Thursday, August 25, 2011

My new board

It will be winging its way to me next week!!

Check it out here!!
http://www.blackapachesurfboards.com.au/uncategorized/mini-simmons-deluxe-for-hannah/

5 feet and six inches of magenta goodness!!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Cottesloe in Winter

Cottesloe morning - search II

cycle
Cottesloe morning - search


fisheyeApril - 10

It is almost Spring :]

By the pool

So I haven't been well for the rest of the trip. Managed to drag myself around to a few shops with my mum on the last day. That was about all the shopping I ended up doing. Dad, Rich and Em all surfed on the last day, but I know I'm sick when I can't get excited about surfing. So the most energetic thing I got up to was lying by the pool and doing a cryptic crossword with my mum.

This is what else was happening earlier on in the week.
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Fun with the nephews

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Baby pool time!
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Cocktails

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Bali - surf expeditions - part 2


























Blair in Bali
Dad finding a few last waves at Legian before returning home to Winter

Canggu Trips
In the minivan! Click to enlarge these shots... :)
A rainbow assortment of gear: 6 surfboard, 7 people and no roof racks
Richard checking the peaks
We missed the offshores on our second trip
A few coffees overlooking the bay
Fun in the reforms

Hotel

Sneaky right - Legian


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Mint.


Mint., originally uploaded by Hannah Katarski.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Tidak bagus & Bali nightlights

Two days of our trip have been spent feeling very fragile. Both James and I had an attack of Bali belly or some derivative. Stomach cramps all Wesnesday. The night was a tag-team, world of pain and we still felt very tender Thursday.

So. Instead of more about that, here are some photos of the lovely lanterns around Legian and Seminyak.
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Legian night lights

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I just wasn't well enough to surf for the remainder of the trip, even though my dad had so much fun on Saturday that he had to go out twice. It's my fourth trip to Bali and I've never been sick before, so I guess that's pretty goods odds.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Canggu - stoked in Bali - Surf Expeditions Part 1

We went to Canggu on Tuesday too. Only, this time the dude with the van didn't have roof racks. Turns out you can still get six surfboards across Bali sans racks. All you need is a strap or two...
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Dad really hoping his kneeboard, the shortest and least secure on the roof, makes it to the beach!
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The conditions were similar, but the wind was already in when we arrived. Doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference here, unlike home. Felt a lot more confident today and caught more waves even though it wasn't as clean.
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Bit of a paddle out. Crapper but more crowded.
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This was our last chance for some waves before the swell kicked up. Thursday was 14ft instead of the 7 and 8 of the previous days.

Post surf happiness:

Tugu in Canggu

Bali Bagus!

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We are in Bali! We've had a terrific couple of days. Sunday we went for a surf right out the front of the hotel. The shape is very dependent on the tide here and it's taken us a few days to get the gist of it. A few swims in the pool. A trip up to the 'Bintang markets' on some bogus information meant we didn't find any markets. turns out it's a supermarket specialising in beige food. Deep fried stuff, biscuits, noodles, anything lacking in nutritional content. Then we walked back from Seminyak to Legian.

As there are 18 of us over here for James' 30th, we've had no shortage of people to eat with and do things with.
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Monday was James' birthday. 6 of us piled into a van, stacked 6 boards on the roof and drove to Canggu. We surfed at Tuggu while the birthday boy enjoyed the coffee overlooking the breaks and being chatted up by the waitress. The waves were really nice, but Leeann, Rich and I wasted a bit of time trying to catch soft reforms when we should have gone straight out the back. Once I went out the back I only caught three waves before the tide got too high and the swell died. All hands and boards made it back safely.

Nasi goreng at the hotel before we shot off into Kuta to meet James' family at the water bomb park. Unfortunately we didn't realize the cost to get in! $26US per person. Between the 6 of us we had enough to get 3 or 4 people in. In the end, the others went off to do some shopping and James and I went in alone. Found the family and had a great time creating log jams on the river with all of James' siblings. Going random on the watersides was also great fun and we got braver and braver. Hayley went on the climax slide - the one where you get closed in a clear capsule - and can proudly say she is one of the people that got stuck and had to climb out the hatch. If you don't weigh enough or aren't going fast enough, you don't make it through the loop the loop and slide backwards, til you stop and get rescued out the hatch!

We had dinner back at the hotel as they had a seafood BBQ. So great that James could spend the evening with friends and family who were able to come over for the occasion.
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The campest maitre'd sang Happy Birthday, Marilyn Monroe style then was led around the dance floor by Jim. Here he is getting a skate helmet from his mates.
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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sunny Sunday

Day at Turtles
Today was wonderful. We're back to our usual Winter weather for a few days; blue skies and 20 degrees.
Finally found some surf somewhere with shape. Leighton was glassy with some nice a-frame peaks. Managed a roundhouse style cutback on my mal which made my day. Then James met me at the beach with a coffee and we went for a skate on the super smooth, new hot mix paths.
The afternoon has been spent sitting in the sunshine, drinking tea and binding a new 'colour study' sketch book.

Roast for dinner. Perfect end to any weekend.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Kombi Kamping

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that as a teenager I wanted to one day own a kombi of my own. My uncle had a metallic blue one when I was a kid. The bohemian, travelling, drifter in us all can't help but be seduced by them. Travelling wherever the wind or whim takes you... whether it be a perfect point break, deserted forest trails or into the throng of a festival. Supremely customisable, archaically functional - if a little quirky - with oh so much personality.
For some, the dream remains a dream. Others commit to the tweaking and tinkering that comes with the reward of ownership and the sweet, sweet freedom.


Paint job for the kombi
It can be hard to balance responsible, adult life with the desire to escape and take off. I find my balance here.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Winter

The sun is shining today! It has been a while. We've had front after front pass the south of the coast and whilst we've had swell, it's been accompanied by gale force, onshore winds. Not pretty. I've ordered my mini simmons. Magenta. It should be finished up and arrive just after we get back from Bali. Bali is now just 8 days away and the warmth will be welcome. Couldn't quite wrap my head around the thought of surfing without a steamer. It will be sweet.
In the meantime, the winds have finally swung offshore, there is swell lingering and we're heading to the beach this arvo. At work today I had these guys playing outside my office window. Red-tale black cockatoos. They're so majestic and big. Bigger than a crow or raven. They're an endangered species so you don't see so many of them around the city.