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Published: December 25th 2008
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Home Sweet Tent
Nana & my living accomodation at surf camp Surf Camp.
Hey all!
Sooooooo sorry that it has been so long since I last updated my blog, but because of the activities I have been participating in, I have had no access to the internet, phone or even cell reception. For the past 3 weeks I have been working as a "helper" at 'Waves' Surf Camp. It sounds more like "helpa" when the the aussie surf instructors are beckening for us with their loud whiny voices. The camp is located near Seal Rocks - between Sydney & Byron Bay - a beautiful beautiful location with a string of about 10 uncrowded, perfect beaches to surf at. The actual camp is in the middle of nowhere... literally. lol. It consisted of the owner's house, the Cabana/bar (where all the drinking & partying went down), the Billibong Appartments (aka bunk beds for the visitors in a cabin infested with 'mozzies'/mosquitos), a beach volleyball court & an outdoor pool. It was actually really really nice being out in the boonies with heaps of people always ready for a good time. There were tons of kangaroos on the property, so watching 2 roos have a boxing match 200m away from
Staff Jam Session
Beer Bongs played as Digerydoos you while you were eating breakfast was not an uncommon happening.
I had a pretty sweet deal... free accomodation (well... a tent in the middle of a wildlife infested field beside a swamp), free food (consisting of bread, devon, peanut butter, jam & pasta), free booze (supposed to be $2 per beer for staff, but I WAS the bartender, so....), & free surf (every day we got to go to the beach with the "punters"/campers to lounge at the beach & surf). All of this was in return for an easy 3 hours or so of work a day. At 6:30, all the helpers - about 12 of us, would wake up, crank the tunes & clean up the Cabana. By 7:30, we would get breakfast out for the punters, & get our things ready for the beach. By about 8:15, we'd hop on a bus with an Eskie filled with lunch and head off. The beaches we would go to were absolutely gorgeous. I bought myself a surf board when I was in Byron Bay, so I got to put it to use every day! By 4:30, we would typically go on some sort of excursion, whether it
be a hike up to the Seal Rocks lighthouse, a pub, or even a local lawn bowling club! Usually we would get back to the Cabana around 6:30... time to open the bar & get the night started. While most nights were often pretty crazy, some nights we'd have a bon fire, play beach volleyball, or just hang out. Once the night got going, the line between a punter and a helper is virtually nonexistant - our supervisor encouraged us to get in on the fun & entertain the punters... so you could say partying was part of the job description.
I met some really incredible people doing this job & had nothing but an amazing time. Unfortunately, my time at surf camp did not end on a very nice note. For those of you who didn't hear, I was involved in a pretty traumatic accident. On our way back to surf camp coming back from Byron Bay, the bus I was on was T-boned by a motorcyclist who died on the scene. Our massive coach bus was making a right turn into our road, when a biker who was trying to pass the 3 people behind us collided
into the side of the bus. No one on the bus saw it happen... our first indication was the crash of the bike into our driver's sideview mirror. I was the first to get off the bus to find the body lodged underneath the bus. It was clear to me from the moment I saw him that he was lifeless - there was a pool of blood coming from his head, his face was already turning black/blue from his helmet & his body was completely crushed. All the people from the cars behind us were very helpful: one was a nurse, one had EMS on speaker phone & one was helping us try and jack up the bus. Because the nurse was a little bit heavier and couldn't fit under the bus, I assisted in climbing under to take his radial pulse, which was nonexistant. The police, ambulance, and fire soon arrived to deal with the accident. It was about 3 1/2 hours before they even removed the body from beneath the bus. I was kept on site for questions & required to speak with a Chaplain. It was a very unfortunate accident & one that could not have been
avoided by our driver. It was really tough to know that xmas was a mere 4 days away, and here some family would have to make the decision of holding the funeral before or after Christmas.
I'm sorry for ending on a depressing note. I promise to uplift you with my next entry on my aussie-style Christmas 😊
Cheers.
xo
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