After yesterday’s steely gray skies and icy cold South West winds, which incidentally brought snow to parts of the southern and central tablelands of NSW, I awoke to sunlight streaming through the window. Things were considerably quieter in the Crescent Head house after the last of the boys up for the epic TG Invitational departed yesterday afternoon.
The new swell that was forecast to march up the NSW coast was not yet showing on the sheltered Crescent Head beach, so I decided to go for a quick run before breakfast. On arriving at the beach I discovered that Tommy had beat me to it – he’d just been for a 30min run up the beach and back and was proceeding to stretch down. Wasting no time, I got to it and 50mins later was kicking back with a fresh coffee and muesli on the sunny house balcony overlooking pristine Crescent Head with the boys, sharing tales of the weekend past.
You truly appreciate how beautiful a country we are blessed to live in when you visit country towns like Crescent Head. Looking north towards Hat Head with South West Rocks in the far distance, it is amazing how many untouched beaches with kilometres of bush backing onto them there are! I can only imagine the countless serene landscapes the MyPOWER Team have witnessed during their epic journey.
With Mereki embarking on a mission to treat his helmet to a new coat of paint and Anthony catching up on blog work, Tommy, Coggo and myself shot down to the beach for a surf before lunch. Yes, the swell had kicked during the morning and some pretty decent 2 foot waves were on offer.
Back from the surf and it was lunchtime! Ha, leftovers from last night’s incredible tuna and veggie bolognaise!!
Mereki’s sister Olivia and her friend Tal arrived early arvo – they are joining the Team until Thursday when the guys are due to arrive in Forster. It is great to see how crucial a role all the Team’s families have played in supporting their journey. With so much time on the road, travelling from place to place and especially during the super tough sections of the trip such as the Barkley Tablelands, to know you have the full support of those who are closest to you at home must be so comforting. I actually caught a glimpse of the little bucket that’s attached to the front of Tommy’s bike and there are two photos – one of his Mum and one of his sister – clearly he draws strength from thinking about his family and there is no doubt this is the same with the other guys.
With the tide coming in, Tommy, Mereki and myself go for yet another surf late in the arvo – conditions had improved significantly and we shared some super fun waves as the sun gradually made its way over the back of the mountains to the west of Crescent.
After our arms had nearly died from paddling, we headed back. As we made our way into our street we were confronted with the sweet smell of the BBQ firing on the balcony. Once again we ate like kings courtesy of Mereki on the BBQ along with Olivia and Tal preparing a mean salad!
We then kicked back with a chocolate paddlepop thanks to Anthony and watched 10,000 BC, which was a pretty cool movie!
That brought to a close a very full day at Crescent Head. I feel super privileged to have had the opportunity to hang out with the boys the past couple of days. Talking with them about the trials and tribulations of the trip and of course the fact that the epic journey is very close to completion, it is great to be able to share a brief moment of downtime with them. Although, I must add, that the guys haven’t just been lazing around trying to get rid of their bike rider tans. NO! The guys have been using the time to wash clothes, call media contacts and schools, finalise bike routes and accommodation for the next week, PLUS planning the final parts of the MyPOWER Festival at North Cronulla on their return day. There are definitely not many moments when the guys aren’t working on the MyPOWER project, which is incredibly inspiring to me.
Well, safe travels guys over the next 10 or so days and I look forward to catching up in Cronulla!
Joke of the day
Q: What do you call a grandpa in a canoe?
A: Paddle Pop
Celebrity Author: Pete Hunt