Captain Robinson and his buddy Gerry

Coming down the coast we passed Jake”s point, something for the very experienced surfers….

Jake\”s Point

Breath-taking cliffs near Kalbarri

Just South near Port Gregory we pass a lake that is completely pink, full of yummy beta carotine.

very pink…

In the evening we went to Coronation Bay, one of the famous kiting and surfing spots at the Westcoast. We have had perfect wind cross onshore. Kiting Coronation Bay offers a great lagoon and some major waves at the outside.

sunset kiting at Coronation Bay

We stayed at the Ningham farm with plenty of kangaroos, ponies, austriches, rabbits and kissing parrots etc. Robinson and Sienna were busy feeding all the animals in the morning with hay, bottles of milk and some grains.

dinner time for the baby kangaroos

Sienna and her little rabbit

parrot looking for a nest…

On the way south we try to find Drummonds Beach near Geraldton, another famous surf break. In the little town we talk to one guy, who offers to bring us to the spot. When we asked him, if he really has time, we get this big smile and comment:”Do I look flat out or what?” This says it all, people are relaxed and welcoming. At the beach, we watch the waves together with some Aussies, who then invited us for the evening to stay with them.

Drummonds Beach

From there we went to Lancelin, which we still knew from our last Australia trip in 2001. Lancelin offers endless sanddunes to play around on sandboards and endless beaches with some terrific waves.

Go with the flow

Shredddddd…

Radical shredmark

Inner peace

One more night with our friends, the Cafe Ventnor Party Crew, and we say goodbye to this beautiful part of the world. We are very thankful for the sincere hospitality we have received for over 20 years now from the Duffy / Margaria clan in Western Australia, and in fact many other places on this planet. Bye bye for now, Australia…

Jason, Katherine, Sofia, Harry – ready for another shameless party…

Shell\’s beach

a carpet of millions of white shells

Sienna with her nature\’s art project \”lonely tree with shells\”

Sienna with her nature’s art project “lonely tree with shells”.

We drive the 126 km to Denham, pretty much at the end of the road. It feels a little like being at the end of the world, so raw, strong colours all around you, the smell of salt and seagrass dominates. It all reminds me a bit of Patagonia and the “end of the world” town Punta Arenas, although the weather is of course quite different, with Patagonia aiming for highs of 10-15 C in summer! Denham was pretty much at 29 C day and night.

At sunset we arrive at the Little Lagoon, kiters’ paradise: you can drive right to the beach of the almost circular Little Lagoon with beautiful shallow warm turquoise water, a nice Southerly breeze of 20-25 knots, white sandy beaches and only 2-3 kiters.
When the sun went down it felt like kiting into the sun. After every turn back the sun painted the sky, the clouds and the water in more intense glowing colours while the moon came up on the other side. It feels like being part of nature, flying over the water in the warm wind while the water splashes off the board.

the perfect end of a beautiful day

Our life up here is simple and full of little joys. Like good food.

crabs all over

During the day we hang out at the Little Lagoon with a great crowd of people from Sweden, France and Holland and enjoy the great kiting until our lips are broken from the sun and the salty water. I also had a good session right in front of Denham’s main beachfront street in Shark Bay. I was up just a little bit quicker here after a fall, just thinking of the hundreds of sharks. The locals assured me that every single one of them is very well fed, but you never know…
For many sessions at the lagoon we had the whole lagoon to ourselves.

Kiting paradise with flat turquoise warm water….

Kite in the sky

all alone…

One day Robinson wanted to go kiting and we tried the piggy back ride, inspired by Richard Branson carrying his daughter while kitesurfing at his private Caribbean Necker Island.

I love it!

faster, Daddy, faster!!!!

Then it was playtime on the surfboards:

We could not believe our luck, every single night we were rewarded with a sunset session. Every moment offered new colours, new food for the soul… Here are some impressions from these sessions:

Monkey Mia is 25 km East of Denham and famous for its dolphins. They have been coming right to the beach for over 60 years, mothers with their babies, to take a fishy snack (only a quarter of what they eat each day) and play with the visitors.

