Flying solo - Yamba

Date of arrival: Tuesday 9th April
Date of departure: Saturday 1st June
Coordinates: -29.43712 153.360, NSW
Soundtrack: Alexi Murdoch, All My Days/ Breathe (I recommend listening to these on iTunes/YouTube while reading)

'I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be' - Albert Einstein

A very new but good friend gave me some wise advice before I left the UK. She had just got back from travelling herself and encouraged me to have a few 'yes days'. Esentially, days which urge us to respond to arising opportunities with a simple yes and follow through accordingly. Easy right? But think how many times a day you say no and reel off a list of excuses of why you've got to do this and that or get here/ there for a specific time. Constantly rushing. Rarely slowing down enough to concentrate on the thing you're actually doing because you're already thinking about what needs to be done next. When I think about it, I actually say no quite a lot.
Cue Yamba.

I arrived in Yamba at noon by car. Robyn and Phil kindly gave me a lift up from Sawtell. I checked in with Justin, one of the family who owns the YHA. His brother, Shane, lent over his shoulder and told me that his famous 'Ten Buck Tour' was setting off at 1pm. I had an hour to eat lunch, dump my stuff in my room and get back down. My first "yes" was put to test.
A little background information on Shane's famous tour is imparative at this point. A friend I met in Newcastle got to Yamba a few days before me, whilst I was still in Coffs. She had told me how pretty Yamba was and how if I chose to stop there (my original plan was to go straight to Lennox) I had to go on Shane's tour. Fraustratingly, I can't reveal too much about Shane's tour. The beauty is in it's surprise, it's a little bit of silly genius and I can't spoil it for the next backpacker. I can say it involves a good deal of adrenaline, cliff jumping, laughing, crying and certainly some suprises. It's also great to go on Shane's tour if someone has personally been on it and emplored you to go on it. Even better still if Shane recalls your referee. Sorry for all the cryptic.
Anyway, after Shane's tour, which finished around 5pm I had a shower and put my face on for the party downstairs (by this point I was easily reeling of the "yes'"!).

It's not unheard of for a little bit of drinking to go on in the evening in Yamba. It's pretty much compulsary after a standard day. In fact a typical day in Yamba usually consits of the following agenda:

6-7am. Wake up. Brush teeth. Moan about hangover. Vow not to drink for a week. Breakfast & coffee (maybe two of the latter). Don swimwear/ wetsuit. Head to the best beach according to the swell/ wind. Surf. Do this for hours. Do this with friends and on some days with dolphins. Yes, surf with dolphins right next to you. And probably sharks, but don't look for those... Oh look, it's a miracle - the hangover has gone!
12pm. Lunch. Gorge ravenously - surfing all morning!?
1-4.30pm. Afternoon surf session or cliff jumping if the wind has changed too much. Or, skate session/ walk along beach listening to music/ film (if you're boring)? Basically, free time to do whatever you decide will be the most fun. Unless you're one of the (un)lucky people who have scored some work hours here in Yamba, in which case, work. Snore.
5-7pm. Happy hour at the YHA. Break morning vow. Oh dear.
7pm onwards. Live music, of which there has been some amazing bands, Finding Harold Bloom and Dubbaray to name a couple. Lots of dancing and drunken shenanigans and invariably, a big beach bonfire to cap it all off. With a little more alcohol thrown in for good luck. Sorry mum.

I was fortunate to meet a great guy in Shaun when I arrived here, I won't big him up too much though, he has a big enough ego as it is (har-har). He managed a Spanish tapas bar up the hill and employed me on my 5th day. At this point I had about $50 to my name. Luke had transfered over some of his savings from the UK to our joint account but that would just be cheating.
I worked at the tapas pretty much every day from then until it closed on Sunday 28th April. I enjoyed the work at the tapas, not to mention the tequila shots and free dinners! The work paid for my accomodation and food bills the first couple of weeks. It was quite sad to say goodbye to Shaun when he left for Sydney to manage the tapas restaurant there for the same owners. I met the owners actually, they were lovely and offered me the opportunity to work for them there or at least the security of knowing I could get some work somewhere, if ever needed. The tapas closed down because of their success with their Sydney venues and the arrival of a new little person in this world. They have their hands full enough already without having to manage another restaurant 8 hours away. The locals all miss it though.

I was then employed one day a week by the sailing club's commedore who also runs a skills based programme for primary schools called SMASH. I travelled down to Grafton on Fridays with him and helped set up a 14 base circuit with a variety of different skill-set activities where I then taught my own classes! It was so much fun working with the children. I can see how teaching is rewarding in that most of the children made such fast and noticable progress. Very rewarding indeed!
Along with the Friday work I was also teaching Spanish to two beatuful little boys on Monday afternoons and filling the rest of my down time with cleaning work at the hostel, to earn my accomodation. So the agenda then became:
6-7am. Wake up. Brush teeth. Moan about hangover. Vow not to drink for a week. Morning Surf/ run/ walk. Breakfast & coffee (definitely two of the latter!).
10-12pm. Clean hostel.
12pm. Lunch. Gorge eve more ravenously than the weeks before!
12.30-2.30pm. Clean.
3-5pm. Grab snack and down to beach for second surf/ walk.
5-7pm. Happy hour. Vow broken. Cold beer and SIT DOWN!
7pm onwards. Live music. Beer pong spectating (promise). Bed (10pm?).
Phew! When I eventually left Yamba for Byron I was in need of a good break to recover from all the Yamba madness!

I celebrated my 24th birthday in Yamba amongst my lovely Yamba family. Luke tripped down from Byron, where he was in full swing of his dive masters course and I had the most remarkable day. It started with a little drizzle (heavy Aussie rain) but my day brightened after I surfed in on my best wave at Turners with my friend Hanneke. When we made our way back out again I was honoured with birthday greetings from the dolphins. (Don't worry, I'm not THAT ego-centric but a girl can at least dream!). At the end of my day, after a lovely picnic with Luke and a gourmet dinner in a romantic restaurant in Angourie, I was 'surprised' (monumentally - to the point of near heart-attack) by the Yamba clan in the upstairs common room. With all my lovely friends present, I was bestowed a fabulous, home-made organic dark chocolate and ginger cake. I don't think I could have asked for a better day or nicer people to celebrate with.

In Yamba, time appears to slow down. There's too much fun to be had now to be thinking about tomorrow and aside the morning hangover, only the fondest of memories for yesterday. During my stay i've met some really amazing people that I know i'll stay in touch with beyond my travels here in Australia. They've become my surrogate family. The Yamba family. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to this place but I have learnt to accept that moments should be embraced and ejoyed for what they are then happily and willingly let go of, ready to accept the next one. I realised this in Yamba and that's why it will always hold a special little place in my heart.

Adieu, Yamba.