Waltzing
Matilda :
The Incredible Adventures of Jessica
Grimwood & Friends
"The
West is the Best!" by Jessica Grimwood;
Photos by Jessica & Friends
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JettyGirl
Art, Photography & Culture |
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I made the trek by air from the East Coast to the West.
The West is a much more rugged and
intense part of Australia. Western
Australia is what I would imagine
the East to have been like back in
the days when England sent the convicts
here as punishment ...untouched and
enchanted. This was notably the first
surf trip I have done in a long time
that hasn't involved competing for
the extent of my stay and it was a
very different vibe to travel on.
I traveled
with Kiwi Wini Paul and Californian
Bo Stanley down to our friend Claire
Bevilacqua's house. Her house is approximately
three hours down the coast from Perth
in Western Australia at a place called
Yallingup. Also staying at Bevo's
beach house was two pro English surfers
Matt and Jayce and two of Claire's
school friends Renee and Chiara.
Staying with
Claire is always an amazing, refreshing
and positively exhausting experience.
You know you are going to be surfing
and frothing out more than you ever
have, eating better than you would
ever dream of and feeling simply on
top of life all together. Bevo also
likes to dance as do the rest of us.
Consequently, the Yallingup escape
frequently morphed into a dance club
(which we named Club Bevo) with all
the neighbors in the small community
joining in. It was a great way to
pump each other up before our marathon
surf sessions, or to wind down from
the heavy slabs and powerful Indian
Ocean swells we had conquered that
day.
We surfed so
many different spots on this trip
and were blessed with amazing swell
everyday. I didn't surf a wave much
smaller than 4 feet the whole time
which was such a great relief from
the East Coast wave drought I had
experienced before I left.
With all the
different local secret spots that
are here, we regularly had to take
the 4WD tracks. I enjoyed more than
anything lying in the back of the
camper van the English boys had borrowed
and flying down the 4WD track to my
favorite spot (I will leave it unnamed
to protect it from exposure). The
red earth track was scattered with
limestone protruding from the ground
and old tree branches exposed by erosion.
My body would bounce around the back
of the van, almost touching the roof
on every bump. I couldn't wipe the
grin from my face.
I saw so much
of the Australian landscape and wildlife.
The colors, simple yet so effective.
Red earth to green vegetation to the
blue ocean, each complimenting the
other. These are the colors of Australia
but are often overshadowed in the
East by over-development.
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My throat was always
dry from the red dirt we were churning up
in our race to the ocean's shore. Every
time we met the ocean at the cliff of my
favorite secret spot, it never disappointed.
Pumping A-frame lineups that stretched across
the reef would be waiting to greet us. There
were never many other people around either,
usually more dolphins than anything.
By the time I could
change into my surf suit or get my boards
ready, my feet would be red and black with
earth, my skin already sizzling and my brow
sweating. I could never get down the trail
quick enough into the water, but at the
same time had be careful not to take my
toes off on the hidden limestone daggers.
Snakes, lizards,
spiders and birds scattered our trails every
session. Ants the size of my small finger
would also dance upon the hot earth and
try to catch your toes on the way down,
always seeming angry when you passed and
eager to chase. Thank God for my thick-skinned
feet.
"Garrigarrang"
I learned was the Aboriginal word for the
sea. I adopted it. Though our experience
with members of the Indigenous community
later on in our trip left much to be desired,
it did enlighten me to the real racial struggles
we face to work together. I still admire
the spirit of Aboriginals but realize both
parties have a long way to go in understanding
each other.
For the 14 days we
all spent at Bevo's house, we embraced our
rugged surfing lifestyle. We stayed in the
water all day and dealt with crispy hair
and sunburned skin. Even sea ulcers and
sore muscles couldn't keep us from the long
paddle back to the lineup after each amazing
wave.
Every night we would
prepare a massive and extremely healthy
feast and froth out about the days adventures,
waves and pleasures. Then, with the help
of the local vineyard's world famous red
and white wines, we would all fall into
comas of exhaustion only to dream of the
next day's Western Adventures.
I cannot wait to
make the trek back over to the West and
settle into the rugged and raw surfing lifestyle
that exists there. I'm looking forward to
once again being mentored by the true Westerner
herself Claire and to score secluded, powerful,
pumping slabs of Indian Ocean.
If I can draw only
one conclusion from my travels to this part
of Australia, I will simply say, "The
West is the best!"
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