Julien: The first days of the trip allowed me to discover the coastline which is very much bigger than any I’ve seen before. The beaches are really long (several kilometres) and there aren’t that many people which is very nice. I still have not got used to waves and shore breaks. I shall work this out today. The weather is very hot and the wind is not necessarily very strong but it picks up in the late afternoon. We have to use very big kites (usually above 15m) and that’s also new to me. The kites are very steady and they have a lot of depower. So I’m having fun and I’m learning lots of things in this trip thanks to all the group members who are more experienced and who share their tips.
Stephen: I’m having the time of my life here. Though I grew up surfing warm water in Durban, This is the first time I have kited outside Ireland, and the first time I have kited in warm water. The first 2 days have been brilliant so far and everyone has loads of stories of their adventures that they had along the way. The downwinder started with a very difficult tack. The wind was really light and we had to work hard and behave (no jumps) to make sure we made it around the first headland. This is a breeding ground for sharks so we had to make sure that kites did not fall out the sky. Once around the first headland, the wind picked up and it was easy sailing. Riding waves and boosting for kilometre after kilometre without having to tack upwind. Two of the guys had their footstraps come loose and thanks to the brilliant hospitality of the Aussies on the beaches, each managed to obtain a screwdriver.
 One little adventure I had was when Mikael and I managed to get our kites in between each other and we were being pulled through the water with lines interlocked. It was either ditch the kites and hope the sharks weren’t hungry, or sort it out. With each of us ready to release, I managed to climb through Mikael’s lines in the water and my kite was still airbourne. Mikael wasn’t so lucky and his kite fell and he swam in. Dominique came up from behind and rescued our boards, which were now a long way upwind from us. The complete nutter (hero) managed to kite into shore with both our boards and his. The only thing was that now he was in trouble because he used his kite leash to tow one of the boards and his kite was inverted on the beach, tugging at him. I then assisted him by releasing my kite, handing him my 5th line, and grabbing his kite.
The one thing that really stands out for me so far on this trip is the way there is total unselfish co-operation between all riders. So far I have just been riding the 17m Monkeykite Tribe and I am really impressed with it. Even in the lightest wind I have managed to keep going on only a 122cm board and when the wind picked up it handled well. It has a great steady pull and just generally has a friendly feel about it.
The wind is like a hairdryer – smooth, warm, and steady. I love Australia!!!
DominiqueRight now it’s the third of January and Richelle and Jeroen just got married. (congratulations) In the morning it isn’t very windy here but somewhere around 2 o clock the wind picks up and we can go downwind, Till now we did 2 downwinders which might be the best sessions I ever had. We had some very nice waves and steady wind which was good for riding my 15m2 kite. On the first day my buddy was benn, which means you ride together and look after for each other. The whole thing started kind of creapy because while passing an island which was famous for his sharks I saw 2 big fins coming out of the water. I called to Benn and we were speeding away like idiots, After a while we saw the fins again and after checking it out they were dolphins. Man that’s beautiful. They took a swim with us and after that the screw of my strap came off. We had to go to the beach to fix a screwdriver and we could go on. It was one of the best rides ever. Yesterday night we got attacked by a couple of birds and we had to run like idiots. I’m still alive so nothing happened ever after. Today we might have some little competitions and we’re taking some rest. OZ is great!!!!
Mickael 
Just back from the wedding on the beach, it was beautiful and moving… all the best to Richelle and Jeroen. These first few days with the other kiters were a great fun. The first 2 days travelling from Sydney to Brisbane were more like a road trip than a kite trip which was fun too. Everybody was very happy to go kiting on the 31st and try these 2006 kites. They are pretty good. The wind is also very good: warm and steady (it’s good to be kiting only with a board short when it is –14 degrees in France). The first of January was the kick off for the downwinder and we’ve been quite lucky with the wind. I had a little of an adventure with Stephen: we crossed our kite lines and managed to get out. I had to release the safety and swim a very long way back to shore, but I avoided the sharks! The experience is really brilliant so far. It is good to learn from the other kiters, and Australian wild life is beautiful (Kangaroos are so cute, bird are noisy in the morning but so colourful…) OZ is great!!! :) Check out the image gallery for more pictures
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