Bug Surf Day

Zooooom!

This past week Sydney was deluged by 5 days of apocalyptic storms as winter made its presence known.

Fearless


Nice section at North Steyne

The only bright side out of this was when it eventually stopped, we were treated to some of the best surf conditions we have seen.

Paddleboarder riding the bommie Sunday morning

Hardcore surfers braved the gigantic swell and we went down to the beach a couple of times to witness the death-defying awesomeness.

He looks so small next to the gigantic wall of water chasing him

In addition to the beach breaks being larger than normal, the Queenscliff bommie was breaking as well in epic fashion.

Catching one last wave at the bommie as the sun goes down

At one point on Sunday, there were 3 helicopters and 2 boats out searching for a missing surfer. We saw them pull a surfboard out of the water but no body. Hopefully the poor guy made it to shore.

Around the World and Back Again

Vroom Vroom! Amy with her first child.

Well, after a whirlwind tour of the east coast, Amy and I are back, safe and sound in Australia.

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to meet up with us, it is most appreciated. For those of you who missed us, look us up next time you are in Australia.

It was an eventful trip with 1 baby being born and an engagement taking place while we were in town (surely both were in our honor, right?) and we got to do lots of fun things with friends and family.

One of the people we visited was our old stereo, pictured behind me.

Ray ridding the world of backyard vermin.

The view from the corporate apartment. Where's the beach?

Somehow, the kids both knew how to time their jumps so when I landed, they would go flying

Jenn and Ethan, taking a break from the trampoline. We actually found Coopers there, a long way from Australia. Did not taste the same.

Ate soooo much pizza while in NYC. Sooooo good.

The view of the lake where Amy's family has a cottage. Awesome fireworks that night.

Amy and her Dad

Amy, doing what she was born to do

Chris and James developing a new way to hurt themselves

Try, try again

A few weeks ago, we had the good fortune of having our friend Webs down on the beach with us while we were surfing. Webs had his camera and these were the results:

Prepared to battle nature

Paddling out to the break is everyone least favorite part of surfing

Me on the left with a friend, Dan about to drop in on me.

Drop in (verb) - to intrude on a wave that another surfer is already riding

This is generally considered extremely poor form and should be avoided at all costs when you don't know the person who you are intruding upon. However, we were pretty stoked to have caught the same wave. Celebrations and high-fives followed.

Same wave

Same wave, I'm the last one standing, Dan in water below

GERONIMOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Amy coming in for a landing

This past Saturday we taunted death as a part of a weekend long bacchanal celebrating our mate Webs’ 40^th birthday.

Saturday morning we headed down to beautiful Wollongong (Wool-on-gong - Australians have the best names for things) for a coastal skydive with a local operator. Nervous jokes were made, followed up by even more nervous laughter as we were fitted for our jumps.

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Final preperations are made

View from the plane

The plane took a lazy loop around as it climbed over the beach, mountains, and clouds to the 14,000 feet that we were to jump from. Screams were heard all the way back in Sydney as we took our turns sitting with our legs dangling out of the plane door, awaiting the final push from our respective instructors.

Birthday boy prepares to jump

Plummeting.....

Floating like a bird

Really, there is nothing I can think of that would compare to the rush of plummeting towards the earth with the world spread out below you. It is simply awe inspiring and a rush like no other.

Wollongong was an absolutely beautiful place to skydive. As mentioned above, the area is a stunning combination of beach and mountains. As we descended and drifted out over the water, surfers could be spotted in the waves.

Touching down, smiling ear to ear

Upon touching down, big smiles and hugs were passed all around. Champagne was popped and drank in a toast to our survival.

Still alive!!!

We next ventured back to Sydney for the night’s festivities, stopping along the way at not one, but two gorgeous pubs built on cliffs overlooking the sea. The beers we drank while watching the waves crash tasted all the sweeter, knowing that we had just tempted fate and made it out.

The view from the first pub, there were actually 3 guys out surfing

The view from the second pub, possibly the best pub view in the world

On Sunday, we wrapped up the weekend with our first winter surf of the year and an afternoon barbecue. The swell has been quite large over the last few days and as the sun started going down, we ventured out to the rocks beneath Queenscliff headland to watch the surfers and the sunset. In addition to seeing some amazing displays of surfing talent, we were treated to a pod of dolphins breaching the surface out past the break.

