Bendalong Weekend

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Bendalong Beach with a few friends for the weekend. Even though the picture above is pretty dead flat - don't worry, we got some decent waves at a less protected point break on Green Island.

It was an excellent weekend of surfing and barbeque at the beach; here are a couple of particularly noteworthy items:

Nature’s sea rhoombas:
Beside the campground at Bendalong is a place where fishermen regularly clean their day’s catch. The sea life has taken notice, and creatures gather hoping to score some tidbits.
Among the sea life present are multiple massive stingrays, the like of which I have not seen previously.

These rays are as big as 5 feet across the wings, and of course the tails are much longer. They are accustomed to the regular food distribution by humans, and will come into shallow water to take food right from people’s hands, and allow people to reach down and pet them like a dog.

However, after watching a big daddy crunch through a fish head, I became a bit nervous about my toes being mistaken for a morsel.

Truly incredible experience to be standing in the water surrounded by these large creatures.

We had our cookout beside the beach, and all night long the rays could be seen beneath the water methodically sweeping across the sand, like giant vacuum cleaners of the beach.




Surfing with a World Champ:

We stopped at a small country house with a hand-lettered sign advertising surfboards, and discovered that it was the residence of none other than legendary shaper Mark Rabbidge and his wife World Champion surfer Pam Burridge.

We had a nice chat with Mark and a look around the shaping room. Unbeknownst to us, our friend who was there with us, Gabrielle Howard-James used to compete in the women’s surfing circuit and had been on many a trip and in competition with Pam Burridge. In fact, as a junior on the tour, Pam used to wax Gabrielle’s surfboard for her. Not a bad story to tell about the 1990 World Champ and 6 times runner up.

We met Pam for a surf at Mañana Beach the next day, and she gave a one-on-one lesson to our friend and beginning surfer Dee Smyth.

I don't have a pic of Pam, so here's one of the next most impressive thing: Oskar!