The Greenough Experience

Life goes by peacefully in Byron Shire. I'm still planning to do some internship with local nurseries, but since we are in the middle of an unusual heat-wave I've decided to postpone for a few weeks. Air temperatures went up to 100 F. with 70% humidity. Yesterday I decided to go to the beach and do some readings. The task, apparently easy, became quite an ordeal! I found a sturdy table under a big tree. I thought the setting was just perfect but I didn't consider Mother Nature in full display! First I had to battle an army of fuzzy caterpillars in migration mode! The table was right on their path and there was nothing I could do to stop them; hundreds started crawling all over me; they were kind of funny and I didn't mind for a while, but soon I realized I was in the middle of a food chain; suddenly I was surrounded by all kind of tropical birds, ready to feed on those fatty suckers! Finally, after a wild turkey strolled by, an iguana decided to show up! That was the sign to get the hell out of there! It is really hard to concentrate on your books when you have an iguana, as big as a tennis racket, staring at you with dull eyes and an empty face! Yep, this is life at the beach around here.
The surf has been very small for the past week but I don't mind paddling out every morning in warm and clean waters. The other day was kind of surreal. I was parked at Broken Head. I was reading a book about the life of Rabbit Bartholomew under the shade of the thick vegetation when I felt the urge of tackling the tiny waves breaking at the Point; lo and behold! George Greenough suits up right in front of my car! We ended up surfing the rock ledge at Broken Head, just the 2 of us, talking about life and sharing waves! He is truly an amazing character, grumpy and eccentric as I expected. His ragged inflatable mat was still taking him in the deepest pocket of the wave. Today I met Michael Birch, another cat with a lot of surfing history on his shoulders. He was one of the few living here when they shot "Morning of the Earth"; I enjoyed listening to the stories of that era; in those days he surfed with M. Peterson, P. Drouyn and P Townend. He still remembers the first time Owl Chapman and Reno Abellira showed up in Byron Bay, surfed The Pass, ended up playing pool and smoking weed!

Lennox Head

I share a house, located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, with 4 other people in their late 40's. It gets a little crowded at times, especially around the bathroom and kitchen but the general vibe is quite nice so far. My only concern is that you never know who's coming next, since people tend to stay no longer than 2 weeks. The owner, Sam, comes on a daily basis to make sure everybody's happy; he is very easy going. He designed and built the house very nicely; he's open to alternative sources of energy and he set a nice garden around the house, filled with bromeliads, zamias, palms, aspleniums, syzigiums and other natives. His girlfriend, Mandy, is involved with the local theatre. The house features huge sliding doors to the garden; the doors are open night and day with a lot of nocturnal visitors; I can wake up in the middle of the night, go to the living room and see cute lizards, funny frogs and a great variety of bugs! Mosquitoes too, which is quite a drag for us "Californians"! As you understood we don't have nets, so everybody is welcomed!
Many of you asked me about the surf. I didn't have to say much until 3 days ago when things changed quite suddenly; a south swell started filling in late in the morning; I didn't know about it, and after a mellow session at Broken Head, I decided to drive along the coast just for fun; I didn't realize that Lennox Head was just around the corner. The day before I was talking with Bob MacTavish about the movie "The Inner most limits of pure fun" and I was commenting about the fact that probably the hill (where they were sitting and checking the surf during the movie) was probably fully developed; with my surprise he remarked it was not true and the point was still covered with grass and trees; he was right, Lennox Head is still pristine and untouched: from the look out, on top of the hill, dreamy lines were wrapping around the point and peeling into the bay with absolute perfection; just few guys out, I decided to take advantage of it. I thought that since water temp was about 78 F. and air temp was 80 F., a pair of trunks was the only thing I really needed. I walked on soft grass from the top down to the blue water and jumped from razor sharp rocks into the line up. This is one of the most beautiful waves I've seen in my life; it is also one of the most hardcore I ever surfed: fast and hollow, it offers barrel time with a dropping tide. Everybody in the water rips with great attitude and a mellow vibe. I never saw such a high level of surfing in just one spot. I can say I couldn't have surfed this place without the experience built during my last year of surfing in San Diego: once made the drop, it feels like being on a down bound train, racing through hollow sections on a shallow reef. The hardest part is to get out of the water; your feet slip into crevices, the rocks are covered with barnacles; sea urchins just wait for you down below, meanwhile foamy white water keeps pounding on your back; I should take a picture of my bloody feet after just 2 sessions. The following day Lennox Head was breaking with overhead sets. Today I surfed again for hours...I'm so tired but these waves are awesome and it's hard to get out of the water. I got barreled. Getting covered is like stepping into a magical world, the sound of the water is so different: what a pleasant surprise! I was very happy with my surfing and I enjoyed every minute of it. My body is so tired I can barely move.

