The Nomadic Life - South Oz & East Coast

Author: Sean Tickner

3rd December 2007

Some people are Nomadic by nature, choosing to travel all their lives, some out of necessity and others purely for the experience. I was in it for the experience! My trip began in Melbourne, Australia, followed by Brisbane and Noosa, then across to Fiji and finishing in Oahu, Hawaii!

My first trip to Australia - it was time to broaden my horizons and get a chance to see the country that is home to some of the World's best bodyboarders. First destination: Melbourne, in the South, just across from Tasmania. I was going to be spending 5 days there and I wanted to make the most of it.

For my first taste of Australian ocean I got to surf the infamous Bell's Beach. It was small and fun but pretty chilly for a warm-blooded Durban Boy such as myself. It's a 1.5 hour drive South of Melbourne and it's quiet a tourist spot which became evident after the umpteenth tour bus, crammed with eager eyed foreigners, pulled up. The following day it was off to the Nomad birth place, in the form of the Nomad warehouse and surf shop. Here I met up with the big guys behind Nomad -Shane Britten and his Brother. I've never seen so many boards in one place in my life before! It was amazing, boxes and boxes of all the FSD Series, the Signature Models for Chris James, Matt Lackey and Glen Thurston. The warehouse consisted of the new range of Nomad clothing, fins and accessories and I was fortunate enough to have my pick of all the latest gear thanks to Derek Footit and Factory 7. Then we set off for a surf on the Mornington Peninsular, with talk of Lunar Park which is a short 4hr drive up the coast only fuelling my greed for some solid surf. Alas, summer in Oz is very similar to ours in S.A, not much surf to speak of, but we managed to score a small wave by the name of "Centrals", with a left and right break to choose from on each side of a small bay. I surfed small barrels breaking on a patch of reef covered in kelp and then running onto sand with the Nomad team and a mere 4 other guys. It was awesome sharing waves and catching up with Shane from Nomad as well as Carson who designs the Nomad Threads and Haden, a local grom. Melbourne sits in the middle of a Bay, meaning it's at least an hours drive to any substantial surf. My Girlfriend and I were limited to Public Transport so we spent the rest of our time enjoying the sights and immersing ourselves in Melbourne Culture. Melbourne was great; it's always fun meeting new people and seeing new places.

Then it was off to Brisbane to meet up with my fellow Nomad Team-Rider and Travelling Nomad, Jonathan "Oros" Oliff. Brisbane reminded me more of Durban, thanks to the sweltering heat. It was great meeting up with some fellow South Africans, we were staying with Chris Green, another DK rider from Durban, S.A.

We set off for the Gold Coast at every available chance and always hopeful for waves which unfortunately never materialized. We had the odd fun surf at lots of different spots. Stradbroke Island aka "Straddie" is crazy. You have to paddle across a harbour entrance which is more like a torrent river when the tide starts pushing. Once you reach the other side you have to embark on a rock climbing expedition to get out of the supposedly shark infested water. GREAT! After testing our Olympic strength we were met with some disappointing surf! The island is a stretch of beach breaks that has the potential to get so good but unfortunately not when I was there! From Straddie to D-Bah and lots of spots in between. We checked out Kirra Bay and Snapper Rocks which was insane, even when it's small it stills manages to reel off the longest rights you could imagine. We also got to surf at The Spit which was just like North Bowl, crowd and all. We were fortunate to have the services of ex-Saffas Warrick and Kearnan Murphy, great guys who opened up their lounge floor to some Nomadic Bodyboarders and their girls.

Venturing North to the Sunshine Coast, we hit Noosa, a long-boarding Mecca lying 2hrs North of Brisbane. We were living the life of luxury in Timeshare at Noosa Lakes…epic. We were just a short 5min bus-trip from the main beach but again, summer surf or lack thereof, was predominant.

We went searching for waves and found some amazing surf spots tucked away amongst the National Park rainforest. There is a reeling right, this time a Point that has 4 different spots to surf plus another 2 Bays, Tea Tree Bay and Granite Bay further up the point. There's nothing like mind-surfing a 2ft right that seemingly breaks forever. We were praying for a freak swell to hit, but it never came and we were greeted each day with an ocean that resembled a lagoon! On the other side of the point lies super fun beach breaks called Sunrise and Sunshine Beaches. Once again, we had some fun surfs but nothing amazing except for the fact I was in a completely different country, with completely different people and a whole lot of new experiences. We did get the amazing experience to celebrate "Steve Irwin Day" at the Australia Zoo, something I'll never forget. To the cry's of "CRIKEY" we spent an entire day surrounded by masses of people in Khaki, celebrating a man who dedicated his life to saving our Planet's animals! In the words of the man himself, "What a Beauty"!

It's only a short wait and then we're off to Fiji, hoping for some fun reef surfs before we jet off to the Hawaiian Island known as Oahu. We'll be meeting up again with Oros and the rest of the South Africans making the pilgrimage with plenty of good times to follow.


If I can give the intrepid Nomad a few tips, this is what I've learnt:

1. Make sure you have a plan, even a basic one but leave it open for changes. Once you get to Australia the connecting flights are super cheap. Check out Jetstar and Virgin Blue Airlines for bargains. Virgin Blue has daily "Happy Hour" Specials between 12 pm and 1pm, Ozzie time.
2. Food prices are crazy, don't even bother converting, you'll freak out. E.g. a loaf of bread costs $1,40 which makes it just under R9,00 and that's a bargain. The best bet is checking out Woolworths or Coles Supermarkets. Check what time they close and get there just before as a lot of things go on special in the evenings so you just need to hunt for bargains.
3. Learn to enjoy 2min Noodles, they are a staple food source for any travelling South African on a tight budget.
4. Try doing some touristy things, they are expensive but you've got to experience some part of the new country you are visiting.
5. Obviously it's great scoring surf but you've got to realize that you may be skunked sometimes, just roll with it and enjoy your time.
6. Try connecting with as many fellow South Africans who you may have met and now live overseas and see if they can put you up for a night or two BUT don't be a nuisance.
7. Enjoy life, you only have one chance!

Next update, Fiji!

Thanks to my Sponsors Factory 7 and Nomad!

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