During orientation, we had a compulsory surf safety presentation (can’t get more Aussie than that!), and we were told about Surf Camp Australia. Two days of nothing but “SURF EAT SLEEP REPEAT.” Sounds great right? So we got a bunch of people to sign up and within no time we were off!
With our bags packed and eager to get going, we arrive at our meeting place just a little early! Okay, we were an hour early… Luckily, they plan to take the first 20 people by train instead of bus, so after waiting for a few more people to arrive, we’re off to the train station! Because we are so excited about our adventure and hanging out with other ICMS students, we are chatting away with the group while we wait for the train. Unfortunately, our surf camp instructor, Scott, leads his sweet, innocent little ducklings onto the quiet carriage of the train…
for our two hour ride…
20-odd college-age students…
Quiet?
Of course not.
We tried. We really did. Thankfully after an hour, most people start getting off the train, but not without scolding our group multiple times for talking on the quiet carriage. So after a long, awkward, exciting, and at times uncomfortable train ride, we make it to Gerringong, where our cute little surf camp oasis is expecting us.
We have a meeting once everyone arrives about the breakdown of the weekend. Two groups of campers with two surf lessons, one Saturday and one on Sunday!
Surf, eat, sleep, repeat!
Getting up on Saturday, we are full of excitement! We get our wetties (wetsuits) on and head to the beach for lesson number 1! It’s not the best day to swim, let alone surf, but the wetsuits definitely help. We have our basic instruction about how to surf and the anatomy of the surfboard, but unfortunately the wind and the waves are so bad we can’t surf that morning. We still have tons of fun hanging out back at camp, playing giant Jenga and talking with our fellow surfers.
The conditions still are pretty bad in the afternoon, but they let us attempt to surf anyway! I try my best to remember the steps, but by the end of the day, I still am not able to stand up on my board. However, I am determined to get it day 2. But for now, it’s dinner and some dancing at the local pub!
Sunday morning we get up at 7 and we’re surfing by 8! After a bit of help on some better waves, my lovely instructors get me up on a wave and it was incredible! Gliding so smoothly across the water I throw some shakas at the guys signaling I finally had it! After our lesson, we head back to camp to pack up and have our closing meeting. They weren’t kidding – Surf eat sleep repeat – I was beat by the end of it! However I wasn’t quite ready to get back into school mode…
