'Sorry folks, park's closed'
The dream is the same night after night.
It’s the scene from National Lampoon’s Vacation, only instead of Chevy Chase’s beleaguered Clark Griswold finding the turnstiles locked at the entrance to Walley World, I find myself barred from the departure lounge in the international terminal at the airport. The bumbling John Candy has been replaced by a smirking Scott Morrison and the friendly Marty Moose has morphed into our dead-eyed Head Border Nazi Peter Dutton.
“Sorry folks, park’s closed. The moose out front should have told you,“ Scotty sneers to me through the side of his mouth whilst giving a snide wink to the potato-headed moose now standing beside him. Just like the desperate Clark Griswold being pushed beyond the tolerances of any ordinary man by the final petty officialdom standing between himself and his Shangri-La beyond the gates, I reach into the paper bag in my hand and pull out a gun, only this isn’t Clark’s cute little BB gun it’s an oversized Bugs Bunny-style cartoon pistol. I point it into the leader of Australia’s bulbous midriff and feel a wave of revulsion wash over me as he shits his pants - again.
“Listen up, Fat Arse,“ I say to Scotty, “You do what I say and there won’t be any problem. I just sat through six months of lockdown bullshit hanging on the hopes of a little late-season backlit Indo entertainment. The potato says you’re closed, I say you’re open. OK...let’s ride."
Cheerful background music fills in and the scene is transported to a hollow left in tropical warm water, an offshore breeze carries the sweet smell of clove cigarettes and satay ayam into the uncrowded lineup and a gorgeous line of swell starts bending itself towards where I’m waiting at the top of the reef...
...then I wake up.
I wake up to northerlies, sharks, and wobbling windswell. Borders shut. Cut off from the outside world. No chance of Indonesia…my precious.
Our government’s bizarre behaviour in not allowing Australians to exit the country is still in force. The reasoning behind this decision appears to be completely arbitrary and not backed by any medical science. No explanation has ever been put forward attempting to explain why we aren’t allowed to leave the country. If a foreign nation is willing to allow Australians to enter and there is transport available then there doesn’t appear to be a single justifiable argument for having us imprisoned within our own borders.
As long as the travelling surfer is willing to undertake quarantine upon return to Australia and thus ensure there is no threat of spreading the virus then it should not be an issue. If the government is allowing fruit pickers and international students to enter Australia then a returning citizen should never be refused entry. Wait your turn and in you come - this should not be unlawful.
Meanwhile, reports and video of the various travel destinations we would normally frequent are filtering in daily. This visual documentation of the waves we're all missing is having varied effects. Some are pleased that Indonesia is taking a well earned break from the overwhelming culture shock of relentless mass tourism, others empathise with the locals over their plight of having their predominant income stream shut down. Some people delight in the novel sight of seeing those familiar perfect waves roll through a lineup which is not dysfunctionally overcrowded.
There's also a sub-group of wave riders who mostly feel dejection when they lay eyes on the waves they’ve been denied due to overzealous governmental decree.
We all know Kelly has parked up in Bali and is shunting his ever youthful frame through those perfect waves the island is reknowned for. Reactions to his example of the determined tube pig are mixed. Some find the idea of bucking convention and chasing the surfing dream to far flung islands during the time of COVID to be irresponsible and reprehensible. The thought being that even if the travelling surfer themselves is not infected, it portrays a poor example and that we should all restrain and martyr ourselves in a pious show of solidarity.
One thing is for certain, I’m not on my own in pining for a bit of holiday relief. The traditional Aussie urge to spread our wings and GTFO has been seriously curtailed. With the international borders shut our desire to jet to Indo, Fiji, Africa, and Hawaii has been redirected into a flooding of the regions.
Travel website Wotif.com released data showing searches for domestic travel to have shot up. Over this same period during recent years, searches increased 180% for Coffs Coast , 300% for Coral Coast, and 600% (!) percent for the Yorke Peninsula.
Stories of unprecedented crowds have already been flowing back from those areas which normally experience manageable numbers during the winter surf season. The North West desert was reportedly as crowded as a mosh pit - state border restrictions the only thing preventing an invasion of biblical proportions. The South Oz border opening means there will be a flood of East Coast surfers ready to pounce. This may even be compounded by West Oz surfers looking to escape the curse of the Fremantle Doctor. Ironically enough, the Queensland coast might even see a percentage of its locals fleeing south as they attempt to escape the pasty white southerners who intend to chase the golden sunshine and easy living on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
All bets are off now that the eternally damned Victorians are finally unleashed from the winter of their discontent.
Evidence of the exodus is already apparent. This little holiday town and the ordinarily quiet November period already looks like the Christmas inundation.
To be honest , I reckon it’s not a totally bad thing having Aussies explore their own backyards. Huey has blessed us with some of the greatest coastline on Earth and a chance to rekindle the good old family camping trip should never be overlooked. Now is a good time to get out that old tent, pack the bikes, fishing rods, and cooking gear, and reacquaint the gang with the good times of an Australian beach holiday. Reintroduce the family to the joys of nature and see if a few days without phone reception allows them to find a world beyond their electronic devices.
Have fun and I’ll catch you later. I’ll be busy filling my thirteen-foot boat with jerry cans as part of a cunning plan to get to Indo by hook or by crook. Life’s too short to miss a year at the best waves on the planet.