Byron Bay

Hello friends,
Here few random thoughts about Byron Bay, north of Sydney: you can still see what this place was about in the late 70's; glimpses of a lifestyle based on alternative thinking, environmental consciousness, and eastern philosophies can still be found in the faces of who has been living here since the mid-sixties, although, in the past 20 years, the real estate skyrocketed and rental followed as usual; the rich came and the hippies gradually got kicked out. Money can maybe buy the image, but we are talking about an empty shell. If you ask me how Byron Bay looks nowadays, I would say "Del Mar meets Leucadia/Ocean Beach!”. Elegant boutiques will lure you to try a journey to self realization; they will invite you to a workshop such as " a world in transition: finding spiritual security in time of change" or "Inner peace: how to be calmly active and actively calm". Bottom line is that you will have to pay $ 2.99 for 4 leaves of lettuce and $ 2.50 for a microscopic slice of vegetarian pizza! General services will cost you a fortune as well. If marketing rules the world…..well, at least here it is coated with slogans such as "Love to all beings and thank you for shopping here", and the car in front of you will show a sticker saying "Practice acts of random kindness"; fortunately the hippies won few battles and their legacy holds on: the city code doesn't allow to build tall condos and Club Med has been refused to settle here. Best of all, from a surfer's perspective, waves are still flawless as 30 years ago, when Nat Young fell in love with this place; the region is going through one of the worse flat spells in ten years and it could be hard to believe these places are great, but it is true: Lennox Head, Tallows, Broken Head and Angourie are amazing spots. I usually surf every morning, at dawn, knee high waves in 78 F. turquoise water. I'm just waiting for bigger waves. The scenery is breathtaking; the lush tropical forest meets the surf and everything feels all right. So far this is a great place to be in; it is charming, there's a good vibe, plants are beautiful and you can still see a lot of wildlife roaming around.

Newcastle

Howdy,

Everybody knows that driving in Australia can be fun, but if you never did it before and you decide to rent a car in downtown Sydney for the first time ….well, maybe “fun” is not quite the right term to use, if you catch my drift!!!
After 30 minutes, lost in the intricate urban system, sweating like a pig, and on the verge of a nervous break-down, I miraculously made it out in one piece. The constant feeling of being on the wrong side of the road was not easy to shed. I admit I hit the windshield wipers like a maniac one too many times when I tried to signal my left or right turns...but other than that, I guess things went all right after all.

The Coast Highway is only a 2-lane road, sometimes getting to only one lane; it has been a very long drive. You just have to relax, chill, and not think too much about how long it's gonna take to get to the final destination or you will go bananas!!!

I got lost a few times since the roads are not well marked, but finally I made it. I stopped in Newcastle at Richards Surf Shop. I was not expecting to see him but there he was, still looking healthy like in the old days. He came out from the shaping room and we had a brief conversation. Mark Richards is a true legend and his surfing at Sunset Beach is still considered phenomenal for modern standards. http://www.surfhistory.com/html/profiles/richards.html
I wish everybody could be as humble as he is.
I spent the night in Newcastle, and the day after I made it to Byron Bay.
Air temp is 80 f. with 70% humidity.

