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(Trying to) Hang 10 in Yamba

AUSTRALIA | Wednesday, 22 July 2009 | Views [2886]

We arrived at the Yamba YHA late at night and got the tour of the "mansion" before bed. You could hardly classify this hostel as a backpackers, as it is fully equipped  with a full-service restaurant (that the locals love!), a pool, a table tennis room, and a rooftop deck that will soon double as an outdoor cinema. No wonder Yamba got voted #1 tourist destination in Oz!

The next morning, feeling well rested from our posh little bunks, co-owner of the Yamba YHA, Shane, took us out for a morning surf lesson. We hopped into our wetsuits and headed straight for the water, clearly learning on the spot. Talk about diving right in!

Shane got us onto the boards, set us up with the waves and instructed us on how to get up. Two hours later, after a slew of shaky attempts and wipeouts – we happily were standing up and riding the waves, even if only for a few triumphant moments. 

We we’re hooked, big time. The time seemed to fly and the freedom of the ocean rushed into our blood like the salt water into our lungs after a spill. Looks like Brenda at Let's Go Surfing might be getting a few more surfers in the water when we get back to Bondi!

After our first surf, we headed out on Shane’s famous tour of Yamba. Yamba is surrounded with 13 beaches and littered with countless picturesque views, overlooks, and bays -not to mention a saltwater lake, a river and freshwater pools – complete with cliff diving holes.  

As part of the tour we visited most of these stunning sights and concluded at the jumping holes, where we really couldn’t let down the 10 eight-year-olds watching nearby – who were eager for a show. So up we went, climbing the cliffs and leaping hopelessly from the top – a feat that won us a standing ovation from our enthusiastic audience, making it totally worth the cold shock!

We again too quickly bid farewell to our lovely Yamba hosts and sped off towards Byron Bay where a group of hungry backpackers were eagerly awaiting the free goon and sausage sizzle we were hosting at Nomads Byron Bay Backpackers to promote Van-Tastic Adventures and show off Geoff!

Tags: australia, byron bay, cliff jumping, nomads byron bay, party, road trip, surfing, van-tastic, van-tastic adventures, yamba

 

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