First Wave in Australia - the famous Bells Beach

Sunday, 3 PM Melbourne, Australia.

After a 10-hour flight, I finally landed in Australia. Melbourne greets me with a pleasant calm atmosphere, which is especially welcome after weeks in Sri Lanka. The airport staff welcomes you with a super friendly attitude, engages in a short small talk, and wishes you a wonderful time Down Under with a friendly smile.

Arriving at the baggage claim, I drag my surfboard and my remaining belongings to the exit. Take a deep breath. The air is pleasantly cool, so different from the constant heat and high humidity in Sri Lanka.

I wait at the agreed meeting point for Kim, but he is nowhere to be found. I don't receive any response to messages or calls. Welcome to Down Under! After about 1 hour, my surfer companion Kim finally shows up. Deeply relaxed and without any rush. Truly the typical surfer dude who has let go of any stress in his life. That's living!

Now we're heading towards Geelong.

Geelong is about 20 minutes away from Torquay, Victoria. This is where the famous Ocean Road begins in the south of Australia. Located right on the Ocean Road is the infamous Bells Beach. This is where the annual CT (Championship Tour) of the World Surf League (WSL) stops, where the best surfers in the world compete against each other.

Since the swell and the wind haven't been really good lately, the competition has been off in the last few days. But on Monday - my first day - I was lucky that some heats were executed. Early in the morning, the car was packed and we headed towards Bells Beach.

After briefly checking out the event - to be honest, it was not very exciting as you couldn't see much from the viewpoint. Because the surf was at Winki and not Bells Beach - we also went into the water.

Right next to Bells Beach is Bells Beach Southside. There is usually less commotion here and you get more waves. Kim and I decided to jump into the water here. After a few short chats with a few other surfers, we started. Paddling out to the lineup, I was the ONLY girl. Where are all the hot Australian surfer girls? Definitely not in Torquay! I am looked at with surprise because a girl is surfing.

In the afternoon, we went to Kim's friends, Locky and his wife, who have a little cottage near the Jan Juc surf break. We went surfing again with their three children. Little Tully, at 4 years old, can already stand easily on the board. Unfortunately, many girls later lose the joy of surfing. Only a few stick with it. What a shame, if you ask me.

Well, you can say that even though the waves were inconsistent, we had a lot of fun. As a final dinner, we had a veggie burger!

Early in the morning, we went back to Southside. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful, just around the corner from Southside you can see kangaroos hopping around. It's fascinating how quiet and deserted the beaches are.

We were the only ones along with two other surfers who jumped into the cold water. Slowly, I think that my 3/2 wetsuit is not enough and that I should buy a 4/3 at the outlet.

Cold but rewarded with some waves, Kim and I treated ourselves to a taco and coffee at Ginger Monkey. Ginger Monkey is a typical small surfer café in Torquay. Here, the occasional surfer treats themselves to a coffee after a surf. And suddenly, while ordering our lunch, pro-surfer Jordy Smith and his guys were just standing in line in front of me.

Welcome to Victoria, the Place to Surf! Definitely successful first days.