Dolphin with his baby coming over for a snack

Robinson feeding a dolphin

Sienna was not too keen on making her hands dirty with dead fish or risking to dip her stylish pants into the water….

Sienna waiting in style for the dolphins

It is best to come just before 8 am, and you will likely see the dolphins more than once before 9 or 10. It is amazing to see them this close in the wild…

The bay below Eagle Bluff

About 10% of the world’s Dugong (sea cows) population feeds in the vast seagrass beds in these bays.

When you experience the beauty of nature here, it is hard to believe, how we continue to destroy nature. What is wrong in our world, that so many other things are more important than preserving our beautiful natural environment which is critical for our survival? We need to feel nature again, get close to it, respect it, and protect it.

Water fun with Aboriginal kids

water paradise

The money comes from the crayfishes, that are exported to Asia, generating a revenue of 400 million dollars a year. There is also great income from mining, farming and pearl fishing.
Tourism is not top priority, at least if you look at the accommodation. We looked at about 5 different places, that were so rotten, that I refused to stay… Why? Because I hate filthy carpets, dirty bathrooms, rusty fridges and half broken matresses…Instead we checked into the Broadwater Mariner resort, which offers pure luxury – it was worth the extra 30 dollars.

The Western Australia Museum in Geraldton offers a great experience with interactive displays, videos, real animals like kangaroos, fishes etc. to look at.
It also offers some shocking insights into the aboriginal history of the “stolen generation”.
Between 1910 and 1970 up to 100,000 Aboriginal children were taken forcibly or under duress from their families. The kids were brought into camps, where they had to give up their language and culture. The white people wanted them to work for them on farms or in the house.
Many white people supported the program – believing they did something good… Watch the true story movie “Rabbit proof fence” about Molly, the aboriginal girl, who tells her life – an amazing story with stunning actress Sampi.

Geraldton is a growing town that offers everything for Gerry – Gerald:
great surfing spots and kiting on flat bays or rolling waves.

YES he got a HAIRCUT !!!

Waves and wind make Gerry happy

Pinnacles right next to the ocean

We stay in a backpacker, where we enjoy ocean view. Cervantes has pristines beaches perfect for kiting. Unfortunately, it is not the windiest time of the year, so that it is just enough for Robinson to play with his little kite.

From Cervantes we go along the coast to Green Head. At the outlook Point Louise we found a beautiful wave, where seals played with Gerry in the waves.

surfing with seals

Sienna with one of her shells

Here in the solitude, someone put a picnic table for us right next to the beach, where we could wash off all the white sand.

preparing a pic nic on the frisbee plate

A little bit further inland, we saw the whitest dunes we have ever seen – only touched by the footprint of some birds.

Three kids on a mission…

the lightness of being

Sand boarding

On top of the world

In the evening we arrive in Dongara, one of these little towns, where people make money with crayfish and abalone.
Someone put a couple of swedish houses on top of the dunes with a stunning view of the bay. What a great spot – our new home for the next days ( http://www.dongaratouristpark.com.au )

Beach house right at the beach

checking the waves and wind in the morning from our terrace

Right in front was this wonderful bay where Gerry and Robinson played in the waves. When we ask in the evening “what was the best thing of the day?” Robinson answers day after day after day:”surfing”….

Two souls on the same wave….

Peaceful souls after some good rides

And after a good session, the two boys talk about their biggest wave, their longest rides and their coolest tricks. What else?

Sienna loves the time at the beach as well. She is collecting shells, arranging them to little fishes, flowers or “somethings”. And she flys with her “goobieboad” through the whitewater onto the beach.