Who knows…maybe I’ll even forget and forgive, let bygones be bygones and invite ScoMo and Dutto to climb aboard the Sea Wok and we could all enjoy the high seas journey to Indonesia together.
Together they’d make an awesome anchor.
// CARCHARODON DUNDEE
Comments
Get Carcharodon Dundee a Wambulance.
There's tens of thousands of Australians in a queue trying to get home, but Dundee wants to go surfing in Indo and bump some family stranded for months to the back of the line.
You're a selfish flog Dundee who very much reminds me of some other me-first knob on the forums. You're no better than the Aspen set who refused to quarantine in March and spread Corona Virus all over Melbourne and the MP.
Fuck.......you just don't let up do you?
Mate of mine and his wife decided to come home from their 2020 world trip in November cause corony was getting too hectic in Europe which meant further travel plans to where they wanted to go was too hard.. Got flights from Milan to Adelaide within 2 days and then did the quarantine thing on arrival. Sure....they paid through the nose for it but don't go making out it's really hard to get home to Aus cause it aint..
Ringmaster, I’d suggest your mate was pretty lucky. There’s no shortage of horror stories of Australians trying to get home. There’s no way Scumo can keep his “ALL Aussies home by Christmas” promise, so they’ve been reclassifying stranded Aussies. Canada is perhaps the most difficult place to return from.
Apparently it is somewhat straight forward to get a last minute ticket and fly home. The people who are stuck are those whose flights have continued to be cancelled and delay and don't want to change or upgrade flights.
No chance given to stay away for a while and all the returning Australians will have made it home by then ? Just a simple blanket ban on leaving the country.
It seems very strange that Australians aren’t allowed to leave the country dont you think ?
It appears that 1000 international students per week will be flying into NSW starting in January. The hypocrisy involved by the government is very hard to comprehend - unless you’re familiar with the government .
From The Australian :
“The NSW government is taking a plan to national cabinet to bring up to 1000 international students a week into Sydney starting in the new year…
The students, to arrive on charter flights, will use up nearly one-third of the state’s 3000 passenger a week limit on overseas entries…
The plan is strongly backed by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian because of the economic benefit it will bring NSW…
The NSW move was welcomed by International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood.
“The sector really respects the NSW premier’s commitment to bringing students back early in the new year. There is every chance now that NSW will become the market leader if other states plans do not place emphasis on adequate student numbers,” he said.
The arriving students will need to spend two weeks in quarantine, and some universities are willing to pay the $3000 quarantine cost on the students’ behalf…
The Morrison government, which controls immigration, will need to approve the plan but federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said “we want to work with states and territories to see what we can do to get international students returning after Christmas”.“
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
Referring to yourself in the third person doesn't suit you, blowin
It's very Trumpish.
"undertake quarantine upon return to Australia and thus ensure there is no threat of spreading the virus"
if only
" the pasty white southerners who intend to chase the golden sunshine and easy living on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
All bets are off now that the eternally damned Victorians are finally unleashed from the winter of their discontent."
fly, my pretties
Doesn't have to be a 13ft dinghy either:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_STOL_aircraft
Get onto google maps and work out the length of the nearest beach...
What an inconvenient pandemic.
Buy some Garams, put some chicken sticks on the BBQ, knock back a Bintang and imagine the places you could be......... and then count your blessings to be where you are.
Aye...
Do I want one of the cancer packets or for my happiness to be taken one by one?
It's a tough one.
Where are the harms your pregnancy ones?
Smoked those ones first.
touché
Swap em for a rooster.
Geez ....they’ve lasted you alright.
I walked through customs in Australia with a carton just like that fifty weeks ago to the day pretty much . I’d just had the best run of swell and surfable conditions I think I’ve ever had for a surf trip and was beaming out of my skin with vigour , happiness and surf stoke.
Just when things couldn’t get any better I ran into the Aussie customs bloke who asked if I had anything to declare . I told him of the myriad things I was bringing into Australia including a super suspect bark painting from God knows where and the carton of darbs which should’ve attracted a tidy little duty fee and he just grinned and said “ Forget about it sir . . Consider it a Christmas present. Welcome home mate . “
You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face with a cricket bat.
Fck I miss travelling.
Yeah i got put in the potential drug dealer line for travelling through to many countries quickly and looking disheveled. Upon examination was told to put as many in my pockets as I could fit. He then proceeded to let rip on me about sand on my camera bag as a biohazard, until i informed him it was Coolangatta sand as I never saw the beach in Indo due to a cancelled boat trip. The next trip I spread the packets through various luggage pieces, surfboard bag, carry on etc and got waved through anyway. Got two cartons through!
Swap you for some locations stories ;)
Oh, my kingdom for a Sampoerna and a steaming hot kopi susu...
The Samporenas are much better haha.
well said.
New take on an old insult: He starts with a W and the rest is on the front of the boat.
Had to think about that for a while.
Don't agree with all of that, but a thought-provoking read.
Couple of thoughts...
Vicco's recentish history shows that quarantine-on-entry isn't without risk.
A little birdy tells me that if you commit to being away for 3 months + your chances of getting approval to leave improve.
I also wonder about what the effect of negligible international travel will be on country towns through the peak holiday season... More roadtrippers, less international tourists - will that mean a net increase or decrease in visitors? And what about money spent?
