| It was after a surf in the mid 70’s when Bugs asked me to come and meet some mates of his. He said they lived in a rainforest farm on a mountain overlooking the Gold Coast points. I was interested…
We parked my truck at the bottom of Mt Woodgee and walked up the rough track to the top. The view was amazing, straight down the barrels of Kirra, Greenmount, Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks.
I was introduced to all the boys and ordered the first of numerous Mt Woodgee’s that day. The vibe is pretty special at Mt Woodgee and I became great friends with Nick and the crew. I have fantastic memories of those early days, and of all the great times with the Woodgee boys over the years.
It with this spirit that Mt Woodgee continues today – a family of surfers dedicated to the ocean and to ‘building the boards to take you there’.
Aloha
Jack McCoy 2006
PS RIP Mark Pripic
The mid to late 70's stands out in my mind as one of the funnest in my life. The surf pumped on the Gold Coast points, Kirra and Burleigh were perfect every season for months on end, and life was pretty simple. You didn't need much to survive, a few good barrels in the morning followed by a vegi burger at the Healthy Bee would set you right. But I often used to make the trek up to Mt Woodgee farmhouse to visit Nick and Agg. I would usually head up there with Mont and Chappy, we'd leave the car at the bottom of the track and weave our way up through the gum tree lined track.
On one occasion, about halfway up the track, we came across a python that was wrapped around two tree trunks. It was by far the biggest snake I'd ever encountered, but not at all aggro, just lounging around like everybody else, in total cruise mode. That was one thing that really stood out. There was heaps of wildlife in the bush around the original Mt Woodgee farmhouse. Once we were sitting back watching a snake devour a frog in a crack in the water tank. It was like something out of National Geographic, and there were stories of big dangerous snakes curling up next to the guys in bed on those chilly winter nights.
It was a magic time, really simple, very soulful. Those visits were something to look forward to, it was like you were a million miles away from the Gold Coast, yet you could check Kirra Point from the window. There were some exceptionally funny periods up there, especially when Kong and Chappy were mucking up. You'd leave there with a sore jaw, but once back at the beach I'd always reflect on what a perfect lifestyle the boys had up there, surfing their brains out then retiring to this awesome farm less then a kilometre from the surf but, well, let's just say it was another world, it may as well have been.
Rabbit |
