Airports LEFT

Another EPIC surfing adventure today! Picture this.... Arrived at the surf spot called "AIRPORTS" and was informed by our surf guide that we would taking a small outrigger boat out to the reef near the airport. We would hit three different spots... Airports RIGHT, Airports LEFT and Too Goo were the surf spots.

For $6 per person, our boat driver took us all out to the reef for what felt like a scene from a typical Quicksilver Kelly Slater video. Nyomen basically said... "ok, here we jump"! Hannah started pitching boards out and we all dived in. The boat driver anchored close to the break and we paddled a short distance to the waves. Wendy always wanted a Jetski Tow In, I guess this was an even better option!

Airports LEFT suited all us Goofy Footers nicely! These waves seem to rise right out out of the ocean as they hit the coral reef below us. You would wait a few minutes and see a beautiful set of 3-5 waves in a row. As well..... ONLY 5-10 of us on the water! No Crowds like back at the Gold Coast!

Balangan Surf Session

The local owners of Villa Viona #6, that we are staying at, recommended a surf driver for us to use while we are here in Bali. We met "Nyomen" (pronounced.. Noy-Men") was amazing! He loaded up in his party van and we headed off to a place called "Balangan".

After weaving through the Kuta region and over to the cliff side terrain of Ulluwatu, we dropped down into Balangan Surf Spot. Totally cool place with a series of beach side shacks that different drivers use as home base. Turns out Noyman, age 55 now, was part of the original surf movement here in Bali over 35 years ago. Needless to say, his expertise on paddle out and wave selection were perfect. We let the Rip Tide suck us out the back with minimal paddling, carved turns on beautiful left hand breaks and then rode waves back to shore only a few meters from said home base. PERFECT!

We surfed two sessions with some lunch inbetween at the local "Warung" (which is the name for a local Balinese kitchen). The beach side Warung set us up with Noodles and rice like the locals eat. No Bali Belly yet!

Only downfall was Jelly Fish. Turns out when the winds are "on Shore" for a few days, the jelly fish wander in from the Indian Ocean. We scored some nice jelly fish stings. The upside... it kinda felt like "acupuncture".Tomorrow we are headed to the other side of Bali to surf at a place called Nusa Dua.

Noyman & Noah seem to be best buds now since he thinks Noah rides really well for his age. He was impressed with Noah dropping in on some bigger sets. The two of them were talking in the van ride home and have planned out a "jelly fish free" session at a place called Nusa Dua. We will keep ya posted.

Water BOOM

What would a trip to a developing nation be without venturing to your neighborhood Water Park! The facility standards and staff commitment to patron "rule following" are somewhat less than what you would get at Canada's Wonderland. Don't get me wrong GEO, I feel very safe in these surroundings, however it might not pass your "circle check"!! You could go 1, 2, 3, 4 at a time, push off as hard as you like, carry a camera with you and even follow right behind the person in front of you! Although I am a bit concerned........my own kids started to mix up rides between southern and northern hemisphere's! Moral of the storey...... my parental obligation to theme parks is now COMPLETE!

The local place called WaterBom (pronounced "BOOM") is a fabulaous place for tourists looking for a post surf fix of adrenalin on water slides. We spent the afternoon on uncrowded rides having fun in the sun. Check out a couple of the video's.

Journey Home Begins

Itz official, we have said goodbye to our second home.... Australia!
What a great departure from Australia.....Many thanks to Kerrie, Matt, Family and Steph for the great Final Supper and the drive to the airport. Smooth flight to Bali, Indonesia. Soooooo Crazee and Soooooo Different landing here. Bali is a classic developing nation thriving on tourism. The airport was insane with people, taxi's, scooters etc..., all who wanted a piece of you. The kids eyes were like Toonies!

Currently sitting in Seminyak at a internet cafe just chillin' and reflecting on the year we have had living Down Under". Amazing that a year has gone by and that we are headed home. Mixed emotions about leaving but loving the opportunity to see more of this planet.

Staying at a small Villa which is in the heart of this small Balinese beach town. It will serve as home base for about 8 days and after that we are not sure..... hope to seek out best surf spot and plunk ourselves there for the last 7 days. we are going to check out a waterpark this afternoon....WaterBOM!

Racing For Sheep Stations!

Great weekend of racing just passed.... sadly our last BMX race of the season!!!!
Over the last few weeks we have been up at Centenery Plains BMX track (gorgeous facility with paved berms and a sweet layout of jumps) training for the Southeast Queensland Championships. On one of the nights, I ended up chatting with a fellow 40-44 Cruiser racer, Paul Wilson, about the upcoming event. He taught me about a my new favorite Aussie saying.... Racing For Sheep Stations! After curiously tilting my head in bewilderment and asking what the hell that meant....he informed me that this was.... "laying all on the line", "bettin' the farm", "going all in", "giving it everything" ..... during the race!! Love it! Thanks Paul for the lesson! I R4SS and ended up 5th in SEQ!

We miss our MTB world at Hardwood, However the Nerang BMX club has certainly filled that hole. We have enjoyed the opportunity to both train and race at Nerang which has been the hub of SEQ BMX for many years. We have enjoyed the weekly nights meeting the various familes involved in the sport the exact same way Hardwood familes race MTB's.

Many thanks go out to the people at Nerang BMX for making us feel at home during our year in Australia - The Jenkinson Family for inviting Hannah to give it a try, Jason for coaching, Deb & Jo for looking after our "Noms" when they were late, Paul/Wayne/Smiley for the chats about Canada & Australian sport and finally to athletes of Nerang that Hannah & Noah raced with! Have a great finish to your season and maybe we will see some of you at a World Cup one of these years!

All in all great results this past weekend (read....great, more trophies that can't fit into our backpacks!), everybody met their goals and are looking forward to some new tracks in BC and of course Canadian Nationals for BMX in August!

Two new BMX bikes await the kids when the see Uncle Norm next. Kevin's bike will hopefully make its way home through the mail and the strike is over in time for Nationals.


On to Bali for 2 weeks of dry land BMX training intermixed with several surf sessions (gotta be some fitness in that?).

Thanks TSS Out/Ed Staff

The TSS Outdoor Education staff must have been pleased with my efforts at the school since they presented the family with a Jet Boat Ride Coupon last week. They were trying to find a present that included an Adrenalin Junkie Event that the Simms Family HAD NOT DONE!

Yesterday we headed down to Surfers and played TOURIST on one of the Jet Boat Tour companies. We bombed around the Broadwater for an hour - doing some serious high speed spins. It was something we probably would not have done on our own so.... very cool present - Thanks Heaps!

New BMX Athlete

There appears to be a new BMX athlete in the family. Wendy jumped on my cruiser and got a quick lesson on the typical jumps on a BMX track from H & N.

She was awesome and a total natural. Ripping the berms, jumps and step ups with ease. Hannah might have a little competition at the next race. Next step.... Gate Practice!

4 days until Queensland Sate Titles.