I'm hoping (even though it'll mean I get the shits with crowded surf) that there's more people and more money spent than usual - thinking back to last summer, hopefully that helps some people get back on their feet.
Having just spent over a week down in the otways, all I can say is that no international travel is really going to sting our regional tourism sector massively the longer this drags on. It was an absolute ghost town down there. Sure it'll spark up for 2-4 weeks over Xmas/Jan, but that's about it. Really feel for the local businesses down that way. Interstaters + Vics travelling will do next to nothing for cash into those regions IMO.
On the plus side for me, was glorious cruising an empty great ocean road, not a bus in sight, and very few cars beside a few utes/vans for that matter too.
complete opposite up here.
total covid boom.
Yep not surprised, will be people in droves heading for Northern NSW/QLD beaches, holiday-makers, relocaters etc. Getting up there while they can I guess.
Good thoughts Pops.
If the businesses on the lower Gold and Tweed Coasts are a benchmark, everyone is busy because folks are spending. Since Queen Anastasia gave the rest of the country a sanitized, zero hot spot, thumbs up, there now are loads of folks moving around these parts.
Thoughts do go out to our island neighbours, with the awesome waves, as the Aussie dollars are staying in Aussie this summer. (Looks like Stu has been stockpiling kreteks, so some of those dollars will flow back to the Indonesian economy)
Well Pops it'll fuck the serenity completely, but you know we don't have 280,000 dead and growing. I'm happy to wait.
Too right
A nice bloke I know just got hit and killed by a stray car whilst standing in his front yard.
You never know when your numbers up and I’m fcked if I want to be stuck in Australia against my wishes and with zero scientific justification - not even an attempt at a justification - whilst tens of thousands of foreigners are free to enter Australia as they please.
I haven’t had my lifetime’s fill of tubes yet and I’m going batshit crazy being stuck in the one place after 25 odd years of being a nomad. I’m not scared of a virus which has a 99.8 percent survival rate for any healthy person under 80 years of age . Why should the government get to incarcerate me in Australia whilst Mathious Corrmon gets chauffeured around the planet on an RAAF jet at taxpayers expense even though he’s no longer a public servant ?
Why is Tom Hanks allowed to come to Australia TWICE but Im not legally permitted to get pitted in Indo ?
Australia is the real estate obsessed version of Hotel California - You can get a mortgage anytime you like but you can never leave.
Gotta say it's hard watching the rest of the 1st world either denying the covy exists or acknowledging it but travelling regardless, and especially the Euros in Bali. I watch the SOB footage everyday and I'm grateful winter has past.
I have $1400 in JetStar refund vouchers to spend next year, so at least next years flights are covered.
You know you could have got a refund? I’m supposed to be at pipe right now but got the full refund no questions asked from j star
Yes but nah, I want the holiday more than the money back. Now thinking of NZ, been once and would love to go back.
My conspiracy theory is that one of the reasons the government is keeping everyone here so they have to spend their money on holidays here and help boost the economy.
The amount of money that people normally spend on travelling and holidays os stays in Aus, pretty handy really!
On the flip side, the amount of money international tourists normally spend here doesn't get here.
I wonder which better for our economy? Or whether there's winners and losers either way (does your typical road-tripping aussie spend on different things than your typical pom/yank/chinese tourist?)
Good point, I remember reading that a normal os tourist can spend around $7k in a couple of weeks but an aussie will only spend a couple of grand in the same period
We are probably losing more by having no os tourists and by keeping us from travelling at least some money is staying in the country
"Why is Tom Hanks allowed to come to Australia TWICE but Im not legally permitted to get pitted in Indo ?"
Fair dinkum blowin, you've got to be Australia's biggest man-Karen. Always expecting the world to revolve around you.
There's 30,000 + Aussies wanting to come home and there's two major pinch points. 1. Available seats on flights and 2. Available quarantine positions.
But blowin, you're special. You actually think you have the right to travel overseas and put other Australians back in the queue because your surfing trip is more important than some other family's reunion. For a full on patriot, you sure treat other Australians like shit.
*available cattle class seats.
Fly business or first, no wait no worries.
So it's not the same as WCT competitors going to Hawaii and wanting to come home for xmas? Or is that "for work purposes"?
Not sure why we haven’t yet heard a peep from you about the tens of thousands of international students who are queue jumping Australians stranded overseas ?
No doubt you think they should be told a firm “ No “ as you think I should be ? Even though I only want to LEAVE and not necessarily return for quite some time and they only want to ARRIVE at the expense of Australians.
Can you tell the difference between those two terms ?
Perhaps you could explain to me the government’s logic in preventing Australians flying overseas to spend time with family they haven’t seen in months ?
And can anyone please explain why people from NZ are allowed to come to Australia but Australians aren’t allowed to travel to NZ ?
"Perhaps you could explain to me the government’s logic in preventing Australians flying overseas to spend time with family they haven’t seen in months ?"
Australians can apply for a leave pass to spend time with their OS family. A friend of mine had their application approved in a matter of hours because of a family emergency.
My friend understands he will be on a wait list to come home and is happy to quarantine on return at their expense.
There's this thing called Covid blowin. It's causing havoc for international travel. The last thing this government wants is more Australians overseas.
