We took a walk in Amy Murphree’s shoes last week in PART 1 OF HER JOURNEY TO AUSTRALIA during her road trip along the California coast. Now we explore the beauty of the land down under with Amy as she takes her favorite pairs of Sanuks to paradise… the Gold Coast.
Upon our arrival in the land down under, we deposited our things and went straight to a Moroccan-themed birthday party that was filled with delicious, homemade, organic food and warm, friendly, happy faces.
The excitement in the air was about a victory a few miles away at Bentley that week, meaning they stopped a major oil company from moving forward with COAL SEAM GAS (CSG) PRODUCTION. The milestone was achieved after weeks of peaceful protesters camping out and physically barring the machinery from breaking ground. The energy produced from CSG efforts would not be used in Australia but instead shipped overseas, a dangerous business.
Over the next few weeks we would grow accustomed to sleeping in little pine cabins with no power but the sun overhead and candles or moonlight by night. Enjoying showers with fresh rainwater, never touched by chlorine, simply dropped from the pure, clean sky – no smog in sight. We climbed up between ripe passion fruit to a colorfully painted, homemade composting toilet, made from an elevated plywood structure with a toilet seat covering a plastic chute and a garbage bin below. We assisted a professional Permaculturist plant dozens of native trees and edible plants. We shared fresh seafood – hand-speared from nearby fishing holes, rode playful barrels, all the while enjoying smiles and good times with new and old friends.
I’ll never forget one of my first morning surfs. I followed Lauren’s beau, Dave Rastovich, down a winding goat track to the most breathtaking view… Perfect overhead waves reeling left off a rocky cliff outcropping fringed by pandana trees and 3 guys out in clear, aquamarine water as far as the eye could see.
Already feeling privileged to be surfing next to such an extraordinary human being, I could hardly contain my amazement when I saw Mr. Rastovich set his rail into the longest backside tube-ride I’d ever witnessed. Upon exiting the water, the boys donned their knives and weights, grabbed their spear guns, and went to catch lunch while I lay on the warm sand skipping rocks. I could hardly believe such a perfect day could exist.
Quite a diverse group of wave-riders populate the lineups, specifically at The Pass. I became familiar with the term “matting” which refers to a blowup canvas rectangle that apparently is the perfect vehicle for getting into those draining perfect barrels that are just a tad small and too fast for us stand up surfers to wedge into. I think I saw every kind of surfing style, board shape, hand plane, and fin setup that exists in the surfing family. No judgment or “short boards only” mentality which was a refreshing surprise.
Weeks turned into months, as we settled in, finding rhythm with the seasons and passing swells. Most of our nourishment came organically from the ocean, honesty boxes, farmers markets, our garden, or nearby bakeries.
Arriving in May felt almost like summer but by the time July arrived there was frost on the ground and blankets piled up on our beds to keep us warm.
Afternoon hikes, shark encounters, campfires by the creek, shorter sessions at nearby Lennox because the wind was just too cold. Finding corners on the sand to stay warm and stay tan, alternate surf-craft experimentation, swimming with dolphins, playing in the tall grass with Yogi, the half-kelpie, half-border-collie teenage pup, who guards the sprawling acreage and lives to see you send his ball across the yard.
Lauren and Dave traveled to and fro… Always off to someplace new and exotic. Dave to Indonesia for a boat trip filming Nathan Oldfield’s new movie, Sojourn, with some of my favorite surfer boys including Dylan Graves and Dane Gudauskas. Dave and Lauren to The Great Barrier Reef to discuss options for preserving the endangered region from dredging and shipping lanes. Both of them off again to the Maldives for another boat trip and the opportunity for Dave to compete against 5 other World Champs in the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy. Rasta came back as the event champion after winning 1st in single fin, 2nd in twinny, 3rd in thruster, and edging out Taylor Knox in the final.
Seeing their photos made me want to put the Maldivian Islands on my bucket list, especially since they’re in danger of becoming uninhabitable due to rising ocean levels in as early as the next 50 years. Truly inspiring and motivating was hearing Lauren’s experience with their CORAL REEF PROPAGATION PROGRAM, which boosts existing marine habitats and creates new ones by building ‘Reefscapers’. The transplantation process involves attaching living coral fragments onto a man-made frame in the shape of a dome. This method eventually transforms the frame into a thriving ecosystem home to numerous species of marine life.
Our 2 sun-kissed friends returned from the Maldives just in time to spend one last winter day together before it was time to make the loooong trip back across two oceans to where I belong on my cherished Caribbean star island… Puerto Rico.
One day, I hope to see the progress made in Byron Bay being practiced worldwide, in homes and businesses alike, so we will have a future filled with flourishing forests, clean air, and pure water instead of massive floating garbage patches, smog-filled atmosphere, clear cut natural habitats, extinct species, and our rivers, lakes and oceans transformed forever by pesticides, sediment and runoff.
After exploring what I could during 3 months in the extraordinarily abundant country of Australia, my beliefs were reinforced that all human life can be lived simply and healthily with very little waste, utilizing compost, solar energy, rainwater, organic gardening, community awareness and individual efforts to bring reusable cloth bags and containers to markets.
Follow more of Amy’s explorations, passions and surf sessions on her INSTAGRAM (@AMYMURPHREE), and get started onYOUR next adventure by picking out the perfect travel companion at WWW.SANUK.COM.