Jen got some snaps off which could perhaps be the start of a new career for her as a surf photographer. All she needs now is a decent subject!
The day after my birthday we drove the 120km north from Carnarvan to Red Bluff and 3 Mile Camp. Both of these locations are renown surf spots and were heavily populated by mostly male surfers from all over the world. I met guys from New Zealand, US and South Africa out in the water. Getting into both of these camps involved driving down some reasonably rough and sandy 4WD tracks, although both sites had a number of beaten up old 2WD vehicles and normal road caravans that had seen some better days. Red Bluff looked like and had the vibe of those super secret hardcore surf camp locations you see in the old surfing safari movies from the 70's and early 80's. Surfing Red Bluff did make me feel a little of what those surfing pioneers would have experienced and certainly had me living out some of my (G-rated) teenage fantasies. Jen got some snaps off which could perhaps be the start of a new career for her as a surf photographer. All she needs now is a decent subject!
3 Comments
Short entry tonight and no photos from me. We’ve just had 3 nights in Carnarvan. Its a pretty quiet place but not a bad spot to celebrate my birthday on the road. We did a couple of bike rides around the town, including one out to the one mile jetty. Day two had Jenny organising a Skype session with the girls for my birthday. It was good to see them, Paul and Maggie the cat in person. We then went out for dinner to a quaint pizza place which was supposedly rated as one of the top 5 Pizza restaurants in the world by Lonely Planet. Thinking it was just the two of us, I got a very pleasant surprise when a couple we met up in Cape Range National Park and whose company we really enjoyed turned up to join us.
The absolute highlight of Carnarvan was today’s trip up to Red Bluff, an iconic point break here in WA. Red Bluff is 120km north of Carnarvan along some of the wildest coastline I’ve ever seen. We past a spot called Point Quobba which has the most spectacular blowholes and the rugged cliffs and huge seas pounding them were very daunting given that we were making this trip ostensibly for me to get some surf. Red Bluff, however, is on the northern side of the headland and although windy was reasonably protected from the southerly swells and the bulk of the howling winds. A swell is on its way apparently, so Red Bluff was considered small by the band of surfers I went out with and got chatting to. Small to them it may have been but the waves were about perfect for me, 4’ – 6’ mostly. Its a left hand break that peels off a coral reef over fairly shallow water. I know the coral was sharp because when I came to grief on one of the waves I didn’t quite make the coral neatly sliced the bottom of my feet open. Despite this though, I had an absolute ball. Well worth the 240km round trip. Before I sign off, it would be remiss of me not to mention the other highlight of Carnarvan. As we headed out of town for Red Bluff, nervous thoughts of the surf that lay ahead in my mind, Jen insisted on a quick detour. What better way to start a surf trip than to follow the Gascoyne Food Trail which meanders its way through the picturesque fruit and vegetable farms on the outskirts of Carnarvan. I was thrilled to see tomato plants at various stages of growth, the vast array of different styles of tomato plant stakes was breathtaking. And my previously dormant passion for bean trellises will surely burst forth with a vengeance some time very soon after this mornings sojourn. It was a truly great day all round! |
Greg ShawGreg Shaw - spouse of Jenny, layabout, documentary film maker (most noted for working exclusively with his star subject, Barbie) Archives
November 2011
Categories
All
|