This is even if they say they don't want to come home, because every traveller is just one piece of bad luck away from being a major problem for Australian embassies. What happens if you go head first into a reef, get seriously sick with Covid, or a family member gets sick back in OZ. You'd be screaming "get me home now". You'd be a queue jumper for sure.
And then if you did come home, quarantine isn't perfect, but you're willing to risk other people's lives, incomes, and lifestyle just so you can go surfing in a country with a large number of Covid infections.
Going surfing isn't a family emergency and it's not a job for you. You'd have to be the absolute last person on the list of people who should be travelling OS.
But as per normal, you're special. It's blowin first, fuck everyone else.
Geez .....you must be so angry at the selfish international students. Why are you attacking an Australian who wants to leave even when they are prepared to wait their turn and pay for their own quarantine ?
Just say one word against the idea of international students arriving just so I know it’s not just petty personal grudge slinging. All you’ve got to do is confirm how hypocritical and inappropriate it is to bring tens of thousands of foreigners in when an Aussie isn’t allowed to leave.
International students better have a very good reason to come, ie they are also doing important research or working in a highly specialised field.
You going to Indo has absolutely no upside for the country, and Blind Freddy can see the potential for you being an absolute pain in the arse for our diplomatic staff.
Our Quarantine system is fragile, and adding extra people just increases the risk. The govt understands this so hence the rules about overseas holidays. But blowin the man-Karen wants to go surfing no matter what. I think I will call you Varuca Blowin from now on.
Write. So you're a qualified clairvoyant now too?
Only post-modernist relativism is able to so blindly think they are making points stick without being aware of the greater implications of the argument, and it's a blight on society's ability to make sense of the world when objectivity dies for the sake of your inverted worldview.
He isn't going to indo anytime soon, nor is he in a position to do anything about the laws, so, who gives a fuck? You're just arguing for the sport of it, and your form is terrible to witness.
You treat this place like your own personal padded room and don't give a fuck about who you offend or scare away when you start flailing. You should show some respect to the people who run this site, thus providing you with a place to speak, and think about the damage (however minor) you might be doing to their bottom line by being such a cocksucker. The angry online persona is a real drag and for someone so concerned with wellbeing it probably isn't doing any favours for your immune system either.
now that there is a few poignant paragraphs
no offence to the website and stunet, I personally couldn't give a fuck about the damage he's doing here... but geez I do worry about the damage he's doing...
Do you even surf?
"man-karen" lol.
I didn't think that this was the comment section in which the peace-pipe would be passed around.
Petty personal resentments allows some to overlook the fact that our government is acting like Kim Jong Un and they would rather post antagonistic comments supportive of a government they despise than concede any moral high ground.
TL:DR.
Is this about Bali?
Does Outside Corner get a mention?
Any thoughts on how quarantine would have been organised, staffed, paid for etc. in order to meet the extra burden created if the jet setting elite hadn't been so unjustly persecuted and imprisoned within Oz?
Apparently this has already proved somewhat tricky, even with the unfortunate international travelling set forced to suffer in Australia.
Why haven't Amnesty International intervened?
Furthermore, the demonisation and violation of basic human rights borne by those such as The Aspen Cluster on their return to Melbourne earlier in the pandemic will stain Australia's reputation indelibly and must be investigated further.
Well played Roker. Won't someone please think of the Aspen skiers.
I’m more than willing to pay for quarantine.
Since when did the people of Australia welcome the unjust and hypocritical dictates of an openly corrupt government ?
How did Australians get so fcken domesticated ? The eureka stockade would never happen now .
Since you're so into that rugged individualism / damn the govt / anti expert ideology, why don't you fuck off to the USA blowin? That country's shit show is largely due to a hundred odd million folk who think like you do.
Is everyone here still actually believing this shit is real?
At the height of Vic corona, you could happily leave the state and get into QLD if you bought a house there. Food for thought.
hey vj, I think they all did. so many houses in qld were bought sight unseen and there has been no rentals avail since June up here
Totally, a surfing mate did that and tbh the pics that came back were pretty epic.
I'll stay down here in the cold with my lines of long, long groundswell and mountains :)
Maroochy beachy was part of my childhood tho
2 observations from this piece.
1. You are a very angry man VicL.
2. Man I love g-land
Gotta be honest, this article reeks of selfishness and so do some of the comments. Outside of Australia the majority of the world is struggling with skyrocketing case numbers and deaths including Indonesia, and you can't wait a few months for a surf trip. Talk about first world problems.
This is an obvious troll.
If not, the author is complaining about:
Living in a 1st world country.
Living in a country that has managed a global pandemic better than almost anywhere.
Whinging about not being able to go to a 3rd world shit hole that is being devastated by the global pandemic. A country where most people would kill to be in a safe, functioning, healthy country with a big house with a fully stocked fridge.
Being stuck in a country that has some of the best waves in the world.
Being stuck in a country where if you lost your job, the government steps in generously. Compare that to an average Indonesian that's just lost their job!
If this isn't a troll, the author is one of those entitled people I see on the TV whinging about masks/freedoms(!)/Bill Gates(?). Reads like King Leopold writing about how he can't get a ship to the Congo to exploit their resources. Locals are struggling you say? They'll struggle more if they don't meet my demands AND they'll lose their fuckin' hands!
