Surfari

Book excerpt: On the Road meets Endless Summer as Tim Baker, bestselling author of Occy, High Surf and Bustin' Down the Door, embarks on the classic surfing road trip around Australia. All surfers dream of shedding responsibilities and answering the siren's call of ocean swells. For most, it is an ideal that recedes as age advances - as family, career and provider fatigue threatens to overwhelm the wanderlust of youth. But what if you could defy the slow march of age? Shelve all your worldly pressures, pack up the family and a few trusty surfboards and hit the open road for the Great Australian surfing road trip? Inspired by the dreams of his youth, surf writer Tim Baker embarks on the Big Lap in search of the perfect wave and domestic bliss. Surfari documents the state of surf culture and our coastline, and the array of colourful characters who inhabit these parts, evoking all the magic, charm and challenges such a lifestyle entails. It is a story for anyone who has ever dreamed of an alternative to the busy, micro-scheduled existence of work, school, shopping and the daily drudge. The result is a lively, colourful account of what happens when you trade your life for another variety, and the delights and dangers that lay in wait when you dare to chase your dreams and follow another path.