Just Around The Reef

One Hundred kilometres from the Melbourne City Centre there is a town, which people will name the "surfing capital" of Victoria. The cheerful place with lights and waves of serenity is just a small point on a 243 kilometre long road which is discribed as nothing other than "The Great Ocean Road" . This is the town where I annually experience a week of one of the greatest joys in my life. Surfing.

For all of the seasoned surfers, we will be able to agree that from the moment we were able to be flung forward on the wave, water spitting at us as we flew through the water, the shaky feelings of our arms as we lifted ourselves up and the incredible exhilarating knowledge that when our feet planted themselves on the board, we were hooked. For the amateur and beginner surfer, you must ensure that one day, whether at 6 or at 60, you get on a board and take yourself on an adventure like nothing you've experienced before hand. Your bucket list is screaming at you !

But Surfing isn't just a mental experience to enthral you, it also has many exceptional health benefits. The paddling required so that you can reach the waves provides a person with great cardiovascular fitness, and ensuring that you stay stable while surfing requires accurate core and leg strength, along with this, surfing can be an amazing source of help for those who struggle with sleep anemia or are light and easily disturbed sleepers.

Personally, my favourite concept of surfing is the mental strength that it pushes you to develop. from the first moment when you tie your strap to your leg, and dash into the waves without a second thought on a bitter winters morning, pushing yourself to not be mental of the freezing water which rushes from your exposed toes through your already soaked wetsuit and to your burning bones. The feeling of paddling under a sky filled with darkening clouds, and sitting in the back, drifting, waiting for the next set with only your endless wonders of the planet filling your head. The scent of salt air drenching the vibrancy of stillness surrounding you, and the buoyancy of your board as you bend your fingertips against the fibreglass of the board, raindrops falling and you standing, almost like a child learning to walk. First, you scrape your knee, then your foot slips from the raindrops, and finally, it feels like you could fly.

disclaimer: all images used in this post are found from Pinterest, if you know the owner please email my address so that I am able to give credit. Thank you