I'm not scared of COVID and I'm healthy. On a personal level, I would take my chances happily as I haven't been sick in 3 years. But that's not how living in a society works. Sometimes you gotta do what you need to do for the good of the country. Trust the experts! It's the one time our government has empowered the experts and look at the results. If only wish they did the same with NBN, the economy, et al.
Empathy for all and love to you all! Especially the salty ones! Chill out, kiss your love ones and be grateful that you were born in Australia instead of Indonesia.
Everyone drop their ego (Me,I) and be grateful for how good we have it. Yes, I want uncrowded waves too, but they're not going anywhere and we'll be over there soon enough. With a fistful of strong currency and having gotten through COVID with all our family and loved ones.
How is having our outward borders closed helping to combat the virus in Australia ?
You’re aware that it’s a situation without a single bit of scientific or medical reasoning behind it and it has never been suggested by the health officials as a possible way to curtail the virus aren’t you ?
It’s purely political. A thought bubble dreamt up by the same crew who brought you Robodebt , cashless welfare cards , below poverty level welfare payments and who abandoned all their other responsibilities of border control and quarantine to the states .
Yet you think that questioning a government decree which locks our entire population down without reason whilst opening the floodgates to any one else to enter is a selfish thing to do ?
People who go out have to come back in. Probabilities dictate that some people who come back will be infected, and some infections will breach quarantine.
I apologise in advance for the repetition, but how does this theory stack up with the tens of thousands of students / temporary workers / New Zealanders / People who transit through NZ who are allowed to enter ? The Uni students are even getting their quarantine paid for by the Unis which are funded by the government ie the students are getting their quarantine paid for by the Australian people who aren’t allowed to leave themselves . Bizarre , strange , incomprehensible state of affairs yet everyone thinks we should meekly abandon any need for travel we might have.
I read about a lady the other day who’s mother is dying but the government won’t let her leave to see her claiming it’s non essential amd will only allow her to travel for the funeral.
Surely there should be some advantages to being a citizen of Australia ?
I'm with you on the hypocrisy of all that, but rather than thinking "if they can do it, why not me" I'm rather thinking that most of the above ought to be off the cards.
Surely there should be some advantages to being a citizen of Australia ?
Dude, you're cooked! The fact that you said you're a nomad and you can post something like that?!
Here is how the theory stacks up.
International students bring in billions of dollars to our economy. Ditto all the NZ people who live and work here. Farm labours do the jobs we wont do. So the people we are letting in are bringing something valuable to all of us.
We need to balance this benefit with the risk of importing the virus. NZ has practicality zero virus so its a no brainer to let them in. The rest have a big benefit but they do bring risk so we are managing that as best we can through the quarantine system.
This is where you come in. If you leave and then come back you are not adding anything but you are increasing our risk. No benefit, all risk.
And lets say we allow anyone of us go for a OS holiday and then come back, call it a million people. Can you see the issues that might cause? How would the quarantine system cope? Do you think there might be a bigger chance the virus gets in and possibly causes us havoc?
Do you know anyone from Melbourne? Maybe ask about the effects the lockdown had on them and their families and get their thoughts on needless OS travel.
How is having our outward borders closed helping to combat the virus in Australia ?
Ask an expert. That's not me and it's not you. But I would think yes, given that people will go and get COVID, not quarantine and spread it here. If 50% of the population are below average intelligence, let's say 10% are not going to follow quarantine restrictions because they're total dumbarses. That's a lot of people.
You’re aware that it’s a situation without a single bit of scientific or medical reasoning behind it and it has never been suggested by the health officials as a possible way to curtail the virus aren’t you ?
Big call to make, unless you're an expert. Are you? I'm not.
It’s purely political. A thought bubble dreamt up by the same crew who brought you Robodebt , cashless welfare cards , below poverty level welfare payments and who abandoned all their other responsibilities of border control and quarantine to the states .
I edited above to highlight our success in COVID has been because the government empowered the experts. Unlike every other time with every other thing. China fucking us at the moment is a direct result of SloMo's blunder. That's political.
Yet you think that questioning a government decree which locks our entire population down without reason is a selfish thing to do ?
Strawman alert! We should always question everything the government does, but we should also be humble to know that we're ultimately ignorant about the daily nature of reality. Therefore we should listen to the experts, the same way we should listen to you if you've put in 10,000 hours of study/work with something.
Pointing out where the article is selfish seems redundant.
All the best, chill out, smoke a doob and be grateful for being born in Australia, we didn't do anything to deserve it. I read that your a Nomad above, believe it or not, me too. As of next year I'll be mobile travelling Australia and the world for the foreseeable future. It's just around the corner and I'm happy to wait.
Vox poll : Who is travelling for Chrissy and what is your destination ?
Somewhere on the mid north coast this year. Quiter spot with no A grade surf spots - hopefully means I can find a quiet bank somewhere, get a bit of fishing in...
I want to travel I don't care about anybody or anything as long as I can travel. Yet even though I tell anybody who will listen about how good the place is where I live and how good the waves are there, I still MUST travel because it its MY right. I'm an individual...
The single reason I live where I do is to care for an elderly bloke with Parkinson’s and his wife who struggles without help. This is my time of year to get away and recharge my energy for the future. This is a great place but it’s not where I’d live if I had an alternative. I’m not seeking sympathy just a bit of perspective.
