the plankmeister's interweblet
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Here we go! This is the first entry in the diary for my Oz trip. Just moved out of my flat into my sister's house for a couple days before I leave. SO much stuff to sort through and tidy up! Her garage is overflowing with all my...
Saturday, October 6, 2001
I've got all my stuff together, everything is sorted and I've packed everything I'm taking with me. I can't believe that for a whole year, everything I'll need is in the rucksack I'm looking at now. Incredible!
I can't believe...
Monday, October 8, 2001
Yeeeehaaaaa!!!! I'm on my way! In Singapore Airport now at an internet cafe. Flight from Heathrow was loooooong. And got bugger all sleep so I'm knackered. Watched some good films though. When I checked in a Heathrow I was (as...
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Got in to Sydney at 6:10AM this morning. No sleep on the flight. Absolutely knackered, but wanderin round Sydney with Joven. Went to Port Jackson (which is actually Sydney Harbour) and saw the bridge and opera house. Awesome!...
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Went to manly beach today. Much better surfing conditions than Bondi... surf was RAGIN! Much more chilled out place to be too. The little shopping area there was like Newquay... only hotter.
There's some cliffs nearby and we...
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Rain! Pissing with rain! Hang on! This is Oz! It's not meant to rain in Oz! But it is.... big time.
Boring day sat in Starbucks eyeing the pie as it goes by. Buncha funny though. And something BIZARRE happened! We're sat...
Friday, October 12, 2001
Went surfing at Manly today. And it was plop. Hardly any surf, and only about 1 decent wave out of 10 meant only got about 5 waves all day. Still can't get up though! Takes a whole buncha practice, and the conditions aint...
Saturday, October 13, 2001
Wake up, and Joven's wanting to slip Lin a portion, so I grab me skateboard and head off to Darling Harbour to check out the skate scene. Pretty cool... LOADS of stuff to skate on. Tried boardsliding a wall but the board gripped...
Monday, October 15, 2001
Hot day today, at last! Sun was out with a vengeance! Must have been about 28 degrees today. Woke up late (as usual) and went to Manly again. Buncha plop surf. Some guy there tried to rip us off by charging $15 per hour for a...
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Today was a load of old poo too. There really is bugger all to do in this town. In the daytime we went to look for camper vans to relocate or hire to take up the coast from Sydney to Cairns, but the season is really busy so there...
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Today we had a mission. To get to the Gold Coast. Relocating a car/campervan is out the window, as is renting a campervan. (Ridiculously expensive! Like... $100 per day, plus a $200 one-way fee, plus a $5000 bond.)
Went round to...
Thursday, October 18, 2001
Early start today! Had to catch the 07:15 coach from Sydney to Brisbane, though we got off at Port MacQuarie. A very small town. Very boring. Nothing to do. No surf. No real nightlife. Bunch of boredom. Yawn yawn yawn. Good views...
Sunday, October 21, 2001
We arrived at Coffs Harbour. Now THIS is more like it! Loads of young people milling about, larger town, malls and everything! Even a KFC and a McDonalds!
First night we stayed at a hostel called Barracudas, but it was a bit...
Friday, October 26, 2001
Yeehaa! We've arrived in Byron Bay! It was 9pm when we got in on a friday night, and the place was BUZZING! So many people all wandering round! It's like the barbican in Plymouth, only the atmosphere is awesome not...
Saturday, October 27, 2001
Today's mission: To find a hostel that isn't as expensive as the one we're in, which also offers free bikes and surf/boogie boards. Found one! Move our stuff there and go to the beach with our *free* boards! Only there's no surf....
Sunday, October 28, 2001
Today was HOT. Damn hot, REAL hot! So hot... I saw a little man in orange robes BURST into flames! Well... maybe not, but it was hot. Not much wind either, and absolutely bugger all surf. I've seen bigger waves in a bath!
A lazy...
Monday, October 29, 2001
Yawn. Late rise today! Crawled outta bed at about 11ish. Strolled down to the beach with some boards. Hey! Some waves! Clambered out past them to try catching a few in, but they were all weak little dribbles.
So I topped up the...
Tuesday, October 30, 2001
Oh dear. My head is hurting. Hungover... oowwwwwww.... Good night lastnight!
Went to the pub across the road called "Cheeky Monkeys", or as we call it "Spanky Monkeys" and it was good :) Got wasted and spent...
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Oh YEAH baby! Surfing today! Surfing proper! Surfing is GOOOOOOD. Like... oh... I can't put it into words! Surfing along on the crest of a wave! Wow! The surf was up today, man! Oh yeah.... Not huge, but large enough to catch all...