A relaxed week-end means for them to get up around seven, have a poached-egg-on-crispy-toasts-breakfast and go to the gym. I felt like joining breakfast and gym, not knowing what I had to expect. Boxing, cardio, push-ups,sit-ups, anything nasty you could think off at high speed until my arms felt heavy like iron and my heart bumped on highest speed ever. Wow! And I thought, surfing and kiting have added a little bit to my fitness…. The afternoon we enjoyed their garden paradise with pool, spa and barbecue…

No guts – no glory

Lewis surfing in the pool

…and time to relax….

chillax together

Gerry and Harry went for a kite session just at the beach in front. Nice session with high jumps, where the kite decided to split into 2 pieces and Harry rescued our kiteboard….

The next morning, we meet with Sophia, Harry and Jason at the boat for a trip to Rottnest Island with perfectly blue sky, lots of food, drinks and water toys….

kids in zen meditation

The captain and his crew

After a ride along the coast watching dolphins jumping in the water near-by we reached one of the beautiful bays of Rottnest Island.

peaceful bay

Lewis with his special guest Sienna on board

yummie burgers on deck

Gesine sticht in See / heads out to sea

Rottnest Island is very popular for Perth people as a week-end destination, a region of natural beauty and wonder with spectacular marine life and wildlife. It is the only place in the world you find quokkas, strange little fellows looking a bit like a kangaroo and a rat in one.

what\’s that? a kangaroo? a rat? no , a quokka!!

In the afternoon, after lots of paddling, swimming, fishing, eating, drinking, chilling it is time to head back.

captain robo heading back to Perth

One of these days, where the kids are happy and tired, Sienna was even falling asleep while her cookie was still stuck half in her mouth…

happy and tired ocean kids

The next morning starts for Robinson, Nash and Lewis their one week sailing class at Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, on the Swan River not so far from where it meets the sea. Although the weather is cloudy,rainy, cold with winds up to 40 knts, nothing can stop them….

10 grommits on a mission

Robinson sailing his first tack

Captain Robinson proud like a Schnitzel

While the boys go sailing, Sienna was creating another piece of art of her “around-the-world-collection” with a spontaneous touch of Aboriginal drawing technique.

Sienna with her latest piece of art: the spring-time-shopping-bag

And Katherine made me happy by showing me her favourite shops in Cottesloe and Freemantle and having drinks together with wonderful soulsister and cousin Sue.

girls just wanna have fu-un

And Robinson and Sienna enjoyed playing with Sue’s and Katherine’s kids, talking now more and more with an Aussie accent.

kids just wanna have fu-un

Gerry and Robinson dove into the full Aussie culture by watching a live Australian rules football game, when the Westcoast Eagles have had their first very convincing win this season. Luckily, the boys wore the right colours….

true fans

And yes, Gerry has had a haircut!!! Sorry for all the fans out their of his “Matte”.

Part of the big city pleasures was also a night out for Gerry and myself without kids… Mount Lawley,Beaufort Street offers a whole stretch of cool bars and relaxed restaurants. We enjoyed a great dinner in the Cantina 663, having time to look back and think about our future plans. You want to know? Well, first of all we will be back in Germany in June.

One week with Katherine and Jarrod feels like family and friends at the same time. It is just wonderful to experience their hospitality and their relaxed way of opening their house to their friends.

Augusta just South of Margaret River is a sleepy little town that has a rivermouth and a long sandbar, which is perfect for kitesurfing on a SE to SW wind, as you can glide along on crystal clear glassy waters in 30 knots of wind. You glide at full speed along the inlet, just meters from the sand dunes.

Gesine in full Flowmotion

speeding along the sand dune, Augusta in background

coming back from the rivermouth

A bit further North is the famous wave at the Yallingup Reef. I caught one wave outside, then tried to escape the next big set, and was magically presented with two boards. Fortunately, the locals know how to fix these things: the board now has two stringers and is in better shape than ever. Because of the strength of the waves boards here have much stronger layers of fibreglass on them, and are also heavier.

our beloved 7\”6\”\” board snapped in half

The only mellow break is a spot called Huzzas in the middle of Cowaramup Bay. Luckily, Ben gave us his classic longboard for a ride while our board was still in the hands of a magic board doctor in Gracetown.

