The following words and photos are by young Coffs Harbour photographer, Duncan Macfarlane.

My motivation for this year's events came from the events of last year...or lack thereof. Let me explain.

I finished high school in 2008 and had high hopes for my 2009 year of freedom. However this was short lived when I accepted a job at the school I just finished at as an ‘office lady' (Not that there is anything wrong with the profession, the ladies were very nice, it just wasn't for me). So after completing what felt like an extra year of school I made a point to myself that I would do as much as I could in 2010.

True to my self-made promise, I kicked off the year with a two week caravan trip around the South Island of New Zealand in February. While I didn't score too much wave-wise - mainly due to the hectic sightseeing schedule - I did manage to stop in at a few places and witness some spectacular line-ups, quality waves, and big-ass seals chasing tourists around the beach.

Next up in my year was the Quiksilver Pro at the Gold Coast. I went up there for a couple of weeks, checked out the comp, took a few shots and met a few people.

From the Gold Coast I flew straight over to Western Australia for three weeks. While I was there I stayed with the guys behind the new magazine Soggybones. They showed me around and took me to plenty of pristine waves around the Margaret River region, including one really good day at The Box, which I was very grateful for.

Photographer Russell Ord was also kind enough to invite me to show some photos in the opening exhibition of his new gallery, The Sitting Room Gallery. A variety of photographers and artists were involved.

Upon returning from West Oz I managed to organise a trip to Bali and took off from home within a few weeks. I embarked on this next journey with Ben Short, filmmaker Chase Burns, logger Jack lynch, and a few other we met along the way. Wave-wise, it wasn't anything to jump up and down about. The light was horrible for the most part as well, however that didn't deter me from having a great time.

I celebrated my 20th birthday over there. At about 3pm in the afternoon of my birthday, just as the beers were beginning to flow, I was contacted by my bank to find someone had fraudulently stolen $700 from my account. Which, at the end of a month long stay, became quite a problem.

It all worked itself out though thanks to a sharp- minded bank fraud department. In my last couple of days there the surf started to do its thing and I managed to get a few good sessions with an assortment of great surfers, raising my spirits somewhat.

In between these trips I have also done more trips up and down the East Coast than I care to count, with various surfers for a number of different projects. I got better waves on these trips than I did globetrotting, proving you don't need to stray far from home to score epic waves.

I've had a privileged year so far and am stoked to have gone where I have and met the people I have. Now it's time to start filling up my savings account after I have given it a bit of a flogging this year.//DUNCAN MACFARLANE