I’m writing this from my hire car on the headland at bells beach. Initially I was outside the car on a nice little park bench but there was several people walking past me and after one person asked me what I was doing to which I replied, “oh nothing”, I figured to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that I’m writing what is essentially my diary, I’ve since moved into the car!

So – I start this morning off picking up an AVIS hire car and an extra -large coffee with the RipCurl Pro in my sights. Thank god for iPhones because a quick search later and I’m going along the freeway and pretty much just stick on that and follow signs to Bells. Road tripping alone is actually awesome – I sing at the top of my lungs the entire way down, about an hour and half’s drive from the CBD.  I’m surprised that the trip is so quick as I’ve had mixed reports on how long the drive is, ranging from 2 – 3 ½ hours. The only downside to the trip is the maximum speed limit is 100km’s and I find it incredibly hard to stick to!

Road Tripping

I’ve never been to a Pro Surf comp before but I’ve always loved watching surfing on TV and I’ve always secretly wished I’d been more of a “grommet” going up. I pull into Bells and it’s exactly what I pictured, branded flags everywhere and the sound of surfer dudes on loud speaker commentating on the action. Seriously though, I want to die its so amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it! The waves are unbelievable, even from the shore so I can’t even imagine how high they actually are. The image of two single surfers and a couple of jet ski’s in the ocean is one I won’t forget . The view I have is from the Western? headland (I had to think about that now that I’m on the Vic coast) and I can see hundreds of people anywhere they can fit all the way along the coast of the beach. I figure I’d go where the action is down on the beach itself and it’s awesome.  The general surfer crowd just can’t help being cool, dressed for the chilly weather but somehow pulling off pretty daggy cardigans and pom-pom beanies. And all the guys are hot. Even the ugly ones are hot. Even the red haired ferrel ones are hot.  I just love the crowd and although I’m definitely the only one here on my own, it doesn’t matter. Everyone claps and yells when CJ Hopgood does a left calve, something or other in heat 2 I and I get right into it.

A couple of hours fly by and I’ve seen the likes of Taj Burrows & Dusty Payne do things I’ve obviously only ever seen on TV.  By now I can tell I’ll be completely jaded the next time I’m just watching some normal surfer dudes at Macmasters Beach.

Taj Burrows

Next the tide comes in and I’m so lucky because having just come back from grabbing a bite (from one of about 6 food vans) they close the beach, announcing only those currently on the beach can stay. It means when Burrows finally gets out of the water I’m about 2 metres away.  Meanwhile I’m just as lucky because having looked at people at the event on Instagram last night I decide my wellies and jeans are my best bet for the cold and sand. But as the tide keeps coming in, the smugness disappears when a huge wave comes up the sand all the way to the top of my jeans. So there’s a hot tip, if you want to be in the thick of it (and freeze), wear things and shorts! Weather-wise though, I can’t really complain. I’m in a T-shirt the entire day and most of the time I wish I had something lighter on. It’s not until the sun goes down and I realise a lot of my body is actually quite wet that I chuck on my jacket, hands in pockets.

Surf’s up – my Wellies didn’t quite do the job in the end

By 4PM they’ve cancelled the rest of the heat because the swell is getting too heavy which means a disappointed crowd start to leave, a lot of them having stuck around for the eagerly anticipated surf of Kelly Slater (who I was lucky enough to see from afar).  Obviously I’m in no hurry to get home so I decide to take advance of the diminishing crowds and sit in the grand stand to watch the pro tour guys just have a “casual surf” (which is ridiculous, you should have seen the waves).

The Pro

Finally I head off up the hill to the car but not before passing Occy on the way. Not many people have spotted him but he is getting photos with a couple of kids.  I initially pass him completely, just thinking, “cool, I love Occy”, and I’ve also spend the last several hours listening to him commentating!  When he’s no longer in my sights, I stop short and adhearing to my new found self and demanding myself to be confident I approach him as he’s walking away. Of course he’s lovely and we take a photo. Even cooler, he’s headed in my direction so I join him and his mate and we all walk towards our cars. We wave goodbye and Occy yells, “take it easy Peta”.

Yep, just call me surfer chick.

Writing from the Car

Me & Occy!

