Australia has over 35,000 kilometres of coastline. You too should find your wonderland. Photo: Wexler
It is May in the midst of autumn in Melbourne. Yellow leaves have fallen and they are visible blowing across the grass. The pavement is still wet from the previous night’s rain and the early morning sun glares off the River Yarra. Southerly winds are beginning to pinch. Melbourne is a beautiful city and although it is where I call home, I still need to escape.
A two-hour drive from home is my coastal wonderland. Even on the coldest days I feel warm here and even on the darkest nights my soul is cleansed. It is a place of rolling hills, flowing waterfalls and sprays of sea salt.
Autumn, in all its gold, is a great time for surfers here. Year round, the beach is not crowded. The summer is warm, but the ocean is still chilly and most of the year surfers are covered in neoprene.
As with any location, it is not just the geography that makes this place special. It is the friendliness of the people. On my first visit here as a rookie surfer, I brought my pink foam surfboard and gave the waves a crack. I was alone, clearly standing out as a beginner. A local dread-locked beach bum who filled his time as a gardener at a caravan park let the weeds grow for a day and offered to take me surfing. He showed me all the best local breaks and those I continue to surf.
Today I grinned at a local fisherman and said, “I like your office.” To which he replied, “Me too – no view here is ever the same.” We finished the second part of the sentence together: “…because the colors are always changing.”
I love to travel and discover new coastlines, but this one just keeps me returning. If you know me, you will know the place that I am at talking about. For others reading this, of course I am not going to disclose it to you. Australia has over 35,000 kilometres of coastline. You too should find your wonderland.
I smile as I drive away looking behind at the glorious view in the rear view vision mirror. That’s why I come, despite the cold sand and the freezing water, that’s why I come. Now I am heading back to the rules and back to the city. Melbourne is my home, yet it is not my place.