Gesine ready for a Huzzas session: check out the radical shape of this 20 year old longboard

Pure Magiv: Huzzas at sunset

Prevelly down at Margaret River does not only offer a world class surf wave, the bay also offers beautiful options for kiting. The locals don”t even bother with the flat bit, they go straight to the large walls of whitewater and play.

Gesine playing at Prevally

Everywhere we are reminded of the concept of conscious living. This corner of the world is very special, because of its unique natural beauty and the spirit of the people. One example is Samudra, a blend of relaxing cafe, yoga, surfing, and food for life (see www.samudra.com.au).

inside Samudra

Our good friend Ben made us feel at home. Our time here was very special. We shall return!

BDAY with kids

best pancakes with joghurt, passionfruit and honey…

After breakfast we went down to our favourite Ocean Beach, where I could go surfing until my arms felt like falling off

Gesine in her favourite outfit

mellow birthday waves

birthday surf

Rockstar Giligan

In the afternoon we drove down to beautiful Lights Beach to feel the wind, salt, sun, air, life…

Lights Beach

we love our mami

raw ocean power

Later we went to Lakehouse winery up in the hills and listened to the life concert of Xave Brown. His songs are all composed and written by himself, with vocals that switch in an instant from a throaty growl to liquid honey. Raw and passionate, Xave loves it to perform with his son Jasper, who plays the drums with a beautiful ease.

A big smile of happiness after a wonderful day topped with delicious chocolate cake and some really good Sauvignon Blanc …

Birthday dinner at Lakehouse Winery

The end of the day we enjoyed the beautiful sunset. I am full of thankfulness for the whole last year full of love, happiness, inspiration and peace of mind. And I know, that Gerry is the perfect husband to travel around the world with and to make me smile.
He definitely qualifies as a finalist for the title of the “Husband of the Year”…

Finalist for the title of “Husband of the year”

We opened a bottle of champagne and sent a big Happy Birthday across the sky to Carde, my twin sister in Mallorca, and a warm welcome to my new little sister, Marie-Therese, in Singapur.

Sharon made us feel at home

On Eastern there is the traditional Denmark market with lots of food, crafts, life concerts and performances going on the whole day.

No smile demonstration

not funny

The kids loved to transform into tiger and cat…

Raaaaahhhhh tiger

Shy kitticat

In the afternoon there was a play about the Aboriginal history in the forest.
It is irritating to see, how the Aboriginal culture is not appreciated or integrated into Australian lifenymore. What you get is mostly art, dijeridoos and boomerangs. But everything related to their spiritual world somehow dissapeared although it is very beautiful:
Aboriginals have a deep spiritual believe. They believe in two forms of time;one is the daily life, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the ‘dreamtime’, more real than reality itself. Like in Hawaii they believed, that before humans, animals, and plants came into being, their ‘souls’ existed; When the souls got physical, all but one of the ‘souls’ became plants or animals, with the last one becoming human and acting as a guardian to the natural world around them.

This play was addressing the beauty of Aboriginal culture and the crime commited by the white people in the area of Denmark. It was the brave attempt to speak about it and to say sorry.

About 100 actors and musicians were all from the tiny village of Denmark – a hidden island of very talented and creative people .

The sound of the Aboriginal wisdom

During the play we walked through the forest to different places, where the play took place, showing the deep connection to nature and how it teaches us important lessons.

The aborigines man between heaven and earth

The next morning the 5 kids were up earlier than ever to look for Easter eggs. Gilligan was waking us up using his snorkel as didjeridoo…

ready for easter egg hunting

Sienna ready for the hunt

Easter eggs in the bus?

I did not get permission to publish a close up, but I think I got Gesine’s message across: I’d rather be surfing…

fresh fruit and pancakes for the family: yummy!