I figured I’d make a very small start on figuring out which suburb will suit me down here. I assume the quickest way to do this is by tram and I head towards Flinders Street station, hopping on a tram along St Kilda Road.  I am aware that I’m not going in quite the right direction but I just figure I’ll head towards Toorak and then somehow get to Richmond in around about kind of way.

Fail.

5 minutes up St Kilda road the tram stops because of road works and the driver tells us we need to walk down the road to catch a connecting tram to get to Toorak.  When I start to walk to the connection I notice a huge monument and decide instead to follow the tourists up the hill to the WWII War Memorial.  When I get there I feel like I’m back in Washington DC! I’m certain Sydney has something equally as amazing and moving but I’ve just never been a tourist in my own town!  I snap a few photos but my iPhone doesn’t really capture the scale of it I’m afraid. I can also hear my mum’s voice in my head saying, ‘no one wants to see photos of landscapes, there has to be people in there too” so I pull out the tourist snaps thankful the rest of the tourists around me are doing the same thing, “say fuji!”

World War II Memorial

As I walk away returning to the track to the connecting tram I realise I’m probably going to get very lost and I decide to head back to Flinders Street and manage to find a tram heading to Richmond (much more sensible Peta).

The City from the Memorial

I make sure I’m taking mental note of the trip from the city given it may become a daily route should l pick Richmond as my new home. We pass the Rod Laver Arena, MCG & AAMI Park but the journey is a lot of railway lines and not really interesting.  Finally I hop off at Church & Swan Streets, recognising these from conversations I’ve had with Melbourners.  Once I have a walk up both sides of both Swan & Church I decide I really like it. There are lots of little pubs and bars which seemed to be pretty cool and trendy but not so that I would feel uncomfortable.  It’s by no means pretty and is actually pretty dingy looking at first glance but inside the facades things look a lot different. In my head I try to compare it to a suburb but nothing’s springing to mind. Most importantly I look at the people walking along the street. It’s not busy by any means but I note a lot of the cafés and shops are closed given it’s the Easter weekend. Generally people look right – I spot a few bars with people my age having drinks and they all seem like the sort of people I’d hang around. Just quietly I also spot some nice really cute guys  – they all look really fit & healthy and I’m reminded of a friend describing Richmond as “a real footy wanker place” to which I replied, “perfect”.

I wandered around the city this morning and tried to stick to streets I haven’t walked down before and initially found a coffee (most important) followed by the Carlton Gardens & Exhibition Building which is a lot like Hyde Park except I was pretty much the only person there so it was really cool.

Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens

I then continued on Victoria Street up to the Markets and spent some time just wandering around…slowly getting hungrier looking at all the deli’s.  I bought a sourdough loaf and some avocados so I can finally have a meal at home. Ironically I’ve been spending more money on food than I normally do because I want to keep going out to eat for something to do…not a good idea for my wallet (or my weight).

Queen Victoria Markets

After grabbing a coffee I headed away from the markets and I was convinced I had my bearings until I saw Little Lonsdale Street. Then I just tripped out and I was going the exact opposite direction to what I thought I was! Seriously, I got lost trying to find Lonsdale street on the previous Sunday night and now it’s haunting me!  Anyway, although a little confused at first, I was pretty happy that I was able to predict every street in front of me from there! Little Lonsdale – Lonsdale – Little Burke – Burke… nailing it.

Carlton Gardens

I see Flinders Lane but decide I’m not quite done exploring so I walk to Flinders Street and over the bridge to Southbank and I’m briefly bummed when I see a bunch of girls have brunch/drinks at a café by the river.

Which reminds me – alcohol is like having a glass of water here! When I was at the markets it would have ben 11am and I walked past a couple of couples who looked like locals and were about 40. Just hanging out at a table outside the entrance to the markets having some gozleme with drinks, the women had a glass of white each and the guys beers. I’m the last person to judge but in fact it didn’t even warrant judgement – it seemed so civilized and normal, as if they were sipping some mount franklin with their brunch. Anyway, I just love that.

I head along the river towards the MCG and consider continuing to Richmond but I figure I should head back. By the time I get home I’ve actually been gone for over 2 hours and suddenly my legs start to hurt.  It occurs to me that I have another two days on my own this weekend and although I’m having a great day today – I’m conscious not to do too much too fast!

Victoria Markets Puchases – My brekky for the next week