I’m right back where I started, a new bed, different energy, new waves and so many people and places to learn from.

My dad and I left from bells the night after the final day to touch down in Sydney for the Billabong World Juniors held at Narrabeen. Sasha Stocker, the Billabong team manager was there to greet us at the airport and take us to the accommodation at the caravan park. The caravan park is where everyone who is competing in the event stays and there is a really cool vibe there. There is always someone to talk to or new people to meet.


We arrived a couple of days prior to the contest so that gave us some time to look around and some time for me to get used to the power of the waves and surfing in bikinis instead of a full wetsuit which you wear at Bells. You always feel so free and light, just with the change in wetsuit.

One of the days before the contest my dad and I went to Whale beach. Whale Beach is about a 20min drive north of Narrabeen and is a pristine beach with loads of awesome houses that I’d love to own one day. The swell was small the day that dad and I chose to go there but there was still a fun little wave in the corner called the wedge. The water is sooooooo blue, turquoise and the waves were really rippable. I ended up having an enjoyable session.


Later on into the contest there was a lay day called because there were no waves at all. Lots of people told us to catch the ferry into Sydney so that’s what we did. I had been to Sydney three times before but I hadn’t had very much time to explore the city and look around. We went to the art gallery which was fun because I am really interested in art and love to see how other people express themself through art. For lunch that day we ate at an Indian restaurant in China Town. The food was soooooo good. I had never been to Bondi before so we caught the bus there. Dad had been there before when he travelled around Australia with mum and told me that the skate park was really good. So as soon as we got there we went to the skate park to check it out. There are loads of good skaters there and the park pulls a huge crowd because it is right on the beach and everyone loves to watch it.




For the contest the waves were really small and pretty inconsistent but there was a really good bank I thought and if you got the right one there was potential to score big. Every day before the contest we would get up super early and be the first ones at the beach to go for an early morning session. I love going to the beach and being the only one there, you feel so calm and it is so peaceful. But that feeling usually didn’t last long because the best juniors in the world are all there trying to get the best waves in such a small takeoff area.



While in Sydney, Billabong asked me to help Felicity Whelan, the Channel 9 Today Show weather presenter to present the weather for that day. I also did a number of interviews with Paige Houden and Luke Egan throughout the contest it was really funny because I was able to see myself on the TV across the room while I was being interviewed. Later that day I continued with a photo shoot for Sony at Shelly beach in Manly. Shelly Beach is a really pretty beach and is protected by the wind and has good water clarity. There were loads of fish and massive blue gropers that would eat the sea urchins in the rocks. I couldn’t believe how close the gropers would let you get to them.


Throughout the comp I surfed pretty consistently and ended up equal 5th. I would have loved to have gone through to the last heat but at least Laura went on to win the contest. All in all I had fantastic time in Sydney and am looking forward to going back there for the Pro Junior event at Cronulla later in the year.