I then rig up our 10 m kite and walk 20 meters across the sand dune for a lonely kite session in growing surf and 20 knots of wind. It was the first day I felt what it is like to go really really fast on a kiteboard, riding back to shore down the face of big rolling swells. Pure adrenaline and Flowmotion.

lonely session in the bay

hiding from the storm

Fortunately, Albany has a few things to do on rainy days. First we are off to the Whale World Museum, which is housed in the large whaling station that shut down in 1982, as the last one in Australia, back then hunting and kliing thousands of sperm whales. Fortunately, stocks have since made a big recovery with an estimated half a million sperm whales now traveling through the world’s oceans. The museum is quite cool, shows the curelty of whale hunting, but also the town’s rhythm based on this trade, and information and movies about the state of whales today (whales are very coool and should be repsected and protected!).

Sienna and Robinson loving their whale

Right next to the museum is a small park with some friendly Aussie animals:

this koala was very friendly, probably stoned on a large dose of eucalyptus

another friend

We also introduced our kids to the zen art of ten pin bowling (inspired by the joy Rinpoche got from it in the novel “Breakfast with Buddha”):

which colour should I take?

For Sienna the “ball carussell” was equally exciting as playing. She also loved the “funny shoes” , which matched with her combination of all her favourite fashion items…

those balls are heavy, I tell you!

With this special technique she was crashing down up to 8 pins at a time…

We admired the works of the local art competition, which featured paintings, photographs and sculptures from over 200 artists; it was of surprisingly high quality and inspiring. Even more surprising was the “special effect”, when suddenly a lightning outside set us into dark.

Albany is surrounded by stunning cliffs and beaches, truly spectacular and unique. Here is a small sample:

the Bridge, there is also a massive gap next to it, a sheer drop with big masses of whitewater rushing in and out

Naralup Beach, not a soul in sight anywhere

we love it here…

There are many elements that induce a peaceful content state: the fresh salt air, the sound of the waves, the energy of the moving ocean, the beauty of the landscape around you, the rhythm of paddling through the waves, the dolphins sharing the waves with you, the awakening after being washed in the impact zone by a large set, the rush of the takeoff when your board starts to ride ahead of the water mass of the crashing wave, the playful turns on the wave face. No two waves are the same, every wave offers new surprises and has its own character and that surely is one reason that surfing never gets boring. No two rides will ever be exactly the same, and have new sensations and learn something new every time you ride a wave. The experience of a wave ride is completely focused and measured by your own set of experiences. This relates in particular to the size and “heaviness” of waves. Some waves seemed like massive mountains of water to me, much like a real Waimea wave, but to others, more experienced surfers these are just little play things they have seen hundreds of times. To beginners, they just seem like unrideable monsters.

a very mellow crowd

The spirit of the crowd around you can range from hostile to peaceful, and depends heavily on the intention of the crowd. It can be a compassionate mixed bag of young all ages from young groms on 5 foot boards to 70 year olds on longboards, or a very homogenous group of testosterone-driven 20 something men, each and every one of them eager to claim and enforce their right for the next wave. This crowd factor deeply impacts your experience. In the few hundred surf sessions we have experienced on this trip we have predominantly had a mellow and compassionate crowd, guys and girls with deep smiles on their faces, thankful to be at this specific place at this very moment in time, cheering others on when they catch another beautiful wave. We have also had quite a few surf sessions where we have been alone or in the company of just a few souls, which typically makes a session that much more special. Just you and the sea, being so close to nature, surrounded by the very element where we came from and what we are made of. Surfing also makes you fit and strong like no other sport. Just look at anyone from the ASP tour, the world championship tour of the surfers: every single one of those guys would make the cover of Playgirl or the men’s version of the Pirelli calendar – and the girls are no different, surfing chicks are typically babes. You can feel this, your body feels strong and healthy. There is a sensation which really kicks in after the shower, it is what I call blissful exhaustion. It is the same feeling I remember from windsurf, ski and snowboard session in my twenties. The surfing community also has been able to preserve a certain lifestyle, which is outside of the ordinary, unconventional, a bit edgy, relaxed, chilled, peaceful, caring about others and the planet. Surely, with the advent of surf fashion this is not embraced by all, and there are posers and radicals and druggies and aggressors. Lewis Samuels, an honest blogger and surfer from Northern California (see www.postsurf.com) has done an amazing job in highlighting the dark side of the sport, and publishing controversial statements about the current state of surfing to inspire debate, and ultimately to save the spirit of the sport. Clearly, bringing surfing to the masses, which is often the single mission of the major surf companies, will make surfing less desirable and the energy in the water much more aggressive and negative. Anyone who has been at a pumping break with 20, 30 or 50 guys knows that this is not fun, but more a battle of egos and testosterone. However, I feel that there are still today many places on this planet where the original spirit of surfing expressed in legendary movies such as Endless Summer lives on, and remains at the core of everything that is surfing: people love to surf because they love the feeling of surfing and everything that comes with it, it gives them a high, it produces copious amounts of dopamine, and it acts as a counterpoint to our performance and speed-driven capitalist material world.

