Posts Tagged ‘Australia’

This is pretty much how we spend most of the minutes of weekend daylight which are not spent piling up mud. Camp fires, talking shit, eating food and sitting in the hut. Occasionally, Liam trys to make Ed eat a whole sausage roll in one by putting it in his mouth and saying he can’t use his hands. Light entertainment.

So this time one year ago exactly Eddie and I were in Rockhampton, Queensland. We rode this sweet ass skatepark with a bunch of rad bowls and hips that you could roast realy fast. Afterwards, we went out and partied the shit out of the town, met some rad chicks and got loose. This was a good place to be, one of our (or at least my) favourite towns we visited.

This time two years ago Ollie and I were shredding the shit out of the Farm late at night. I remember the ride home vividly, we were both absolutely freezing and cranked hard the whole way back. Ollie had raw dogged his frame and I think I don’t think he had a choice in the polka dots I gave his bike.

Training the long hip at Slade’s, November 27th 2005. Little Tom from Croydon took this shot, Ollie, Tom and I were hanging out every day pretty much back then. Getting to know the lines at Slade’s was fun as shit, I couldn’t ride anything at all opposite back then but started to learn about this time. We used to do alot of partying in the Villa, and the Consortium Tuesdays, lots of drinking at Tom’s and in the SU bar Dylans at this time too. I think I also used to attend Uni in small amounts to for a while at this early stage.

Greetings fine persons. The past few days I’ve been working at an old airbase moving cars around. My preconceptions of this job were rad, drive around in flash new cars all day having fun. The reality is not going over 40 Mph most of the time, and driving up and down the same few routes all day getting really repetitive and brain numbing. Need to find a fun job now I’m done with uni. Thought I’d update with a bunch of photo’s from our Northbound journey at the start of our Australian trip.

Shepparton bowl tabletop

The first park we stopped at once we bought our van and hit the road was Shepparton in the North part of Victoria. This place was just a small town, but had a super rad park. It had a few big bowls, some good hips, random little boxes, banks and ledges, all sorts of rad obstacles. Good start to the trip’s riding, and just the tip of the spot iceberg.

Eddie laying it over

Don’t expect much more than table pictures!

Bar turn right out the park

Just another of the good little spots we hit up on our journey North through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This day was ridiculously hot, and made us dehydrated after each few minutes of the session. We had the place to ourselves, and had a real good time just pumping about and riding the two hips. We also eat some dialled pasties that day, I asked for a Cornish pasty and the shop keeper replied “they’re meat pasties; I don’t know if they’re Cornish though”. Pretty sure she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

Garrett inspired carve, the best fun on Cairns conrete

Eddie in the smaller cradle

Cairns Skate Park was probably the most obscene park I’ve ever seen from a distance unexpectedly. It was the type of place that I’d only ever seen before on Building the Underground, massive trannies, cradle bowls, clover bowl, vert walls, hips, tonnes of ledges, banks and street influenced obstacles around the perimeter of the bowls, everything anyone on a bike or board could dream of. These photo’s only really illustrate the main big bowls which linked together in a loop, which was probably just a quarter of the amazing concrete the place had on offer.

Big cradle, absolutely nuts. Has this photo been on here before?

Another table, this time on some big bowls

Cairns was always portrayed as the ultimate party town by all the travellers and travelling information I had heard from or read. When we got there, the place’s centre was not as big an area as we had expected. Also, the weather was nothing like the pictures on the post cards! Plus there were crocodiles in the ocean so you couldn’t swim anyway. We did have a real good time riding there though, sessioning the park in the town and also sneaking through the fence for an early morning ride at the private race track.
We did party a bit in Cairns, one night we went to some club called Soho, had to pay 15 bucks to get in and it turned out to be a cheesy dance club. We got real wild in there, rave dancing and meeting a whole heap of awesome people. I met this chick from Finland who was pretty much heaven, she was one of the most amazing girls I’ve ever met. Sadly, I didn’t manage to get in contact with her after that night though, which I was pretty devastated about. That night was so much fun.

