The title is a rather bold claim I realize, but this past weekend was absolutely EPIC!
We left Sydney around 4 pm on Thursday and drove a little over 5 hours North to Crescent Head. Since we were caravanning up to Byron with Morgan, Andy and Jamie, we had 3 vehicles for sleeping accommodations. The views were nice, since we were parked right there at the beach park looking out over the ocean. What wasn't nice was sleeping in the back of the White Chariot since it was cramped, hard and not too spacious. Believe me when I tell you that it was one of the worst nights of sleep I have had since leaving Micronesia. But the terrible night of sleep had one advantage; I was up at the crack of dawn watching the waves and taking photos. After 20 minutes the guys finally woke and we debated whether to surf there since the winds were whipping incredibly hard offshore. I finally convinced them we should go out, and it was a good thing because we surfed the place alone. Had a great wave, but it was a tough place to surf with all the wind. However, the highlight of my session had to be when a pod of dolphins cruised by on there way up the point. Veronica can attest that the dolphins were literally 5 feet away from us as she was hanging out on top of the headland. It was pretty incredible. Veronica then went for a run along the beach, we caught some more waves, and then the pod of dolphins swam back by us.
After scarfing some pies and chocolate milk we continued the road journey North. The drive was much more enjoyable in the daylight. Arrived at Lennox Head around 4'ish to some ugly waves. Jamie, Veronica and myself parted ways from Andy and Morgan and headed 5 minutes South to Ballina where we were staying. Our cabin in the caravan park was quite nice, and after taking a nice shower we headed into Byron for dinner. Had dinner at Orgasmics, the falafal place we loved last time. While it was good, it just didn't seem as good this time around. After a few beers at a pub where we were supposed to meet up with everyone, we left. Got back to the car to discover an $81 parking ticket, for not reversing into the parking space. DOH!
Woke up quasi early after a nice sleep to go for a surf before the festival started. Got to Lennox Head, and it was SO good. Like a dummy I decided to drive to Broken Head to see if it might be better, it wasn't, and drove back to Lennox Head for a session. Besides falling on the rocks trying to get out, the session was absolutely perfect. Flawless 3 to 4 foot lines rolled around the big headland, where they would shelf up and zip down the boulder strewn point. And the icing on the cake, there were only 3 other guys out with us. To score such an iconic wave doing it's thing, with no one out is like finding Nirvana. I had two of the best backside waves of my life and I damn near cried when we paddled in so we wouldn't be late for the concert.
The glorious surf was followed by an awesome day at Splendour in the Grass. Got picked up at the caravan park by a charter bus and driven right to the gates. Started the day at the burrito tent for some fuel, and then we got down to business. First band we saw was Operator Please, followed by The Fratelli's. Took a bit of a break, and then we went to watch Cold War Kids. Frigging awesome set, 'Hospital Beds' was greatness, and they ended with 'Saint John'. We practically ran to one of the other stages to catch Band of Horses midset. Arrived just as they started playing 'Ode to LRC' and it was a sensational set. Just bummed that those two sets were overlapping, but that is the downside to huge festivals. After Band of Horses, Dallas band The Polyphonic Spree followed. Tim DeLaughter brought down the house with an awesome set. Devo followed at the main stage, and by that point it had gotten REAL cold in the fields of Byron. Luckily there were huge bonfires around the grounds, and massive amounts of people were huddled around trying to get warm. Our bus picked us up at 12:20, and we were exhausted.
Woke up Sunday morning spent. Way too tired for a surf, we opted to get a cab into Byron to have a good cup of coffee and breakfast. Our driver pointed us to a great cafe with a killer cappuccino, and a magnificent bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado on toasted Turkish bread. The sandwich was heavenly, and Veronica and I contemplated moving North just for this cafe (of whom I have forgotten the name!). Met up with Morgan and Charlotte and headed into the concert. Got to the main stage just as Vampire Weekend was coming onto the stage. These kids were the highlight of the festival for V and I. 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' and 'A-Punk' were outstandingly good, but when they closed the set with 'Walcott', my favorite song from their album it was ethereal! Had to take a break after that as I was still shaking with adrenaline. Had some chips and guacamole, wandered around to the main stage to see The Grates, an Australian band with a female lead singer who was rocking a Batgirl outfit. Super cool duds, and some great tunes. Then we went to another stage to see Lyrics Born and met up with our friends. We took a break at the Guzman y Gomez tent where Veronica found a ticket band. Subsequently Andy was called since he did not have a ticket, and he made his way to the concert. We made our way back to the main tent to see Sigur Ros. There set was sweet, but not quite as cool as they were when V & I saw them at the Hawaii State Theatre. However, I think the indoor venue was better suited to their music. But I digress, Andy made it to the concert in time for Wolfmother. Such a great performance, and it was insane getting to see them from such a close spot in the tent. That closed the show, and an epic weekend.
Monday was spent on the road. Utterly exhausted, yet still glowing from a kick ass weekend of music and uncrowded waves. Not gonna lie, it's been real tough being back at work. Tougher still, Veronica got sent out in the field today, so she will be gone the rest of the week. Bummer.
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