Bondi Good-Times

Greetings family and friends!

Unbelievably it is only 1 month until we are home again! Wow.
Our time here has gone in such rushing waves. Riding lulls of dragging time, sunshine and flat whites; and surging head-first towards our homeward instincts and non-refundable tickets.
It will not be long until we are sitting in your living rooms, on your patios, chatting oz talk and dishing out souvenirs. (You're all getting vegemite).

Today I spent the morning at Bondi, taking in my last surfing lesson (Thanks mom!); perfecting my technique. It was really nice to go back with a bit more skill under my belt and a bit more confidence. The huge 9 footers that they surf were so easy to get up on compared to my Yater, so our instructor switched me down to an 8' which was great. After paddling around in the whitewash the instructor took myself and another 2 blokes out past the break for some bigger waves. The rip was really strong, so it was, thankfully, an easy paddle. Story short, I caught a really amazing wave and had the longest ride that I have ever had. Amazing. Surfing is such an addiction. As soon as you get a nice wave like that you just want to charge out and get another. Even though I had to spend most of my time in the white wash, the instructor gave me a couple of pointers on my style, which I think is really going to help once I'm out on my own again. There was one other guy in the class that was catching the big waves and after the lesson he offered to give me a ride into Central Station (bonus because the Bondi buses are always packed and are super slow). Despite the beach-bum persona which most people associate with surfers, this guy must be a super businessman by day, because he had a sweet, black roadster convertible (likeness shown above). Amusingly, I went to the driver's side to get in, forgetting about the opposite-side stearing. So, not only did I catch my best wave to date, I also rode in my first convertible today. Top-down, cruising the streets of Sydney, feeling the wind in my face and the sand and salt in my ears. I think this weekend he might come up to Manly to surf with Jeff and I. All in all, a very good day.

I've also just purchased our tickets to Christchurch. We will officially be flying into New Zealand on the 29th of June, and will be returning to Sydney on July 5th. Hopefully we'll be able to stay a night or two with our friend Lindsay in Dunedin and with Sean's parents at their B&B. We're planning on renting a car for the week (it's quite cheap) and have basically mapped out a route down the East coast and then up along the mountains to the glaciers along the West. Even if the country is covered in snow, it should be an amazing trip. Everything that I have heard about New Zealand has been fantastic. Hopefully we'll be able to afford a few of the adventure activities that NZ is so famous for.

Well, we are sincerely looking forward to seeing everyone again. Getting home to Ohia, Ottawa, old haunts, friends and family. Our time is feeling extremely short now, only one more rent to pay. Jeff is seriously looking forward to finishing off work next week and celebrating his birthday. It is going to be an exciting few weeks all around.

Lots of hugs,
Tia