The Amazing East Coast: Camping From Sydney to Byron Bay
Gear Supply Ambassador Harry hit the road on a wintery Friday night.
The plan was simple; camping and surfing up the coast from Sydney to Byron. It was only a weekend adventure but sometimes the best memories are made when you escape the urban oppression of city life and head straight into the wild.
Two of my favourite places on the Northern New South Wales coast are Crescent Head and Yamba - I planned to stay at both. The trip was amazing with spatters of sunshine amidst the tempestuous weather.
Below are a few standout moments of the adventure.
Fire on the beach after a surf in Crescent Head
Sharing waves with only a few people is one of the best times you can have in the ocean. This stretch of beach was deserted, there were no houses or any man made structures. I surfed from dawn until breakfast in fun head-high waves. When my feet hit the sand afterwards I didn’t feel like joining the bustling cafes of Crescent Head, I wanted a quieter start to the day. Gathering wood for a fire I stopped to take in the quiet and the lack of people - even being away from the city only 12 hours makes your eyes widen and and your ears focus.
I built a small beach fire just like my parents taught me, the teepee method, and cooked sausages over the crackling flames. I sat there and watched the tide come in and the clouds roll over. It was going to rain and I was lucky that I had had the waterproof MadWater Duffel to tuck my gear into. I waited a while in the rain, feeding more wood into the fire to keep it lit. The waves got bigger with the tide until I couldn’t take it anymore. I combed my wax, tightened my fins with the Leatherman Thruster and paddled back out.
Oysters from Yamba
I’d surfed a windswept beach break with no one else in the water for a half hour. Over 24 hours the wind and rain had swept in and made a mess of the ocean, it was unrideable. Defeated I began my drive to Byron. I was almost outside of Yamba when the sign fresh oysters caught my eye.
With a dozen oysters on my lap and the wind whipping at my hair I couldn’t have been happier! Oysters take on the flavours of their habitat: if you can get them fresh, you’ll really be able to taste the coastal waters of where it grew up,. These oysters were from Yamba and they were mildly sweet and well textured. I flicked the Leatherman Crater out, sliced the connecting tissue and shucked the oysters eagerly. It was a lavish moment on a shoestring budget trip and I savoured it.
Fire on the beach in Byron Bay
After two days in solitude it’s always nice to run into a familiar face. Mostly for their company but also because I think it’s better to take pictures with people in them. My friend Mikey was in Byron and we caught up for a few fireside drinks and some outdoor dinner. The Leatherman Crater came out again as the perfect bottle opener and sausage chopper - snags over the fire were the staple food item on the trip. We surfed together the next morning, the sun came out and the wind dropped. The waves weren’t big but they were silky smooth and the water clarity was exceptional. I got in the car for the return to Sydney and was surprised I hadn’t thought about work or city life. Just two days of camping had silenced the need for career progression and adult responsibility. The whole drive back I was planning my next adventure.
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