NEWCASTLE'S main surfing event will soon go global, with an American blogger in town yesterday to document Surfest.
Miami 24-year-old Bobbi-Jo O'Gilvie is three weeks into a three-month round trip from Sydney to Cairns.
She is writing about her adventures for travel website The Word Australia.
The Harvard University sociology graduate won the expenses-paid trip after she received about 400 votes in a competition for the "best backpacking job in Australia".
"It was kind of like going for prom queen because you're basically telling people why to vote for you," Ms O'Gilvie said.
So far on her travels she has visited Bondi Beach, Darling Harbour and Port Stephens, and she said Newcastle had made a good impression on her.
"Everyone is so much nicer here than in Miami," she said.
"People are a lot more open and approachable."
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