The Billabong Bikini Truck – A lil trip down south
Mum had the best news when I came back from my morning local surf – our friends from Billabong had called and asked whether I would be interested in joining the Billabong Bikini truck which was going to Newcastle, Cronulla and Wollongong. Most of the other Billabong surf girls were in China for a surf competition and I was available because of school holidays – so they asked me! Mum said I could go, as long as I kept in close contact and kept a diary of my adventures – so here it is!
Day 1
Today was the day I got to FLY down to Newcastle with Alesha for the Billabong bikini truck on their east coast tour. I met Alesha at the airport and we hopped onto the plane bound for Newcastle. When we arrived, we jumped into the rental car – in which I was crowned the “DJ’ and ‘navigation queen’ – so I was really stoked!
We drove past a lot coal factories and coal and I remember Mum saying something about Newcastle being a big coal port and how some activists are trying to stop more coal mines inland because of global warming…
The hotel was fun! Alesha and I just HAD to jump on the bed. We then met up with the photographer Jimmy and the rest of the team for a bit of exploring. We travelled to the beautiful Queen Baths. We took photos and ate icecream and noodles before bed.
Day 2
I missed the alarm! Luckily Alesha woke me up and I had a super fast shower, packed up everything and raced to the site for the bikini truck set up. It was so much fun meeting people and putting on their flash tattoos – but there weren’t as many people around as usual because of the SHARK sightings! No surf for me today – the beaches were closed…
It was so much fun helping out, balancing pineapples on my head, playing the ukelele with the amazing musician/singer Lily! We sucked in some helium from balloons and made our voices go funny while singing – hilarious!
Then it was navigation time. I got to guide Alesha through Sydney over the Sydney Habour Bridge. Sydney traffic is always nerve-wrackingBut, we made it to Cronulla and stayed in a nice hotel with excellent wifi – what more can a girl want?!
Day 3
I missed the alarm AGAIN!! Which is very strange because at home we regularly get up at 4.30am to go surfing! Luckily I can get ready in 2 minutes flat! It was the busiest day for us, being in Cronulla and a little stressful with the council not being there to open the locked gates for us to set up. But soon everything was up and running smoothly and Felicity Palmateer (international team rider for Billabong) came to give us a hand. She is so nice and an amaaaazing artist. Once again we mingled with the many visitors, flash tattoos, drinking coconut juice, singing and talking about surfing, before we dashed out to do a little video – frolicking through the flat, shark infested (YES! AGAIN – shark sightings!) waters of Cronulla! It was so much fun hanging out with Felicity and the team, until it was time to lock and load and move on down to Wollongong.
The sharks were still around – but the waves were flat, so there wasn’t much temptation to get wet…hmmmm..seems like I didn’t need to have brought two surfboards along. It was great to have brought along the new OBfive cruiser skateboard though (Thanks OBfive!) – lots of fun for the flat days!
Day 4
My last day with the bikini truck was in Wollongong – where the slushies were flowing free…I think I may have had too many…It was great to be set up outside the Overboard surf shop where they stocked Duranbah boards! Thanks Duranbah boards – I’m so lucky to have you!
It was time to fly home – taking multiple pictures of the clouds and the sunset shining through them. It was such a great trip – I love this life and I love showing other people how happy and healthy you can be enjoying surfing and the sun and the wild outdoors!
Most Fun:
Singing with Lily,
Blasting songs through the blue tooth in the rental car,
Having fun with photo shoots,
Meeting new friends,
Juggling pineapples
Eating lots of yummy food – ice cream, sushi, Indian curry
Seeing new places
Learning about life on the road!
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