A week of heaven with 3 surf hunks
CONTINUING our series featuring the holiday memories of famous people, this week, author KATHY LETTE, 58, recalls her lifetime of adventures...
First holiday I can remember:
At my grandma’s beachside shack south of Sydney. As a toddler, I loved to loll about in the lagoon and my dad taught me to body surf. The first time I followed him into the swell, I understood that ‘body surfing’ is just a euphemism for ‘organ donor’. Dad simply picked me up and hurled me shoreward like a human javelin. Before I had time to have a heart attack, I realised I was actually aloft on the crest. It would have been a total triumph – if only my bikini bottoms hadn’t caught a different wave all together.
My first trip abroad:
I was 12 years old and I campervaned my way around Europe and America before sailing back to Sydney with my parents. That trip ignited my wander-lust. My motto? Have globe, will trot.
My top school trip:
My geography teacher took us camping to the Blue Mountains in Australia. On the second night, she fried up various mushrooms that we had foraged in the forest – and pretty soon we were all hallucinating. It gave a very literal meaning to the term ‘school trip’.
My honeymoon:
It was at an Italian resort so exclusive that only the tide could get in. It was deliciously romantic until my husband fell down a cliff while exploring a ruin. He spent the rest of our honeymoon with his leg in plaster, which certainly dampened our passion.
Best holiday:
In Byron Bay, being taught to ride a surfboard by three gorgeous Aussie love gods was the happiest week of my life. I kept pretending to drown so I could get mouth-to mouth resuscitation.
And my worst:
A make-or-break holiday with a boyfriend to the Maldives. It rained solidly for a week and we ran out of polite conversation on day two. Day three he confessed all his infidelities. Mind you, an island holiday did at least offer a unique opportunity to drown my sorrows – if I held his head under long enough.
My essential holiday item:
Never travel anywhere without a good book, so even if it rains you can surf your brain waves.
Ultimate dream destination:
It would be to the Galapagos Islands. I want to go somewhere where there are creatures even weirder than I am!
Kathy Lette’s latest novel, Best Laid Plans, is published by Black Swan.