Cultural Experiences - Surfing and People

One of the great things about living in a place like Crescent Head is the unique experiences of having the world come to you. (although on our other blog EarthSeaTravel we do like to find new places).

If we can describe the sights and surf that has been here since December, you may very well think we are describing the book "A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens.

The one thing that has been reasonably consistent is reasonable surf with the ever present summer wind...... the good 'ol nor easter. This week however all things aligned and the surf was epic. Locals and visitors alike enjoyed the swell delivered by cyclone Winston, our thoughts go to the Fijians, who caught the full force.

To get back to the description of a Tale of Two Cities, December began as is usual for the tourist season, with the town abuzz with activity, locals disappearing into the background, and the surf being ok.
A good vibe for a great little town - Crescent Head - not much more than 1000 people in the winter, mostly permanent residents.
With the ever increasing popularity of surfing and the cashed up retirees and more affluent society, most people can get in the surf on some sort of craft and have some fun..........as long as there is respect for everyone in the water. Sometimes it turns sour when people think they are Kelly Slater or for the old guys Midget Farrelly, then not only is it embarrassing, but it is very annoying. We like to be laid back here.

The one thing you learn living in a place like this is how people change very quickly when they are focused on themselves and what it is that gratifies them. We had a hell of a problem with parking. No one would share, people set up their vans to "camp in" therefore completely choking not only the surf but the access to others for a surf. Now, apparently, in some places like Europe this is accepted camping behaviour. Free camping, in a van anywhere safe.
Other people were the "old surfers".......you know the ones that used to surf, then became corporate giants, then retired, then became experts in everything surfing........including but not limited to......."we used to camp in our vans back in the 60s here mate, whats happened to this place? " Well its 2016 and corporate giants managed to put a price on everything to make profits. Everything now has a price even for the bastards with more money than the lattes they consume.

Hang on this article is getting a bit dark......well it is a Tale of Two cities...right?

Anyway all this parking stuff is getting sorted out by our local council.......so in God we trust.......

So if we can move on from this peak season uncomfortableness? Most surfers were pretty good to each other and a lot went home to wherever that is. ( Betya can't leave rubbish lying around wherever they came from or piss next to the car).

The beauty of all this is that we still have friends across the entire world that when met one on one blow you away. I am yet to meet anyone who is not exactly the same as you or I in terms of there wants and needs. Especially surfers, they have very simple needs and only want for good surf, travel and good times. Thats about it. They all have their homeland cultures ,unique to their part of the world. Great things we can all learn from and share.

We had the second half of our "Tale of Two cities" this week (FEB). The surf had built to a border line big and surfers were getting both smashed and bombs. As part of a tour by a Peruvian contingent, they visit Surfing Reserves of which Crescent Head is one. These guys were humble, great surfers, and the cultural demonstration of their traditional surf(craft) board making was like a spiritual experience.

As people came and watched this craft being made, somehow there was a communal focus on the beauty of the craft and the way in which it was being patiently constructed. Even the local school brought their students to The Point to watch how this reed craft was made. Not one bored look came across any of the students faces and they were invited to help build this wonderful water craft.

The surf was pumping the crowd large but all were fascinated by this cultural experience.

The craft was built in about one and a half hours and then was taken out for a ride. All class, and dignity.

So there we have it within 2 months of December and we had 2 tales of a small coastal town, filled with culture both visiting and existing.

BOB SMITH
Bob Smith is a common english name especially around places like Crescent Head. Well this BOB Smith is by no means an ordinary man, he is a Dunghutti Elder from this part of Australia. An indigenous man, softly spoken, knowledgeable, and was our man to welcome the Peruvians in a traditional and cultural way. He explained where the Dunghutti people owned the land before english settlement, and to be honest ,it is the most amazing country you will ever find in Australia. Stretching from the coast to the escarpment that surrounds The Macleay Valley, Hastings Valley and Nambucca Valley where they once roamed proud and free.
I managed to find him standing alone after the welcoming and went and introduced myself. I am a typical white, blond haired, surfer looking dude and he shook my hand. After congratulating him on his welcoming speech, I wanted so desperately to ask him why his people could not do a similar thing as the Peruvians, surely living in this country there must have been ancient surf craft? After some time discussing where his people live, I raised the subject of Aboriginal surf craft. He looked at me with saddened eyes and a soft voice and simply said " We have nothing like that, our language was taken away by churches, our people were taken away by governments we had no way of passing on our history". I clinically asked "the churches took your language away?" Yes, he explained,  if any Indigenous person on a church mission spoke their native tongue they were punished badly. I then moved from clinical questions, like that of a newspaper reporter, and asked with deep compassion, Bob we must start to try and find the answers so we can start doing what the Peruvians are doing, and many other cultures?
While he seemed to agree, I for one found it it hard to answer my own question.

So in the end it is  a "Tale of Three Cities" 1. Disrespecting visitors (not all) 2. Centre of surfing culture 3. Dunghutti land.

Aloha