Road trips are always an adventure, especially when you are headed somewhere exciting. Last week myself, Erin, Robin, hardgoods designer Kyre, and our very own chauffeur, Travis, boarded the Roxy RV in Denver and hit the road to Vancouver. On the way we stopped at our favorite shops armed with gifts of cupcakes, beer, and Roxy goods. Here are some of the highlights:
Erin and Robin about to enter a Boulder sweet spot
Robin playing dress-up at another Boulder stop
This shop has a bigger gun section than snowboard section… eek
We’re big fans of the shop crew at MCu’s in Boise
Robin stretching out her road legs
The whole RV posse in Seattle… almost there!
Finally, after 4 days, we made it to the promise-land
It is a sad day, we write our last blog. The journey has been amazing. We have driven almost the entire east coast of Australia. Surfed more breaks in 2 weeks than I think I have ever surfed in one period of time. And had nothing but good adventures everyday. Road trips are the ultimate surfing adventure. You are doing nothing but trecking around looking for the best waves. You don’t really know what you are going to find around the corner. Sometimes you score when and where you expect it. And sometimes the places you think are going to be going off aren’t and you find an amazing wave where you least expect it. Surfing new waves every day really helps your surfing you constantly have to adjust to something new. And its always nice when a cool local shows you a thing or two at their break like what waves are the good ones and where to sit in the line up.
Over the last two weeks we all became close and really got to know each other. We were all pushing each other with our surfing in the water and creatively with music, artwork and photography outside of the water. We had such a unique blend of people I don’t think we could have possibly hoped for a better crew. Not to mention our photographers Ryan and Zaz and filmer Sonny were the best guys ever to travel with and captured this trip better than anyone else could have. We all got along great and when the weather was bad and the road got to us all we stuck together and had fun and found other cool things to do.
“So it’s my last day with the girls in coolangatta, packing up my boards and luggage, putting an end to this amazing road trip, as I look around the apartment that we are staying in, Jen continues to play the ukulele, Kass prepares a good healthy breakfast, and Lyndsay stretches on the yoga mat. These girls are truly amazing people, in every way, artistically and athletically.
Surfing with such an eclectic group of girls has been inspiring, from The world champ herself Jen Smith, to the Most stylish Noserider Kassia Meador, and then you have the freakishly good Grom Leanne Curren, and the all round Ripper Lyndsay Noyes
Thanks Roxy for making this trip possible, thank you girls for being a part of my life and thank you Australia for having me.
Bring on the next road trip Europe here we come. Xo” Candice
So the last day of the trip the waves weren’t the best so we decided to go to this waterfall in the mountains. It was raining pretty hard, so when we rocked up the fall was flowing full force. The air was really cold because we were really high up in the Australian mountains. We threw on our wetties and had to get down in the water and check it out, being the adventurous crew we are. Water is the strongest element in nature and being there feeling all the energy around us we couldn’t help but feel alive. This was a perfect ending to a very unique trip.
Thanks for joining us on this incredible adventure. Hope this inspired you to get a few friends together pack up the car and head our on your own road trip. Who knows what you will find. Now we are off to the gold coast to watch the best female shortboarders in the world battle it out at snapper rocks for the Roxy Pro. xoxo
check out the photos!
I was looking at the photos from the Roxy Road Trip in Australia and couldn’t help but smile at this fun photo. The team has done so much in the last days and today will start the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.
Its all about getting Cray Cray, we woke up hoping to get some fun was like the afternoon before, but mother nature had something else in mind. We checked all the spots and with the rain wind and lake of swell, the surf did not seem good enough, so Ryan the photographer had this great idea to take us to a really cool Blow hole at the end of the cliff in kaima. We definitely picked the right day for it, with the crashing swell and windy conditions; it forced the blowhole to shoot out in all its force. Having checked out the blow hole, Kassia called us all over to the other side of the cliff, where waves were crashing up high against the cliff side, creating this amazing spray of foam, that flew up high with the strong winds. We laughed and played in the our very own outdoor foam party, trading off dance moves and getting sprayed in the face by salty bubbles. We really enjoyed just checking out the local area, talking to the locals and getting a feel for this cute little town. When the surf is not co-operating and the weather limits you, its always a good idea to check out what the local area has to offer, and learn a little about the culture your in.
After the blow hole excursion we were all amped to do something. We got back to the camp site and noticed the shore break, cuz that’s all it was, was at least clean. We got these creepy fun masks in Melbourne at the start of the trip and decided to have some fun and take them out in the water with us. We were all getting these little shore pounders trying to get noserides before getting slammed without loosing the masks. Even though the surf was not too good we had one of the funnest sessions we have had so far.
After the fun session we decided to hit the pool back at camp, to freshen up and loosen our muscles. After a few laps in the pool, we all sat in the Hot tub, and relaxed. A feed of thai was had later that night, topped off with a crazy good ice cream. We go syndey for a bit of fun.
