Queensland Year 12 student Ivy Thomas was out surfing this Easter long weekend when former PM Tony Abbott dropped in on her wave and her reaction was PRICELESS.
Thomas told BuzzFeed News she was at the end of a family holiday when she went out on Monday: "I live on the Gold Coast and was up in Noosa for the long weekend for the family. I walked around to Tea Tree (beach) by myself and I paddled out."
"I was speaking to this local who said that Tony was on the beach. And there he was just sitting there on his board!" Thomas said.
"He dropped in and I kind of didn't know how to react. I was expecting him to be way worse but he could actually surf. Only in Australia that you get dropped in by the former prime minister."
Thomas said the former PM was a "total legend" out in the surf and was really getting into it.
"He was cheering people on. Even the little groms*, Tony was cheering them as they caught waves," she said.
(*groms = 'grommets' which is a slang term for young surfers).
"He was just a normal person. A normal surfer. It was the best thing ever."
Thomas laughed when asked about what she thought about Abbott as a politician.
"Well I'm only 17, so any time he comes on, I sort of say, 'that's not about me'," she said.
"But I thought it was awesome he was out there having a good time. I have more positive feeling towards him. I didn't mind sharing a wave with him."
In light of what actually happened, she feels weird that it looks like she's throwing Abbott epic side-eye: "I look like I’m negging him but it was actually awesome."
And with Abbott planning to travel around the country, dropping in and messing up Malcolm Turnbull's election campaign, you couldn't get a better photo that sums up Aussie politics.