The true spirit of surfing, exemplified in style by one of surfing\’s Zen masters, Dave Rastovich

But the most important effect of surfing surely is what happens to you inside, the effect I call Flowmotion. When you surf, you experience moments of true FLOW, the concept first documented by Csikszentmihalyi in the psychology literature published in 1964. When you catch the wave, when you ride down the wave, when you glide and turn along the face, you experience moments of joy which are completely focused on the moment. You forget the world around you, you do it purely for the joy resulting from it, and you have no external forces or rewards that influence or motivate you to do it. When you look down that face and feel the wave pushing you ahead, you are in that Zen moment of surfing: you get a big rush, but at the same time you feel inner peace, and a sense of becoming one with the ocean, with the Earth and for some with the Great Spirit. Gerry Lopez manifested this impressively with his relaxed stand-up style in Pipeline at the North Shore of Hawaii, and many other surfing legends have been manifestations of Flowmotion.

Another Gerry, a bit older and much wiser and more famous: Gerry Lopez in full style, embracing FLOWMOTION

On our trip I have had these moments almost daily and I am extremely thankful for this, I am truly blessed to be able to surf different waves around the globe, most on our 7’6’’ Santa Cruz minimalibu which we have come to love. Each session has been engrained in my soul and has given me more inner peace. But there are a few Flowmotion moments which truly stand out as moments that go even one step further. They are the ones I will never forget. They typically started with quite a bit of respect and elements of fear, and quickly transformed my soul into that blissful Flow state when the drop starts. I have a very clear picture of these moments which in some cases only lasted a few seconds but seemed like eternity at the time and even in hindsight. Words cannot do the images of these moments justice, but here is a short description of a few examples. Please remember that when I refer to sizes of waves, I am just describing the image in my mind, which is likely much larger than it would seem to others ;)

