2/20/06
Surfing on the West Coast

We stopped in Margaret River to stay a couple of days. The area is getting a bit of an international name in it’s export of wine from the region, but it is also known for its beaches. We studied our road map and followed a line down to the coast from a town called Cowaramup. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it, because when you ad the Australian Accent to some of these names, all bets are off!

Gracetown was at the end of the paved road, and a dirt road led out of town to this quiet beach. As we started walking to the dunes, we noticed a lot of people headed our way with surfboards. They weren’t all unemployed twenty somethings living off their parent’s money, but some of them were much older. We knew we were here because we’re semi retired and traveling, but didn’t these people have jobs to go to on a Monday morning!?

A trail of surfers led the way down to the beach, and we found a small community of people all out riding the surf.

The water in the Indian Ocean was cold, so everyone was in wet suits. The foreshore was littered with submerged rocks, but once the surfers waded out past the rocks, they had clear surf.

The trick was to catch a good wave, ride it in as far as you could, and dump out before running over the rocks. The waves were sporadic where lulls would have everyone waiting for the next set of big waves, but it was fun watching the waves as much as I’m sure it was for the surfers to ride them!

I found out later that this area hosts an annual surfing competition, and the beaches we visited were considered world class beaches for surfing. These beaches, the good food, and beautiful scenery have caused many West Australians to move to the beaches. Property is still relatively cheap when compared to the rest of the country, and there is still a lot of beach front property left to develop. Baby Boomers retiring early, telecommuters, or people simply looking for a simpler life are changing the face of these communities. Australians call these people moving to the beach, “Sea Changers.”

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