We haven’t written for quite a long time so I am going to sum up the last few days…
Last episode was the day we painted the tent. After that we really needed to have a good surfing day. We woke up the next day early and checked the waves in front of the camp as the sun was coming out. The conditions were really clean and there was no cloud in the sky, which was a pretty big surprise because it’s been raining so much lately. We went out and surfed all day by ourselves, and when we were finally surfed out we came in and had the idea of making a campfire. The boys went to pick up some wood in the forest while we cooked dinner. We grabbed the guitars, Jen’s “hard-core”-dion, and made a nice big fire to keep ourselves warm on the beach.
We jammed for a little while and then Millertime told us the craziest surfing stories that he knew, it was interesting… He’s a good storyteller.
That was a really nice evening, and we decided to sleep on the beach under the moonlight… Sounds good, but the sand wasn’t that comfortable and we were all paranoid by all the bugs and the spiders just waiting for us to fall asleep to start eating us. The fire didn’t make the night either and we were pretty much frozen on the beach when we woke up. But that was a good experience and it was pretty cool to see the stars when we were falling asleep.
Next morning we were tired, and we decided to pack everything and head to Kiama. It took a while for us to pack and clean everything, but we eventually made it to the cars and got on the road again. After a few hours driving we arrived at our destination, and we found a beach break that looked ok. We went out and it got better as we were surfing, we all had a lot of fun, a bunch of school kids came out and ripped.
After that session we found a place to stay in Kiama and went to bed early because we were exhausted.
Well that’s pretty much all, this is my last blog because I am going back home tomorrow. I feel a little sad to miss the rest of the trip because I am sure that they’re going to score from Sydney to the Gold Coast, and I am going to miss the girls, Miller, Zaz, Ryan… But it also feels good to go back home after a long journey, and hopefully we will do another road trip somewhere else some day. It was a really fun trip and feel really lucky that I’ve been part of it. I’ll be checking the blog everyday so I’ll keep following the adventure…
Until the next surf trip! Check out the photos.
Lee-Ann
Our first day here in this sweet little town, and the day started off a little later than the previous days on the trip, as we all decided that we deserved a lay in. Excited and revived from our rest we heading straight to the beach, checking all the spots along the way in hope of some clean surf. No such luck for us, as each spot we checked was blown out and un-surfable. Having driven for nearly an hour, we decided to hit this really really good pie shop the Rainbow pie shop in Milton, witch also happened to have a lolly shop right next to it. Excitement set in as we ordered in abundance. Everyone had a pie of some sorts and afterwards visited the lolly shop to take care of that sweet tooth.
Having fueled up on some crazy good pies and sweets we heading back towards the beach, fingers crossed that the last spot we would check would be a little more sheltered from the wind.
A fat left-hander with a clean face offered us some fun waves. Lee-Anne killing it on the short board with some slashing backhand turns, while Lindsay showed off her stylish backhand floaters, smooth and effortless.
This wave offered only an hour of surf, as the tide got a little too high and the wave stopped braking. Starved and really to hit the showers, we headed back to camp and cooked up a BBQ,
Day 11 a craft noon to remember
We saw the potential for the waves the day before so we got motivated and set our alarms to get up early. We woke up at 6am ran down the forest to check the surf, before having tea, or breakfast, but onshore wind, and rain showers send us all back to our sleeping bags.
Kassia and Lee-Anne decided to go brave the victory at sea and surf the beach brake down the street. In the meantime Jen, Lindsay and I headed to the hardware store and bought 5 cans of spray-paint with the intentions of getting creative back at the camp.
We all meet up back at the house, and we decided to get all Cray Cray on the tent, and some random pieces of canvas, so we spent the afternoon making stencils, and transformed an average tent into a master piece. Then we decided to head to the movie store, and have a movie night
Day 11 has been one of my favorite days on the Road trip, as this lay day gave us all the opportunity to show off our creative skills. I was pleasantly surprised with everyone’s skills, especially Lindsay stencils. Fingers crossed the surf is fun in the morning
This is my third trip to Australia. Before coming to this road trip I had been to Coolangata in the summertime (it was flat pretty much all the time) and to North Narrabeen. Today my opinion of Australia’s waves has definitely changed. We woke up around eight and went to the spot in front of our caravan park. There was 5 to 6 foot solid waves and no one out. We surfed there for a couple of hours, got barreled and got worked too. The longboarders really impressed me, especially Jen who was taking off on bombs with her John Peck style, it was pretty sick.
Then we ate a second breakfast, and Jen and I went back out front for another surf. But with the low tide the conditions were pretty extreme, and even if I saw some crazy right hand barrels I wasn’t able to make the take off. So we came in after an hour to surf another place that looks a lot like a famous wave of Basque Country, Mundaka.