Sorry if that sounds too selfish.
I can empathise with that.
But while we're restricted from getting overseas, is there nowhere in Aus you get get away to get your fill of tubes and serenity?
fair play Blowin
staying put.
ducking and weaving amongst the chaos.
If you could get more than a 90 day Visa per calendar year in Brazil I would be back there in a flash. To the little area I was before. So good.
Covid concerns...humph!
There really are some boring and brain washed people around. They can go to hell.
whats your take on covid concerns View?
Blowin, I have your solution. It's a mate's fantasy, and he researched it. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone. I've just watched Kelly win his heat, after flying from Bali to Hawaii 2 days before.
Join the WQS.
If you join the WQS, you can travel as an athlete to the tour destinations. Maybe include yourself in a tour bubble. Get past the 'papers please'. According to mate, if you can fund your way, you can be on the QS. If Kelly's on tour at 49.... you can do the QS.
Cheers VJ. Great idea. I’ve often dreamt of cracking the top 100,000 in the world.
I reckon I’ll be there early in the new year anyway. Got some irons in the fire. Wait to see how everyone is travelling here post Xmas and if all good then GTFO.
And VJ .....had a good giggle at both “ Fly my pretties “ and “ Still can’t kill the beast”. Good work.
PS There’s always another way out . No need to join the QS - simply dud everyone around you out of hundreds of millions of dollars and then pay off enough good ol’ corrupt Aussie officials so you can evade justice at the height of COVID . Too easy cobber !
https://www.domain.com.au/news/international-fugitive-michael-gus-seafor...
I'm staying put right here in Jan Juc. Should be nice and quiet around these parts for the next couple of months.
it's been weird... was expecting crowdmageddon, not complaining
Calm before the storm VJ....
Hiya Freeride.
Oh Covid is out there alright. The numbers are still on the increase.
But @ 12,000 deaths per day globally, theres still way too many humans going around.
Im not fussed at all.
Well done Oz to keep numbers down but that is ONLY because we are a large island with low population and density. Very lucky in that respect.
We should be able to manage incoming Australian citizens via quarantine comfortably.
you got any inside info. on how corona is actually effecting the country views from the.. ?
and I mean how the virus is ACTUALLY effecting brazil on the ground, the people, deaths...
...not the hyped up bolsonaro bashing we must endure day after day...
corona is real, oz is lucky, better virus out than in...
but getting some mixed reports from indonesia, a place that is supposedly getting smashed, numbers of cases are not good and rising, initially a lot of deaths and people sick etc., however the general talk now would suggest otherwise...
I saw video of Bolsonaro telling the public off for not being ballsy enough to arm themselves and to stick up for their rights against dictatorial mayors and governors attempting to lock them down. Said the pro-lockdown officials should be wearing handcuffs...
That being said I have no from the ground info.
ummm...has the author seen the movie? clark griswold is a clueless, childish, selfish loser.
cheers Views.
Griswold is funny though.
Clarke ain’t selfish .
He drove his aunt Edna to Phoenix for God’s sake. Well , he intended to anyway. He was going to give Eddie a bit of cash after he lost his job and the plate in his head wasn’t big enough to qualify for welfare. He took the whole tribe cross country to Wally World FFS.
Clarke was a giver.
He certainly wanted to give it to Christie Brinkley.
"My family and I are looking for Sex" - European vacation
Also a shoutout to Ernest goes to Camp:
"Never do this to a family of badgers"
And their chefs' Eggs Erroneous machine...
Which was the movie: where Chevy Chase eats the food in the country pub, says it's good, asks what it is and reply is "Sheep Balls!"
That movie, I think Dan Ackroyd had a speedboat and it's name was "Suck My Wake"
If I ever own a speedboat...
Yeah, but towing Aunt Edna's dog behind the car until it was just a bloodied pelt bought out his true colours.
All because it pissed on his balony sandwiches.
Poor little fella....
He probably kept up for the first couple of miles.
Am I the only one who thinks Carcharodon Dundee and blowin are playing sock puppets here?
It's like Dundee wrote an article so his alter ego could bang on about foreign students.
Very perceptive Vic.
Nothing gets by you.
seriously dude if you're gonna continue to carry on like a pork chop, you need to explain why you're such a rabid little attack dog about anyone else supposedly clogging up quarantine places for australian residents and citizens yet you have no issue at all with overseas student's taking places
the hypocrisy is just over the top out of this world ridiculous outrageous...
again...
"International students better have a very good reason to come, ie they are also doing important research or working in a highly specialised field." That's my comment sypkan.
Do try and keep up.
Except most of them are studying Management and Commerce. Hardly a highly specialised field.
Exactly.
They're given special treatment for the sole reason that the government sees them as walking wallets.
OK Blokes, here's my opinion on foreign students at this point in time. Australians trying to return to the country should take priority unless a foreign student has a very compelling story or skill set.
I will give you a scenario where a foreign student should be given a place in quarantine. If a student is studying in the medical field and is also conducting research with a team of Australian scientists, then there's a pretty good reason that person should be allowed into the country. If a foreign student is an undergraduate doing a bog standard degree, then the Australia returnee should take priority.
Is that too confusing for you people?
