Standing near the highway at the turnoff to Byron Bay, Northern New South Wales.

I need a three or so kilometre ride into town, having hitched from Sydney over the course of the previous few days.

No hurry. After all you shouldn’t hustle past Red Rock National Park.

It's early December.

Summer is here, and summer in northern New South Wales is a wondrous thing for a 21 year old from the generally cool South Island of New Zealand. The water temperature is around 10º C warmer, and the air somehow feels fluffy.

I'm picked up by two late-20s aged surfers from California, who are having a close inspection of the Australian coastline.

The car is a 1963 EJ Holden, the three-speed Hydra-Matic version.

Yeah, the old EJ clutch gave out

I'm going no particular place. We get to talking, share a campsite, and later a beer.

We also share a sensibility, and enjoy each other's company. Rick can spin a fine story, and I'm a keen listener.

Sitting around a fire on the beach.

The summer heat in Australia makes you thirsty!

They are now heading south, also in no particular hurry, and that suits me to.

I’m not surfing there!!

We have our share of adventures and eventually, a month later, we end up south of Apollo Bay in Victoria, along the Surf Coast.

The morning of New Year’s Day. Fun times at the Wye River

We travel more than 2000 km, 1300 miles, together.

Now mid-January, it's time for me to head back to New Zealand.

I pick up my tiny van, and a week or so later the boys, having sold their car in Australia join me. It's not quite as spacious with no front bench seat, actually only two seats, but somehow we all fit in.

Mac Media Destruction Company official vehicle. Later sold for $300.

We have another month trying out surfing spots in the North Island, and mucking around in Nelson Lakes National Park, before I peel off to go back to university in Christchurch.

Lake Rotoiti. Now in my backyard.

And yeah, by the end I could regularly stand up on the board for a few seconds before being smashed into the wave. Body surfing proves more my thing.

The boys borrow my car to trip around the South Island for the following month, and they even return it in similar condition.

The 3 km ride turned into a full three month summer experience.

A truly memorable summer. And one great ride.