Missing Surf Beaches: A Very Privileged Takeaway from the Gulf Islands

Candidly, this post absolutely stems from a double-sided coin of privilege. The fortune I have to look out at an endless blue ocean from my deck on a Thai island and think about these beaches with any shred of negativity…

Life here is incredible. Always, there’d be things you would tinker with to suit the narrative of your personal fantasy-land. A place can be equally as flawed as it is magical. Walking on the beaches here—at least those I’ve visited—has brought with it a little pang of longing. Yearning for home.

Many people travelling here wouldn’t have the beach at their doorstep back home. Gazing out at the sea each morning might feel like a fever dream. It is wonderful, no doubt. However, I’m among the lucky few that can easily access the beach from home. Pretty great beaches, too. I miss them.

Specifically, I miss the surf. I reminisce about diving under waves, getting salt in my hair—and also quite often in my eyes and up my nose. That raw feeling of being alive amongst nature; playing in the purest of playgrounds. Recently, even, becoming one with those waves through surfing, albeit poorly.

That is life on the Sunshine Coast. Living on these sheltered Gulf Islands is unbelievable, just in different ways. Those that I have less familiarity with.

They’re inherently diving beaches. The reefs out there are spectacular, but the bays that protect them are calm, rocky, a little slimy underfoot, and murkier than at first sight. We have a tendency to judge based on our formative experiences. Naturally, swimming in those waters may underwhelm, given my privilege of having grown up in Australia. But if I trade the surf beach mentality for a snorkel, or perhaps even a scuba diving kit, maybe I’d see things in an entirely new light. With the time I have here, I’d love to try!