PS, and when a vaccine is widespread we need to get foreign students back ASAP, because they fund vital research. If we don't embrace higher education, Australia's standard of living will plummet. Low skilled service jobs and coal exports is not exactly a bright future.
Well, there you go folks, Swellnets self-appointed sheriff has spoken. You all take heed now write.
Sorry, it was the best hillbilly accent I could write...... oh hang on, is that right? Oh, now I'm all confused.
So you think the student doing the bog standard degree should still be allowed in ?
Even though Australians aren’t allowed out ?
You don’t think that a student without desperately needed skills trying to come to Australia ie 99.99 percent of students is a “ selfish flog “ ? Wouldn’t that make the a “ me first knob “ ? Doesn’t this make them a “ man - Karen “ who is happy to treat Australians like shit ?
Isn’t our quarantine system fragile and increasing the people just increases the risk ? Doesnt this mean they’re willing to risk people’s lives , lifestyles and incomes just so they can study a pedestrian subject ? Does this mean they think they’re special and fuck everyone else ?
If they are so into rugged individualism shouldn’t they fuck off to the USA ?
All of the above are insults you’ve thrown my way because I made the horrific suggestion that Australians should be able to exit our borders if they so desire . You think that a foreign student here to do business management is not deserving of the same filthy spray ?
.
"So you think the student doing the bog standard degree should still be allowed in ?"
Fuck it blowin, I can't write any clearer for you. If you're too stupid to understand my very clearly worded comment, that's your problem not mine.
Here’s your exact words :
“ If a foreign student is an undergraduate doing a bog standard degree, then the Australia returnee should take priority.”
You make it clear that the bog standard student should still be allowed in as long as they don’t queue jump . Whilst cursing like a drunken sailor if I dare suggest that i want to leave the country and agree to pay for my own quarantine and wait my turn. But you’ve just said that a surfer leaving Australia is a potential mass murderer , a selfish Karen , an anti expert individualist who treats Australians like shit , someone who should fuck off to America and a selfish flog , me first Veruca purely because they may want to return even if they wait .
It’s there in black and white.
I don’t understand. Why are you like this ?
Show me on the doll where the bad Aussie surfer touched you.
"You make it clear that the bog standard student should still be allowed in"
No I don't you dopey fucker.
I said Australia returnees should take priority. Given there's 40,000 Australians trying to get home and limited quarantine spaces, even a bloke with a full frontal lobotomy can work out I don't support bog standard international students coming into the country.
Go to bed Veruca blowin, you're drunk.
Zzzz
"What about the stuff where surfers are evil mass murderers"
That's just a figment of your idiotic imagination.
You talk absolute shit Veruca.
"Show me on the doll where the bad Aussie surfer touched you"
I couldn't let that one go. Gold.
Zing!
Stu sorry to say but didn't get it
"New take on an old insult: He starts with a W and the rest is on the front of the boat."
Yeah I know IQ test and failed it could you help
Cheers
I focus,
W-anchor.
Say it quickly.
Aw fuck.
What gets chucked off the front of a boat when you want to remain in the same spot?
Answer: C'mon I focus!.....you can do it from here!
Also a type of beer in Indonesia that isn't a Bintang.
Whineiken?
(I was just trying to match your wambulance masterpiece)
Thanks for the help gents, pretty bloody obvious..........will try harder in the future.
Holy shit,
Talk about first world problems,
I was just glad to take a couple of my kids to visit Mum in her nursing home for the first time in months.
If you haven't had your over seas surf trip in months, suck it up princesses.
Vic local should be banned and Blowin sounds like whinging teenager lol.
Why? Vic injects a much needed lighthearted reverie into these forums. Not to mention his whimsical, happy-go-lucky personality which reflects in his wicked sense of humour.
Drier than a nun’s nasty that was Zen.
Nah. Him and comrade dan are tarred with the same brush, love the choncas.
Interesting to note that Indonesia is getting a million doses of SinoVac coming this week and another 1.8mil doses due in January.
If this Chinese vaccine is successful it will mean Indo will be open for surfing to Australians much quicker.
blowin must be torn. Does his hatred for China outweigh his desire to get some tropical perfection?
you believe anything, stay off news.com.au
Told you folks- whimsical.
Btw- create a poblem and provide the solution at great expense.
Is ka-ching a Chinese word?
Not going all Ickey there are you Zen?
Pretty sure he introduced the term Problem - Reaction - Solution as a basis for conspiracy activity.
The Hegelian Dialectic is the proper name for "P - R - S" and it is one of the commonest methods by which powerful people can convince powerless people to do things that run counter to their own best interests, whilst simultaneously thinking they are doing so of their own volition.
Vic Local is the classic case of someone who has become so afflicted by this mechanism of societal discord, exactly in the manner that powerful people intended; he has lost all his innate ability to form coherent objective and individualistic ideas, due to the conditioning and fear imposed in him by people who hold values which run counter to his own. The powerful people of the world have tricked Vic into believing they actually give a shit about his health, or his ability to see his family, or surf, and ultimately make any of the decisions for himself that he has the right to make in order to determine the path his life takes.
The irony is I am someone who will defend to my dying breath Vic's ability to choose his own path in life (though I give an opinion on him and his views do not mistake that for censorship), and I truly want Vic to have a happy and healthy experience during his time here in the meatspace.