A sublime ending to an incredible weekend.

View from the 1st post-jump pub

Nick's jump, he went after Amy and I. We start leaving the plane around 2:45.

Great Ocean Road

The 12 Apostles at sunset

Last weekend, Amy and I ventured down to our neighboring state, Victoria to visit Melbourne and tour the Great Ocean Road which follows a portion of Australia's southern coastline.

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We spent Friday night in Melbourne, eating at what is apparently the only decent Mexican restaurant in Australia, Mamasita. If you are ever passing through the city, i recommend giving it a try.


We ventured out early Saturday morning, hoping that the rain would clear. As we reached our first stop, a lighthouse outside of Torquay, the sun was just beginning to break through the clouds.

Lighthouse and cliffs

As we continued along the coast, we were greeted around every corner with stunning views of dramatic cliffs and rough seas breaking over craggy rocks.

There are dozens of viewing platforms along the road

Around sunset, we reached the oft-photographed 12 Apostles. This is a series of rock pillars (originally 9, not 12) that jut out of the sea off the coast near Port Campbell. The setting sun produced a massive rainbow, as well as lit up the cliffs and ocean beautifully. It was a great cap to the day's driving.

Chris with the Apostles in the background

We spent the night in Port Fairy, a quaint town just past the end of the coastal part of the Great Ocean Road. Here we dined at The Stag which was quite frankly, the best food I have had since moving here. The food was fresh, locally sourced, and expertly prepared. Once again, if you are passing through, this is the place to go.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a leisurely drive back to Melbourne, stopping at some of the sights we blew by on Saturday, in an effort to get to the 12 Apostles before sundown.

12 Apostles from the air

Question mark shaped island must hold a secret hideout

One of these stops was at a helipad which was closed by the time we got there. We took a 25 minute flight up and down the coast, seeing what we had driven through from the air. It was a most impressive sight. The way the coast and formations are laid out is ideal for helicopter viewing. Also, helicopters are awesome.

A spot named "The Grotto". No Bunnies were found there. False advertising.

Our last stop on the way back was at Bells Beach. This is where the pro surfing tour hosts their annual Easter event and is one of the most prestigious in the sport. We hiked down the cliffs and watched the locals show their stuff.

One of the 2 breaks at Bells Beach

The great Ocean Road is generally ranked among "the worlds greatest drives" in travel magazines and other forums that monitor such things. I would compare it to the "Road to Hana" in Maui for those who have been there as a beautiful coastal trek that has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Bells Beach, surfer on the bottom about to take it on

Thailand Part 3: Sailing and Fishing Phuket

Our sailboat in the background, that is the dinghy on the left

We spent the last leg of our Thai adventure on the island of Phuket where we did day trips on a sail boat and fishing boat.


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The islands around Phuket are made of limestone which makes the water a milky green color and leads to some interesting caves and rock formations. We took a sailing trip among them for a closer look that took us through some of these cases to see the hidden lagoons and stalagtite/stalagmite formations within.

One of the cave entrances on the left

The islands are lush green and feature many sheet walls that plunge straight into the ocean at sharp angles.

The beautiful islands off of Phuket

It was a relaxing day on the boat with some napping and lounging between out island hopping.

Inside one of the caves. Alas, there was no treasure.

The next day we ventured out with Wahoo Fishing Tours for some game fishing. We motored out to Racha Noi and Racha Yoi islands and trolled around for a couple hours. The fishing has highly productive as each person on the charter pulled up a striped tuna each from the game chair, including 2 double (simultaneous) hookups.

Double hookup with Amy reeling in a monster from the game chair

The gracious crew cleaned these fish for our lunch and we enjoyed the freshest sashimi and tuna steaks imaginable along with some traditional Thai rice and chicken.

Striped Tuna - Sashimi doesn't get any fresher

After lunch we went for a quick swim and then trolled around for a couple more hours on calm seas and during a gorgeous day.