Opposite carve in the cradle

Another night, we went to see some band called Katchafire in a music venue in Cairns. We thought they were going to be a rock band for a wild night, turned out to be $37 to see a reggae band who were only really popular in New Zealand. Everyone was in a state of tranquillity, rarely moving their feet, even at the most exciting points of the gig. Did meet a drum and bass raver from Wembley though which was rad, plus some skaters and some girls complete with incredibly protective other halves. There was also a pokies bar downstairs (poker machines), so after the gig we went and chatted shit to some older women in there. Ended up getting real lost on the way home, and losing Eddie, he slept in a bus stop with his leg through his frame so no one stole his bike! Legendary as always.

Levi, super nice guy from Cairns who shredded the place to pieces

Aerial

To conclude young sirs and madams, that was some stories and pictures from a nicer climate. Hope you like it. The end. x

Heres a selection of different rad animals that we saw along our travels. Unfortunately we didn’t end up getting to see any Koalas, but apparently they’re real hard to find. One Australian guy we met said he’d never seen one in the wild. Did get to see some other sweet wild life.

Cattle all over the road, being rounded up by old school cowboys on horseback, wild

Two of the many different parrots we saw, they’re pretty and make rad noises

Peacock spreading its wings

We lured it in with breakfast cereal

Up close with the kangaroos

Punk rock bird

Possum

Kangaroo in the bush on Wilson’s Prom

So here goes, the first update that I have got around to doing with some random photo’s from my three months in Australia. I didn’t really get that many actual riding photo’s, but got a bunch of spot check snaps and a heap load of general photo’s along the way. It was one of the best times in my life, went so many rad places, met a shit load of sick heads and accumulated a million stories. Thought I’d put up a few of the biggest cities that we went to along the way, namely Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. One day I might even put up something slightly BMX related, don’t hold your breath though!
Right now I’m back home when I should be in NZ; funds weren’t having it, plus I ended up with a broken elbow so I can’t do much at all right now. Hopefully get a bunch of updates done whilst i’m a little immobile, read some books, listen to some Russell Brand podcasts, go on walks, take some pictures, stuff like that I guess. Apparently young Jibbles has had a shoulder operation and isn’t going to be riding for months, so send the boy some tender love.
Yesterday, i saw in a Ride issue from whilst I was away a Blewbmx mention from international megasuperstar Tommy gun Higgins, fame! Here’s some photographs for you to look at with your peepers if you like. Byeeee.

Melbourne river scene, first day in Australia

View from Melbourne’s West Gate bridge

Melbourne night life

Brisbane buildings from the water ferry

Brisbane’s Southbank water taxi rank

Cool Southbank pathway in the gardens

Crazy golden skyscraper was sick

Brisbane from Mt. Cootha lookout point

Brisbane from Mt. Cootha again

Along the river

First day in Sydney, not a nice day by Australian standards

Sydney Darling harbour boat moorings

Darling harbour bridge

So we made it all the way back to Melbourne in the van, what a bloody miracle! Right now i’m chilling in Eddies cousin\’s house after a couple of nights of partying, while Eddie has alcohol poisining most probably and occasionally is sick, dialled! It’s about 40 degrees today apparently which is pretty intense, think that’s the hottest it has been. Met some rippers from a place called Bendigo the other day, going to visit them tomorow and ride some real good looking jumps that we saw in Focalpoint magazine. The other night we got started on by a group of local hoodlums, three of us and about twenty of them not cool. Got away unmarked apart from ruining ripped and stretched t-shirts, bastards. Australians love to play gambling and betting games, last night we played Monopoly for hours in a pub, and other people put loads of money of horses and dogs. I have a few random photos for you to see, I have about 900 on my camera so mass updating back in England i guess. Hope everyone had a grand new years. Watch that Edgworth video because it’s the best thing since french bread. Lots of stories to tell, one day I might actuially tell some of them.
Pictures - our lovely van at the egde of the world, Blewbmx in Australia, thumbs up, Harrow-esque radness and parliament house. Love. x