never book a flight before checking the entry visa requirements for the country.

lesson learned.

bali on hold until next year.

another morning in paradise

one step closer to being sponsored

laurie was bored this morning. laurie felt adventurous this morning. laurie booked a 12 day trip to Bali this morning.

laurie is excited this morning.

somethingsomethingsomething

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this song is featured in the new Reef surf flick "Cancer to Capricorn: The Path of the Modern Gypsy"

i have not been able to get it out of my head.

while trying to find it i even came up with what i thought were the lyrics to one verse. positive i had the lyrics right i spent about 2 hours Googleing them to no avail. i kept entering, "I count sheep cause I just cant sleep cause im still im still in love with you." of course these lyrics appear nowhere in the song.

anywho, i found the song. its rad.

enjoy!

the search for uncrowded waves...

take school holidays, add some of the best waves we've seen all season, throw in a sprinkling of sunshine and add a dash of offshore winds and you get crowded, crowded surf.

with this in mind i awoke at dawn yesterday morning with my friend shannon to embark on a search for fun waves. waves unspoilt by screaming grommets and middle-aged men on a mission to score some rare mid-week vacation waves.

and find them we did...



shannon leading the way down a tree-lined staircase. i know this is lame, but i love walking down winding paths for a surf. it makes me feel like im on some kind of mystical voyage...



haza! waves!



the sun slowly rises on our secluded beach! so beautiful. i am so lucky to live here.





perfect day! wish you were here!

this is kat. kat likes to eat. kat likes to jog. kat likes to take care of everyone around her. kat likes cats, but prefers dogs. kat likes to make silly faces.






kat is the best.

it's just you, the waves, the sunshine, and 150 of your new best friends

we have had an outstanding week of surf up here in lovely byron bay. of course though combine sunny days in the winter, with solid waves, and school holidays and you have crowds like you have never seen before at your favourite surf spots.

alas, it has still been worth going out just to see some of the unbelievable things some people can do in the water...and just to practice my skills at not only wave dodging, but also people dodging.



the water has been sparkly and warm, the waves have been pretty consistent and the vibe in the water has been friendly for the most part...



off in search of more waves! whootwhoot!!!

peace and sunshine!

this morning i pushed the boundaries of accepted and conventional breakfast food.

pasta for breakfast! roasted veggie pesto pasta.

crazy you say? maybe i am. it wasn't even leftovers. i made the whole thing this morning!

just another day in the life of laurie guthrie. pushing the boundaries on traditional conventions and eating dinner for breakfast.

if he could he would

so yesterday i'm minding my business out at broken head. chilling on my board. waiting for a wave.
all of a sudden out of the calm blue water appears a lone dolphin. right next to me. this was no ordinary dolphin. i swear he liked me. he was chilling beside me for a few minutes then disappeared. then he reappeared and jumped out of a wave i was paddling for. "cheekie," i thought to myself.
he then rocked up beside me again. and this time i swear he winked at me before rolling onto his side- to show off his fins no doubt.
i then ran into my friend steve on my way in and he swears that a dolphin was trying to intimidate him just a few minutes before. most likely my dolphin trying to mark his territory and let steve know he should watch himself.

maybe this story is true. maybe it's not. maybe dolphins can wink, maybe they can't. maybe a dolphin tried to strike fear in steve's heart or maybe he's just a really, REALLY British guy who has never seen a dolphin in the surf before.

laurie likes offshore winds

i broke a personal vow i made to myself to never surf lennox point again today.

after a surf out there over the easter weekend that resulted in my leg looking like it had been run across a cheese grater, i swore i would never surf at that spot again.

today, after a nice relaxing surf at a point break and a beach break i got a call from a friend that said lennox was small and perfect for me...sounded too good to pass up. or at the very least check out.

the two guys i went with of course immediately jumped out leaving me behind on the rocks, chewing my fingernails and shivering from the cold and my nerves. i walked precariously over the rocks. heard markus call out to me to get out. saw someone jump effortlessly into the water....saw a 10 year old grommet effortlessly jump out...and proceeded to walk back to the safety of the dry rocks and sit my butt down.

i made a joke to an older guy who was sitting and watching that it wasn't my day, to try and hide my shame at having backed down. anywho, we got to talking and eventually i felt a lot more relaxed. he then asked if i wanted to go out. i said i did. he went and grabbed his board and walked me out onto the edge and together we jumped into the surf.

i made it! not a scratch on the body! not a scratch on the board! not a rock hit!

of course once the initial elation at having successfully manouvered into the surf wore off, i realized it was way too big for me to actually do anything. there were a handful of pros out there so it was fun to watch regardless.

i then paddled in and got myself back over the rocks without a scratch. not one wave caught, but the smile on my face will last all day. i love when you do something you were absolutely terrified of. and i was terrified of getting into this place. plus i made a new friend out of jim. the friendliest guy at lennox! i hope to see him again because when we got out i felt like giving him a hug!

smiles all around!!!!

now that's how you induce a Canadian food coma

Ahhh July 1st. A time to celebrate Canada's independence as a proud, beautiful nation. A time for family and friends. For fireworks and bonfires. Boat trips and BBQs. Canadian beer and whisky. General debauchery of all sorts!
What is a Canadian living overseas to do during such a monumentos occasion? Well if you happen to work at a bar....you make them throw a party. Not just any old party. You get them to serve chicken wings and poutine. And Canadian Club. And have maple syrup chugging contests. And listen to all the great Canadian artists...Barenaked Ladies, The Tragically Hip, Bryan Adams...ok, maybe not the playlist part.
Last night we had a badass celebration of all things Canadian at Aquarius. There were ghetto Canadian flags, made by yours truly. Delicious poutine. A free keg for Canadians. And did I mention poutine? Most Aussies had never heard of or tried this French-Canadian delicacy so I took it as my duty to spread this culinary dish across the globe. And folks, it was a hit!

The best way to feel better after too much poutine? A good old fashioned dance party! Featuring me and Yogi's sweet new whale-inspired dance moves.

Great night....though it made me miss home!

dorsel fin high-five

Whale season is upon us here in lovely Byron Bay. If you don't see whales while out for a surf, then you can definitely see them from the lighthouse or while just on the beach.
The awesome guys at the Byron Bay Dive Center took me, Kat, Sunny and Yogi out on a whale watching tour yesterday and it was amazing. It was a gorgeous, warm, clear, sunny day. We first took the boat out to Julian Rocks, a local dive spot in Byron and saw heaps of turtles and dolphins...but not whales.
After chilling on the ocean for a bit we spotted one out in the distance and drove up as close as we could get to it. We were literally only 100m away from a big, beautiful hump back whale. The whale was breaching the surface doing 180s, slapping the surface with its tail and its fins....basically showing off for us.
It was unreal to see something so beautiful up-close.
Afterwards I went for a surf and had a whale breach only 50m from where I was sitting. I tried to go underwater and make whale sounds to attract it, but strangely she did not come over to say Hi or offer me a ride. Weird.

***disclaimer- the whale shown in the above picture is not either of the actual whales I encountered***

**note- if you offer me and Yogi a snack, or a bourbon, or just ask nicely, we will show you our sweet as whale impression**