Starterpack: Surfcamp

2nd Flight: Hong Kong-Sydney

The 9-hour flight goes by very quickly. I manage to watch a movie, have 2 meals, and get some sleep, and then I'm already there.

Surf Camp Starter Pack:

Sunday: After landing, I'm a little nervous about the immigration process. It goes smoothly and quickly. However, it's strange that I don't get a stamp in my passport. I later ask at the immigration station and find out that everything is done online now. So no stamp for me, which makes me a little sad. Now I look for the meeting point to find my shuttle driver, where I wait for a while until I realize that he's already there. After waiting for another passenger who doesn't show up, we drive to Thirroul. On the one-hour drive, I chat with the driver, who wanted me to sit in the front seat, admire the scenery, and make sure not to fall asleep. Finally, I arrive and am greeted by Melissa (the host of the surf camp) with my starter pack. After taking care of everything with my new SIM card, I unpack and lie down for a few hours. When I wake up, no one is there.I take a short walk to the beach and on the way back, I meet Sol (the second host), who then takes me to the "city center" (a small cute shopping street). There, I buy noodles and pesto for my first dinner. It's really amazing that everything is open here on a Sunday! While having dinner, we watch a movie and I get to know the remaining people I will spend this week with. We are a mixed group. Melissa is from Canada, Sol and Youri are from the Netherlands, Baily is from England, and Stella and I are from Germany.

Monday: After dragging myself out of bed, I go down to the breakfast room, where a delicious buffet is waiting. Towards the end of breakfast, I have to hurry a bit so that Melissa and I can catch the train to Sydney. On the one-hour journey, we talk a lot and get to know each other better. In Sydney, we do the free walking tour, which was really nice, but a bit too historically focused for me. At the end of the tour, we take the obligatory arrived photos.Then we go to a rooftop bar for lunch, but end up eating indoors because it's extremely windy and cold. After that, we stroll around Sydney a bit more and then head back. We are both really exhausted from all the walking. After taking a short nap, we play some card games in the living room. Then I call my mom and dad and go to bed.

Tuesday: At breakfast today, I meet Ashley (the manager) and my surf coach for the week, Ruben. Then we drive to "the Farm," the most beautiful surf spot that the surf camp is allowed to use.

The drive there takes a bit longer, but it's worth it! The surf lesson on site is with a group of Dutch people who are taking a day course. Together with them, I learn the basics theoretically and then practice them in the water. With the help of the surf coaches, I catch many waves and quickly manage to stand up again. It's really fun!

After lunch, we go back into the water after a short theory phase. It's fun again, but I can feel my arms getting tired. The others say I'm a natural talent because I stood up so quickly.After arriving back at the camp, I take a shower and go shopping. When I come back, the small "Cheese and Wine Night" organized by Sol and Melissa is already in full swing. I get to know a lot of new people, most of whom work at the surf camp. One of them is Little Dan, who also lives in the room with Youri and Baily. He is American, works here as a photographer, and is really short, hence the nickname. There are actually several Dans here.

Wednesday: Today, it's only Youri, Baily, Melissa, and me who go surfing with Ruben in Bulli. I don't feel like a natural talent at all today. I have to make a lot of effort just to paddle out, as I keep getting pushed back to the beach by big waves. When I'm finally out there, I relax a bit on my board and enjoy sitting on the water before I try to catch a wave again. However, it's difficult to see if a wave is good, and then everything happens so quickly that I forget all the techniques. Since the weather isn't good, the afternoon session is canceled and we go to a waterfall instead.The way there is a hike, and we also have to do a bit of climbing. It was a bit exhausting but also fun. When we arrive at the waterfall, we put on our wetsuits and climb up the cliff. From there, we jump into the water. I dare to jump from the small cliff, which is quite a challenge. It's really cool, especially the water! (Yes, I know it's a bad joke.) There's also a small water slide, which is fun too. Then we go back. For dinner, I go to the "José Jones" restaurant at the "Beach Motel" with Youri, Melissa, and Sol. It's super delicious and really nice! After that, we all sit in the living room and watch a series together, and I have to check out the pictures from the first day that Little Dan gave me. So I go to bed quite late.

Friday: Of all days, I don't feel well in the morning on the last day of surfing. So it's quite convenient that the weather is too bad for surfing (too windy and strong currents). Therefore, we drive to Kiama to see the blowhole, which looks really cool!After the lunch break, we go to Bulli. The conditions have improved slightly, so we dare to go into the water for about an hour. But it's really tough because of the wind. After every wave, we have to run back to the beach before going back into the water so that we don't drift too far. I don't manage to stand up completely anymore, but I catch a wave that brings me lying on my board to the shore. That was so cool that I'm satisfied for the day and go back to the car. After a hot shower, we watch the videos that Johanna took of us surfing. Based on that, Ruben gives us some tips for the future. Usually, there's a barbecue on Friday nights, but due to the bad weather, we have pizza and snacks instead. So we enjoy the evening with our small group. We eat, chat, and watch cool surf videos that Ruben shows us. I also show the others fistball, which they think is cool.

Sunday: Today, I seriously consider skipping breakfast, but in the end, I decide to go and I'm rewarded. Since there are so few of us, they didn't set up a buffet today, but we can choose from the menu. So I have an açai bowl and a chai latte.So delicious! During breakfast, I chat with Melissa, who is waiting for the new arrivals, and we realize that the clock was changed overnight. I had wondered in the evening why I could only sleep for a short time. After the new arrivals arrive with a bit of delay, the five of us (Sol, Melissa, Youri, Baily, and I) go on a little road trip. We drive to Wollongong and stroll through the city, go to a mall, and finally, to Kmart. On the way back, we pick up another newcomer from the train station. Back home, I call Mika. Then we say goodbye to Youri, who is flying home today. In the evening, we all sit together again and continue watching the series. I also start getting my things ready a bit because I'm traveling on tomorrow.

Monday: This morning, I have breakfast with my own food because I'm a bit too stingy to pay for breakfast even though I still have some groceries left. Afterward, I pack my things and say goodbye to Sol, Stella, Baily, Little Dan, and the rest. Then I drive to Sydney with Melissa and the newcomer Andrea. There, I store my things in a locker. After that, we take care of a few things for Andrea with her SIM card and bank matters before giving her a small city tour with the opera house as the final stop. When we arrive there, we enjoy the view for a bit and take the obligatory "arrived" photos (jumping photos).Then we have to hurry back to the train station. There, I say goodbye to the two of them and go to the airport. Once there, I check in, go through all the security checks, and find my gate. Then I have to wait for over an hour because my flight is delayed. Finally, on the plane, the one-and-a-half-hour flight goes by quickly. And then I'm already in Melbourne. After a bit of back and forth, I finally register with Uber and I'm taken to my next temporary home. Even though it's quite late (9:30 pm), I'm warmly welcomed and also get to meet the two guys Ben and Max. They were supposed to be asleep already. For dinner, I get a very delicious lasagna. While enjoying it, I have a little chat with Rike and Dave before going to bed.