Cheers from OZ

Backpacker Mania

"Backpacker !" This word is bugging the hell out of me!! I thought the term was referring only to hikers or young travelers! I was wrong! The concept behind it is quite simple: in Australia, if you are staying more than 2 weeks and less than 6 months you are a Backpacker! Oh my gwad, I'm one of them!!! As you know, I don't like categories and labels and this is a big one: they don't care if you are studying, working, volunteering or doing an internship; the whole tourist system revolves around the backpacker concept and you'll have the "Backpacker Lodge", "The Backpacker Cafe", "The Backpacker Transportation Pass"; it is quite annoying because it doesn't leave much choice for alternative arrangements. Anyway, we had quite a bit of this tropical rain lately, but fortunately a high pressure system is pushing strong; I like Sydney and I would dare to say it is one of the best metropolitan areas I've ever seen so far. Think of S. Francisco and San Diego blended together and multiply by two: the city is huge with 4 million human beings strolling around. I keep risking major collisions with people since I naturally walk on my right hand side and things get complicated especially on stairs: they look at me like I was retarded!! By the way, their accent was cute at the beginning but now …well I’m not sure! Just kidding! :) The Botanical Gardens are awesome. I will not annoy you with the botanical names of incredible plants but the animals in the park are remarkable; especially the pteropus poliochephalus ! It is a huge bad-ass bat who lives in the canopy of tall trees! It's called the "flying fox" and you can see the bat flying during the day, although nocturnal by nature. There are huge parrots as well, flying all over the city. Graziano & Erica would love it. They have the King Parrot, The Rosellas, The Rainbow Lorikeet, the Galah and The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo!!! The Sacred Ibis is all over the park! The Aquarium is very interesting as well; especially the shark tank that you can check from the bottom through a tunnel. A group of 30 Japanese disrupted the quiet, talking out-loud and moving in pack; highlights of the group: an obese kid kept pounding on the glass, right in front of the sign "Don't touch the tanks", and a young lady in high heels, who didn't give a shit about the fish, made sure to have a picture taken in front of every single tank! It was hilarious, or sad…depending on the perspective; that's it for today, folks....

Cheers

Sydney

After approximately 23 hours I landed in Sydney with the clear impression that traveling is still a big adventure!
I showed up at LAX at 8:30 pm and went through check-in / security; I was not lucky this time, my bag got searched 3 times and I got stripped (shoes, shirt, belt...) but fortunately...no anal lube :)))
From LA to Fiji the audio of my video screen broke down and from Nadi to Sydney the video blew off! Not my day! I was not frustrated though, and I kept reading my books. I spent 3 hours in Fiji waiting for my connection. Raphael picked me up at the airport, we hit it off right away (these Americanized French are incredible!) and he allowed me to get well organized. I stayed with Raph and his girlfriend Daniela for 3 days and I'm now moving into a studio for a week. Honestly this place is a dump and not cheap either (50 Aussie a day) but I'm right on the beach. It is a rip off for a place with original carpet from the 60's in a semi-state of decomposition and with the bathroom floor showing mosaic tiles (Pompei style) that they can be described as "quite funky", to say the least: God only knows what lives between those cracks ! But I keep laughing and enjoying myself.
Sydney is beautiful, the ocean is inviting, the sandy beaches are really attractive and I still have to get used to the tropical rain that regularly hits the city for 30 minutes or so, a few times a week; everything is quite lush, especially compared to Southern California.
I'm looking for a new board to buy. The surf supposed to hit in a couple of days. I'm quite sure I will leave Sydney area soon to head north. I will try to settle in Byron Bay. The air is filled with the intense scent of Plumeria trees: they are everywhere, averaging 20 feet in height and looking absolutely stunning! From a botanical point of view it's "plumeria madnes"! I enjoy the crunchy granola vibe in Manly (where I currently settled); there's plenty of organic veggie joints to choose from. The food in general is delicious and the variety of available foods is stunning! Thanks everybody for the constant support. I'll write soon...

Cheers
Dario aka "The Botanist".