1. Puena Point, North Shore, Oahu Nov 2009, on a small day: ok this was my first day surfing the Hawaiian North Shore, and it has had a big impact on the state of my soul. The big sets were breaking half way across the harbor entrance, with a powerful lip smashing down, but then mellowing out for a long Malibu ride on the shoulder. The key to bliss was like so often the timing of the take-off. The girls in their tiny bikinis and their long boards made it look so easy, 2 or 3 paddles, a quick jump to their feet and off they were, dancing along the face of the wave. For me, there was not much dancing for quite some time. I was mainly paddling around, getting tired, and getting beaten on the head in the impact zone, worrying about hitting some type of reef on the dark sea below me. After half an hour my moment had come: I just happened to be in the perfect spot for takeoff (most likely pure luck) and was actually amazed that I could chose whether to go left or right once I was racing down the face of the wave. I made the drop and chose the left. That is when playtime began. The wave carried me almost all the way back to the beach, I carved along the wall, always being chased by white water from the peeling wave crashing down into the channel. I forgot the world around me and was gliding across the water in this wonderful state of bliss.
2. Wraparounds, Mokoluas, Windward Oahu, tail end of the 2009 Eddie Swell, Dec 8 2009: There were 7 guys at the point, all hungry for the next wave. I was too much in awe and respectful and just let everyone have their go and waited. No one expected a seventh wave to hit, and this one surely was the biggest of the set. I saw it build way on the outside, and paddled out as quickly as I could. I was the only one there within 30 meters or so. Fear started to set in. Then there was this split second where I made that important decision to go for it. I paddled over to the rocks, saw the wave starting to break on the inside, turned my board and angled it slightly away from the island. The wall was building higher than anything I had seen there before, and deeper fear crept in rapidly. But it was too late to pull out, and I started to paddle. When I felt my board being lifted off the sea for what seemed like a few meters and when I heard a large roar at my left ear, for a split second I felt like I was too late and would end up being thrown over the falls by the crashing wave, into the sea and down to the reef. But I was still focused on riding the wave, and when I rose to my feet I realized that even though I had a massive wall of white water in my neck, there was a large glassy wall on my left. I focused like never before on my long bottom turn to get to that face. I gained speed very rapidly and quickly edged my board to make a long sweeping turn to get back onto the face. By the time I reached it I realized that I was surfing back up the wave. From that moment everything became playful. I had that big rush of having mastered the big drop and the first turn and realized that I now had this beautiful wave to play with. I made seven long round bottom turns and cutbacks near the crashing lip, while the wave wrapped around the island. The ride seemed like an eternity and with every turn my eyes lit up more, my soul filled with joy. It was my first wave ever with large overhead clean faces which allowed me to playfully carve turns and glide on for what seemed like an endless stretch.
3. Crescent Head, NSW, Australia, 2 Mar 2010: The place is full of rocks, and the point where you hit the water is intimidating. Again, I was confronted with a crowd of 10 guys and girls of all ages on everything from a 5’ fish to a 10’ longboard. This wave is mellow, and it shows on the crowd as well. This time I just happened to be in the right spot: three guys paddeling for the second wave of a large set missed it, I thought I would be too late but went anyways and was lucky that the wave was just holding up for a little bit longer. I made the drop and once I had made my first turn, it was play time, on the longest ride I had ever had. The wave peeled and peeled and peeled, and I was doing one turn after the other, it just would not stop. It would reform, I would speed up to the right, then have a mellow head-high wall again, and ride for what seemed like ages. When the wave finally died on me, I was so far down from where I started, I could hardly spot the take-off point. Now I understood why I saw people walking along the rocks back to the point all the time, and I went to shore and did exactly the same to enjoy more of these rides.
4. Byron Bay, NSW, Australia, 8 Mar 2010: This wave peels forever as well but is a bit faster. However, Byron Bay is full of wave hungry crew. I was on a 9’6’’ Malibu and decided to hang about 20 meters left of the crew at the take-off spot near the rocks. I had watched the large set patterns from the viewing platform on the rock. And luckily, the pattern persisted. On the largest sets, the wave would form and break in two places, and the crew from the inside take-off spot near the rocks was faced with quick closeout whereas the spot further left gave you all the freedom to “ride the wave home”, once you had made the drop that is. And that again was the ultimate challenge. There was a very small corridor of where you needed to be. I spent the first half hour either paddling like crazy but being too far out, or being hit on the head badly in the impact zone. But then I got it right, and on one of the largest waves of the day I committed to the drop. I paddled hard and felt myself being lifted up, higher than I wanted to be, but there was no going back. I quickly got to my feet and then the Flowmotion moment, that Zen moment of surfing infused my entire body. The large board faced straight down and gained speed rapidly, I was completely focused on riding down to the bottom and initiating a long smooth bottom turn to the right, to avoid the truckloads of whitewater in my neck. I can still feel my body shiver from the rush of that drop down the face.