The waves were small, maybe 2 to 3 foot but rippable and you could see the potential of the sand bank, if it was a bit bigger. So we surfed, surfed and surfed until it got dark, and I wasn’t really able to move a muscle after that third session. Everybody was stoked about that day and we all went to bed with smiles on our faces.
And then comes…
DAY 9: ON THE ROAD AGAIN
We woke up this morning really tired and sour from yesterday. We checked the surf and nobody was really motivated, the water was brown because of all the rain and the waves didn’t look so good. So we packed all of our stuff in a record time of 30 minutes and hit the road to Uladula. On the way we stopped on a really good beach break near a jetty and surfed for 2 hours. The rain stopped during the whole session, which was good because as soon as we went back into the cars it started again, heavier than ever.
We arrived in Uladula around 7 pm and struggled to find a place to sleep. But fortunately Zaz the photographer was there, and he has a friend here who owns a Caravan park in front of one of the best spots of the area (can’t tell the name, it’s a secret…). Only thing is, he hadn’t seen him for 15 years. After a few phone calls it eventually all worked out and we could unpack everything in our new home: two rooms with six beds in each, a table and a few spiders that we killed one by one (sorry but we had to).
We went to check the waves, and to do that we had to walk through a deep and scary rainforest, that was cool even if we almost got lost.
The waves were huge, so we will definitely wait for the swell to drop before we surf there.
Well that’s all for today, hope that it wasn’t too annoying and that you guys didn’t fall asleep on your computers…
Until the next blog!
Lee-Ann
Hi all
Day 7 and we decided to pack up our stuff and check out of the campsite to head back on the road, with yet another very early start having heard of swell up the coast. A 4 hour drive lay ahead of us with some very stormy conditions to drive through. So having packed up and filled up on gas, we powered through the first half of the drive. Rain forced us to stop and fix straps on the car, while water dripped and dripped on us all inside, we laughed and entertained our selfs through the second half of the car journey. It rained hard and fast, forcing us to stop in a small town, which happen’d to offer some really good waves. We made an executive decision to stop and check into a campsite asap.
Having checked in and unpacked, we looked at every point in that area. To our surprise we found a mini Mundaka, with some perfect nose riding conditions for those of us with longboards, while a heavier right around the corner offered some sucky conditions for Lyndsay and Leanne. Jen, Kass and i were just gagging to get out there on those magical left hand peelers. While the short boarder girls surfed the right. The left was just pure magic, with glassy conditions, friendly locals, and loads of waves for everyone. We broke out the alaya, shortboards, Twin fins and longboards. Miller even had a couple on the bodyboard with his Camera set up and, Ryan also styled out on the alaya. By the end of the session we even had Lyndsey and Leanne join us on longboards.
This is exactly what this road trip is all about, driving on the road in search of perfect surf, with the most stylish crew of surfer girls and crazy good photographers, and Videographers to document the whole journey.
The day finished with us all getting out of the water with big grins on our faces and spaghetti arms. We decided to stay in this area for a few more days and surf the spots that we had found, especially knowing that the swell was picking up here and the conditions would give us some barrels in the morning.
Stoked on day 7, and really looking forward to what’s on offer for tomorrow.
What this space people because tomorrow could be another magical session. Check out the photos!
The alarms went off at 4 am this morning way to early and everyone stumbled into the kitchen eyes still half closed trying to wake themselves up with some tea and coffee and fill our stomachs so we could function. The call had been made to leave Victoria as the wind ,wave, and weather conditions looked more favourable. So we gathered all our gear together, loaded up the vans, and hit the highway bound for the waters of southern NSW in search of some more fun waves and uncrowded locations which that region is know for.
Our convouy was already on the road before the sun had risen. We decided to check a few last spots on the way out of Victoria. We got in and out of the car checking spot after spot, thinking that the next beach would be better than the last. After a few hours of not finding quite what we were looking for it was decided just to head straight for the border.
The road trip felt like it had finally began with a solid 6 hour drive ahead of us. We traded stories listend to music and slept. The funnest part of the day was when we pulled over for a toilet stop and stretch our legs next to a park and found the best zip line just waiting for us to play on. We all took turns flying across the park and inventing new ways to ride it, as you’ll see in the photos..
After that fun little pit stop the road winded on until we finally reached our destination, the last town in victoria. Just before the border of NSW we saw some amazing forest scenery . We passed a gathering of about 20 local Kangaroos on the golf course on our way into town and just had to stop and take some snaps with them. Slightly delerious from our long drive everyone suddenly came alive when we jumped out of the car checked out a little beach break and saw some clean glassy barrels coming through , Lee Ann was first out there and scored a few fun barrels but here session came to an end when she pulled into a barrel got clipped and ended up getting a fin to her lip, ouch. as she went in to ice her lip before the swelling got to bad, the rest of us got a few more waves and enjoyed the beautiful sunset through the parting crowds and to top it off a rainbow, with just the three of us left out there… feels good to be on the road. Check out the photos!!!
