spot on the banks of the Clarence River just out of Yamba.

When we turned up they wanted us to try “Bare Footing” which is basically water skiing with no skis! We had not seen this before so we let Justin go first. The boat disappeared around the corner while they were doing it so we didn’t get to see but as the boat was approaching we did hear Justin shouting “Slow down!” just before he fell off on to his bum and skidded down the river.

Ruth Barefooting

When it came to our turn we still hadn’t seen anyone so weren’t sure what to do but we wanted to give it a try. I went first as I had water skied once before. I swam out to the end of the pole sticking out of the side of the boat and followed my instructions. The idea was to lift yourself out of the water until you are going fast enough for the water tension to be able to hold you up when you drop your feet and stand up. If you let go and hit the water, it hurts. I managed to get up and it was great fun. I slipped a couple times but held on and got back up. Then, I’m not sure what happened, I face planted into the water which really hurt and I lost a contact lens! Next was Jo’s turn. He got up then lost his grip. The boys tried to make him start a harder way than me and then thought it’d be fun to drag him up the river for a bit. Jo saw the funny side but was exhausted and limping afterwards.

Jo chilling on the boat

After a break we tried wake boarding. Some of the people we were with were awesome and doing flips and jumps. I took about 8 attempts to get up and then finally managed it for about 30 seconds. Jo was too tired to give a fair go and couldn’t get up but kept trying until his leg cramped up. After this we spent time chilling on the boat and watching the others. It was very relaxing being on the boat and cruising up and down. There were mangroves either side of the river and it was a typical sunny Australian winter’s day with ospreys over head.

Just before we got off the boat the driver miss-timed a wake wave when we turned around and the bow went into the wave spilling water over the front, up the windscreen and into the main compartment. Everyone in the main compartment got wet. Unfortunately for us we were sat in front of the windscreen on the bow wearing our warm, dry clothes. We were completely soaked but it was very funny!

 

The next day, everyone was in agony. It was hilarious watching everone struggle to do anything and moan every time they moved.

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Christmas Down Under

So we finally did something we’ve wanted to do since being kids – a Christmas (or Chrissy as they call it here) in Oz!  It was a scorcher for the big day and we started off by stumbling out of bed and going down to Pippie beach for a surf.  I was knackered as I was working up at the pub for Chrissy Eve (which is the biggest night out in Yamba) and the punters didn’t leave ’til 2am, but I was still keen to get in the water.  About 15 of us went down and the surf was pretty good and I managed to get a few good waves in but got rolled by some of the big ones.  It was great to have such a big group of us chilling out the back together and I was stoked to do my first surf on Christmas day.

When we got back to the hostel the owners started getting lunch ready whilst everyone got themselves sorted.  Ruth and I opened our cards and pressies (a big thanks to our families for all the stuff you sent) and then went and chilled out in the lounge.  It wasn’t long before the guys brought the beers and the prawns out.  I’ve never seen so many prawns in my life and tried my first one.  I’m not a big seafood fan so wasn’t blown away but it was quite nice.  Apparently Yamba prawns are amongst the best in Oz but I’ll have to take the guidebook’s (and the local’s) word for that.

Chrissy lunch- yum yum

Lunch was a HUGE buffet style spread that had everything from loads of different meats to roast potatoes, various bakes and salads/ veggies.  I had a bit of pretty much everything and was absolutlely stuffed.

They had a huge range of puddings too with trifle being the most popular with the Aussies.  I tucked into a rather large slice of homemade Mars bar cheesecake which was amazing.  We had crackers that had paper hats, crap toys and bad jokes – just like home.

Post-lunch Snooze

As is my Christmas tradition I then enjoyed a post-lunch snooze.  Ruth kindly took a picture (which is on Facebook) and Justin, one of the hostel owners, woke me up by trying to put wine gums up my nose and yelling at me to join him for another beer.

After more drinking we all decided to go back down to the beach to play games.  We got all the games together as well as a giant esky (cool box) for all our drinks and off we went.  We taught everyone how to play quick cricket but Justin (one of the hostel owners) got knackered and started moaning so we played rounders instead.  After this everyone felt they deserved a few drinks!

Beach Cricket

Ruth and I went for a stroll by the water, it was nice to see loads of families out on the beach.  With one of our friends from the hostel Ruth and I decided to build a snowman – out of sand!

Pippie the Sandman and Us

The snow/sand man nearly didn’t make it as Justin’s little girl nearly knocked him down, luckily we just about quick enough to stop her.

After more drinking on the beach we returned to the hostel where the merryment continued into the night.  Ruth and I went up to the roof of the hostel to enjoy a quiet drink under the stars before we video called our families over the Internet to wish them a Merry Christmas and see them open their pressies from us which we had bought before we left the UK and hidden.

After that we had a nightcap and passed out!

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