5. Three Bears, Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia, 12 Mar 2010: a medium swell day, but my first time there and scary for me. Fortunately, my friend Jarrod has a 4WD to get us there and helps me get over my fears to get in the water. At each of the three breaks (Papa, Mama, and Baby Bears) ten serious surfers are lined up, hungry for the next one. Just getting to the wave is an adventure in itself. You need to step across reef, through holes, without being washed off your feet and then time your jump into a deep hole right, paddle like hell to avoid being washed back onto the reef. 15-20 knot offshore and a nice size swell make for perfect conditions, certainly some of the largest waves I have ridden, way over head high. Luck strikes when I paddle out. A very large sets rolls in, the guys at the take-off point scramble, but I am way off to the right in the channel on my paddle out, and suddenly realize that I am lined up perfectly for this one: I turn and paddle, slightly to the left, when I get to my feet I realize that I need to angle left sooner than later as this wave is not mellow, it crashes down with force. I make it down the face and then start playing with the wave, carving all the way back up to the lip, getting speed on the way down again, until I am awfully close to the reef where I entered the water and pull out. Scary, but real fun. Getting out of the water was even more tricky than getting in. Wait for a wave to lift you up in such a manner that you land feet first on the reef and can then quickly walk to the beach before the next one washes your feet out from underneath you and gives you a yard sale across the reef (which it did with me).
6. Huzzas, Cowaramup Bay, Western Australia, 19 Mar 2010: This is arguably the only beginner wave on the Margaret River coast, and the place of my first ever wave caught on a 9’ Malibu in the 1990s. It is mellow and fun, but on big days it can get a bit more challenging. This was a big day with large sets. I was way outside sitting with one other guy, almost in line with the take-off point for the adjoining South Point break (I still have no idea what made me go there, but in retrospect it was a very fortunate impulse). A large set rolled in and the third wave proved to be what must have been one of the largest waves of the day at that spot. I paddled hard to get out far enough, turned around quickly, and heard the sound of whitewater behind me, and realized that I was too late to make a clean take-off. But at this stage I had little choice. When the wave picked me up rapidly, for a split second I prepared mentally for bracing myself against going over the falls. I looked down and just saw a deep black hole, very far below me. I had no idea if this was just water, or if I needed to prepare for getting to know the reef a bit better. I jumped to my feet as quickly as I could, and tried to get my balance. This is when I realized that my board was actually suspended in mid air, it was free-falling with no water contact. I had watched this in movies and in the lineup and knew there was a way to make the wave. When the board hit the water, I scrambled, and felt like I was going to fall backwards for a split second. But I had gained such speed by this time, that my forward motion was much more dominant and I somehow managed to get my weight above the center of the board again. About half way down the wave I realized that I could do it, and focused completely on a clean line down and into my bottom turn. I am sure that fear was replaced by a hint of a hopeful smile by that point. I rode the wave all the way in, and felt a huge sense of relief and bliss. I am certain that what I was doing did not look pretty or stylish or cool, but that did not matter to me. All I felt was the sense of joy to have mastered the free fall escape.
7. Conspicuous Beach, Walpole, Western Australia, SW swell, 23 Mar 2010: the kind of scene you see in surf magazines. 20 knots Northerlies blowing offshore, a good size Southern swell, a white sand beach with turquoise water, two guys out. Without them I probably would have never gone, I would have been too worried about something that must be wrong with this place. As it turns out there was absolutely nothing wrong. This day gave me a breakthrough experience: my first stand-up barrel. I felt calm and playful and carved a clean bottom turn. When I was trying to go backup to the face I realized the lip was actually above me, covering my head and shoulders. I was in the tube, riding on the face of the wave. I made small turns up and down the face and had a clear view of the exit down the line. Then I emerged into sunlight and rode the wave all the way to the beach. To feel water above your head is a rush, another Flowmotion moment. This day produced large amounts of dopamine, but also centered my soul immensely.

In writing this list I realize that I could make it much longer, add Pongo in Vanuatu, South Point at Gracetown, Echo Point in Oregon, Sand Dollar Beach near Big Sur, Shipwrecks in New Zealand’s Northland, Ocean Beach at Denmark in Southwest Australia, … Surfing is a beautiful thing. Every time a ride a wave, no matter how small, I am like a little child with a big smile on my face…