Surf Camp at Crescent Head

The #1 rule


The camp


Surfing

When I decided to go on a surf trip I immediately started to have preconceived notions of what a surf camp would be like. I pictured a secluded cabin next to the beach, lawn hammocks and camp fires, surf boards nailed up on the wall, surfer girls in bathing suits all day, etc. And of course experience would tell you that it is never as you think it will be. I think I can safely say that this trip was the exception to the rule.

The name of the camp was Mojo and I'd have to say that it lived up to its name. A coach bus picked up the group from Sydney and we set out for Crescent Head which was a 6 hour drive north. There were about 20 people heading up for some surf and sand and a good portion of them were from Holland and Norway. But on any trip you'll always get a good mix of nationalities and this trip was no different. Canada, England, Italy, Germany and of course the US of A were all represented.

We stopped a couple times on the way up to get supplies for a good old fashioned beach party and arrived in the camp around 2pm, plenty of time to hit the beach and give this surfing thing a try. We all strapped on the wet suits and made our way down to the beach. What's funny is that I thought it wouldn't be all that hard. I expected to stand up the first time and be a natural. I was dead wrong. I worked some muscles that haven't been moved in decades. And then you have to deal with the waves crashing down on you and throwing you around like a rag doll, at least the big ones. But wow was it fun. I was able to stand up a few times on the first day and throughout the trip I progressively got better. It's a good thing the food was tasty because I was starving after each go-round.

We ate in an open air hut and slept large common rooms. Between surfing, eating and sleeping I dusted off my ping pong skills and played Canadian Phil in a friendly game, read my book in the hammock or laid in the sun on the lawn. Sometimes it gets old exchanging my story with every new traveler I meet but it's always fun to hear about other people's cultures. I found out all about the Norwegian accent from a girl named Cecilie as she bravely demonstrated it for me. I'll usually ask them to see if they can imitate the American accent and Cecilie did pretty well. My Norwegian accent on the other hand is lacking.

As for the actual surfing though the trick is to keep your head up and stay low and centered. The hardest part is getting up fast enough to actually be standing in order to catch the wave at the right time. Everyone got the hang of it though. By the end I had some wear and tear on the body as blisters were forming on my hands, my chest was sore from laying on the board, my feet ached, my neck was tweaked and my shoulders were hurting. It was a good pain though as it was all worth it.

Unfortunately for me I was only on a 3 day trip while the rest of the group was continuing on to Byron Bay on a 5 day trip. On my last night we all gathered around the camp fire and exchanged stories and jokes. I initiated a little impromptu karaoke with Taro, an English chap, and the Dutch girls tried to top us each time with a song of their own. Phil and I had a good laugh over Taro's last name as we were convinced it sounded just like an English butler's name. The name was Hallworth but we thought it sounded better with an S in the middle, effectively changing it to Hallsworth. We then proceeded to put on corny British accents and ask "Hallsworth" to carry the beer over to the fire as it was simply not going to carry itself over there. All in good jest.

All in all, it was one of the best trips I've been on over here and although I am not going pro in the surfing racket anytime soon I hope to try it again. So.............. surfing: check. Next up: scuba diving and skydiving.