Western Australia is… AMAZING! you must all go there at some stage. Every year I go it is really fun.

Wini Paul cracks one off-the-top.

Foreword: This time last year, Snapper Rocks local Wini Paul, was just your average surfer – who happened to rip. That was until she took out the inaugural Jim Beam competition – ‘The Break’. Concept behind ‘The Break’ was simple; find two underdog Aussie surfers (Nick Squiers won the men) to send on the 2010 World Qualifying Series and then follow their progress. The final selection process was ran camp style on Stradbroke Island in Queensland. The surfer’s surfing, character, confidence, hunger and fitness all integral parts of the selection process.

So what now? Well, read on and find out what Wini’s been up to in this her second Blog.

Western Australia is…. AMAZING! you must all go there at some stage. Every year I go it is really fun with loads of things to do and see. I have mostly spent my time in and around Yallingup and Margeret River, but have spent a few days and nights in Perth which is exciting, interesting and there’s even some fun waves.
Went over to the west side with my fried Olivia Wheeler, she is a young local girl from the Gold Coast.  She just wanted to come hang with the girls and surf some different waves. Unfortunately we both got sick on the plane. Liv had some death flu and I had a terrible ear infection that affected my balance and was rather painful so one of our first stops was to the doctors for some antibiotic subscriptions, not a great start to the trip.
We met up with local long boarder Jade Foster, she knew all the great fun things to do especially when there was no surf so the lack of waves and sickness didn’t slow me down from having one of the funniest trips of my life. I met some amazingly awesome people that I’m privileged to call my friends.  Every day of the week before the contest was filled with something exciting and fun to do with great people.

Toys.

One day it was 4WDrving to awesome little beach breaks, where we played on long boards for something different and said hi to the dolphins. Doing whip- ins on the Jet ski was another thing to do to pass time trying our best to break our boards in the process. I think I won “best spinny thing” and also “trying to take people out while flying through the air”.
Another day consisted of going out around the coast in a little tinny and diving for paua (abalone). I was rather terrified of getting eaten by a shark but once I got in to the hunter gatherer mind set, nothing could distract me from trying to get those paua. We then played in the rock pools and jumped off stuff as you do when it’s sunny and flat. Finished that day off with Shane-O cooking up the meanest feed:  Fresh paua and more delicious goodies, and one of my favorite things: watching Disney movies. Yip, I’m HARD CORE.
10am local time on a Wednesday you would find me at the CHOCOLATE FACTORIE. You heard right! Today was stuff your face like a tourist day. You get to sample the free choc a few times over and watch it being made fresh in front of you. Being the first stop in the morning my spidey-senses were top rate and I was the only person who managed to sneak out of there with my handbag full of free samples. It was then off to the place where they make the most delicious spreads, jams, chutneys, anything you need to make something taste good, they had it there, all made in front of you and from ingredients that could be found in the garden outside. A few more stops along the way included fresh local yoghurt, cheese, fudge, tapas, bread and I think there was another fudge stop in there somewhere as well. Finish off with a stroll around Margaret River where you will find some awesome hippy wears and great knick-knacks. This is a day that everyone can enjoy, it’s not just beautiful wine they have in the region, all the food is fantastic, fresh and delicious!

Margaret River, main peak.. Wasn’t like this for my heat..

The surf was small to flat most of the time I was there so we would paddle and swim in a secret dam, practice our 4WD skills in Jades beast of a car and eat at the local super food restaurant: Samudra. This place is beautiful and so good for you. Check it out if you love yoga, surfing, food and a healthy lifestyle. Organic and raw with a great vegie garden where they get their ingredients. No pesticides used here! Afternoon sunset drinks on the beach watching the tourist get taken out on the shore break, home cooked organic meals in the wood fired outdoor oven and either a yoga or dance session at Nikita’s Bali inspired mansion was how the days would end. So who wants to go to W.A now?

Nature.

The waves for the contest were not amazing but that’s no news here! I was feeling so good about the comp I was super relaxed and happy but I think that was my downfall because of the bad conditions I needed to keep busy and really work to find a good wave and stay on it to not get blown off the back. Instead of doing this I was chilled out and thinking I will be patient, a good wave will come… So I have taken the lesson from that and have been working on it at home. I now recognise I’ve always sucked in really windy conditions, so now I can apply better technique and adjust from my normal surfing approach of ‘just try smash the sh*t out of it”, to doing big carves that don’t let you get blown off the back or lose speed. A lot of contests are windy so I’m glad to have figured this out.
After I was finished in the contest I just hung around reading my book, taking pictures of the more interesting folk around the contest and supporting my girl Claire Bevilquila who I was staying with. She always does well at this contest and her new healthy lifestyle of eating raw food seemed to really help her endurance and ability in her heats. At night we would experiment with making raw food, my favorite was making raw chocolate with organic Cacao beans and other super foods. Imagine a chocolate so full of beneficial ingredients you could have it for breakfast and it would be good for you! Not a drop of processed added sugar. Sweetness from natural honey, no dairy or anything bad for you: I was in heeeeeeeaven.

I’m a vego but this still looked amazing!

Claire and her friend Kylie have even started making and selling their creations in the form of super bars, spreads, pizza basses and all-sorts. It’s called Raw KY, check it on facey, especially if you are in need of a diet overhaul and need some more energy in your life. These girls and most the people around the area that eat like this can play all day in the pumping waves and party all night. Yallingup is now one of my favorite places in the world. The beautiful nature, wildlife and rugged coast line is so good for the soul. The waves and the lifestyle are second to none. I feel so blessed to have experienced such an incredible time and meeting some of the nicest people on earth. I left W.A so immensely happy and a lot healthier. Peace