I say all this with the slimmest of hopes that Vic may think more openly in future. Yet, I hold a much greater hope that others reading this may feel encouraged to look with more depth at the ethical and societal issues facing us today while divorcing themselves of the need to be viewed as "right" in the eyes of a society that has so efficiently divorced itself from the need to be just.
A war on death cannot be won, and a war on life cannot be lost. It is a banal and imbecilic man who blindly follows rhetoric, without consulting the logic inherent within his soul first. Eventually, the humanity present within all of us will prevail.
Possible food for thought...
More outgoing flights = increased likelihood of exposure of flight crews etc, thus increasing the risk those staff will contract it and develop symptoms, ongoing health implications, maybe even die. And depending on how their movements are managed upon their return, also increasing the likelihood of community spread back home.
Coconut curry and a bunger tear up my car seat.
Terry McKenzie.
It’s flooding , the ocean is on its way to becoming brown soup containing bloated livestock carcasses, the wind is blowing sideways , the sky is the colour of pewter and still the town here is chock a block with gurning vacationers.
You’ve got to admire the tenacity of the determined holidaymaker. Everyone’s got a little bit of the ol’ Clarke Griswold spirit hidden just below the surface .
"Everyone’s got a little bit of the ol’ Clarke Griswold spirit hidden just below the surface."
Maybe blowin, but Clarke isn't stupid enough to want to go on an international vacation, to a covid hotspot in the middle of a pandemic.
Clarke also cares a little bit for his fellow humans.
He wrote a story basically saying that he loves surfing in Indo and is frustrated that he can't go there with a bit of..... 'shudder'....his own take on the situation.
Get the fuck over it and take your negativity elsewhere. it's becoming tiresome.
Agreed.
If I had to say how much of what you put down I agree with, it's probably around 50%, maybe greater. Though I think that's heavily influenced by climate topics. I don't read all that widely here..
But when you do this it's....sigh inducing/annoying? Like when a pollie is asked a question about something they/their party did and instead of staying on topic they just drag up something the other mob did, often about some completely unrelated topic. Though at least in that instance it's obvious what they perceive the gains to themselves to be....
Fair point Mowgli and ringmaster. Maybe I should explain my position better.
I have a bunch of friends in the USA and they are absolutely livid with the me-first anti-government libertarians who are spreading the virus without a single fuck given about their fellow citizens.
Many of my American friends work in hospitals and have to put their lives on the line for people (just like blowin) who demand their "freedumbs" in a pandemic.
If I'm a bit harsh, then so be it.
Australians have done extremely well in combatting Covid 19. This is the result of a very large number of people believing in the science, listening to the experts, and having a bit of respect for fellow citizens. I think a zero tolerance approach to people demanding non-essential international travel to a Covid hotspot is absolutely justifiable. The shit show in the USA and Europe backs up my argument.
Makes sense and it's tough to argue against that. I think it's the "aggressive namecalling" and bringing up other topics/forums that gets tiresome. Perhaps I'm just being snowflake (they are unique and pretty up close....and short-lived....soooo kind of a good thing/very much the human experience? But I digress...)
I've got people in the US as well and what a shit show it is over there. Some of whom had planned a visit for a few months ago. As far as the pandemic goes, the same can be said (amongst other factors) for a lot of places in the UK and Europe where the push for relaxing rules will no doubt (once the dust settles, the data collected, and the research completed) have been the primary reason for the repeated outbreaks and waves they're going through. Family and friends there too.
So yeah, I get annoyed too at people having a whine as per the article about not being able to head OS and the disconnect between the rationale they use. Which at best has an undertone of "she'll be right" or at worst near total ignorance of how quickly the situation can change as a result of a couple of things not going as planned/hoped (e.g. human error). Hence my comment further up about the airlines and the government not wanting to expose airline staff given the risk to themselves and that they'll be ground zero for community spread/wave #2.
I had two trips locked and loaded this year. One canned as the travel ban came into force all of a sudden less than a week out to departure and one in Sept/Oct, to Indo. I've accepted this is what's had to happen and am glad nature and the non-tourism sector has had a break. Unfortunately there's been no such break here on the sunny coast, but I guess them's the....breaks.
"Which at best has an undertone of "she'll be right" or at worst near total ignorance of how quickly the situation can change..."
Mowgli, I think your "at worst" picture is very generous.
There's a certain group of people who think rules simply don't apply to them. They want their freedom no matter what the consequences are to other people. In the USA it's the second amendment types who demand the right to bare military grade assault weapons no matter how many innocent kids are murdered during school shootings. In Australia it's the anti-lockdown sovereign citizens who spout legal BS so they don't have to wear a mask or abide by public health laws. Jetski hoons at crowded beaches, people who ski in avalanche areas no matter what the risk to people in the valley below, and yes, people who want to travel to a covid hotspot to go surfing even if it means longer quarantine cues for other Aussies trying to get home to visit sick relatives or grieve with family.
These type of people are quick to take the "you're taking away our freedom" victimhood option. They don't give a flying fuck about refugees locked up for more than 7 years without committing a crime. Other people's freedoms don't matter. It's always all about them.
Luckily the vast majority of Australians have zero tolerance for the Uber-selfish. We should keep it that way.
.