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| Dolphins at Milford |
About a week ago, three fools and a 1991
Mitsubishi L300, full LPG conversion, converted camper van (named ‘The Jack
Johnson’ – long story on the name) set out from Wanaka, Aotearoa (or, New
Zealand, if you like). Having finished a southern hemisphere’s winter season
working in a ski town, the three of us (Sam, from the Netherlands, Tom, from
England, and me, Kikila, a Canadian) were long overdue for hitting the coast.
Of course, one of my main objectives is to chat with other surfers about the
Soul Surfers Foundation, and spread a little Aroha throughout the South Island
surfing community. I guess, to that end, I’m going to keep this blog as
up-to-date as I possibly can, trying to let other Soul Surfers know what’s
happening down here, and so people can follow the course of our early summer
tour.
We started out a little slow. Well, checking out
Milford Sound is for sure not a slow start to any trip. I suppose it was a
little slow seeing as we were aiming for the coast. Stopping in to visit one of
our friends in Te Anau we scoped the fjords (spelled fiords down here) for a
couple of days before finally breaching the mountains. We spent a few days
driving east along the southern coast, facing winds and rain that made surfing
impossible.
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| Kea's checking out the Jack Johnson |
The first break we visited (2 Nov) that was
surfable was Porpoise Bay (just outside of Waikawa, east of Invercargill). Sam,
being our on-board surfing coach and the most experienced surfer of the trio, almost
squeaked with excitement. Unfortunately, with intermittent swells and a crazy,
shifting wind (not to mention only having 1 board for the three of us), Sam only
managed to catch 1 or 2 waves. Still, that left me with a chance to chat up the
locals, asking a bit about the local surf scene, learning about the breaks in
the area, and what South Island surfers think of their environment. I met heaps
of cool dudes (and dudettes) who were all environmentally conscious, surfers
who really care about where they surf, and keeping the ocean as clean as
possible.
The next day (3 Nov), waking a little later than
normal from our camping spot at Jack’s Blow Hole, we turned The Jack Johnson
towards Balclutha, where we discovered a really great little beach (about 20km
south-west of the town) in Cannibal Bay. Again, while Sam was testing out the swells
(made unpredictable on the day due to a strong wind), Tom and I decided to make
friends. Cannibal Bay is apparently popular among tourists and locals alike,
and we bumped into one of the coolest dudes you will ever meet. Gary, who lives
about 30 paces from the beach, was taking his young lamb for a walk when Tom
and I decided to introduce ourselves. Explaining that there was no official
camping near the bay, took us in for the night and made us a dinner of fresh Pāua (a shell fish) and White Bate (a Kiwi
delicacy), allowing us to use his shower, kitchen, and land to camp. He’s
hoping to set up a campervan park near Nugget Point, and seems to have the
sustainability worked out. When Gary lets me know, I’ll post it here.
Lucky as hell to meet a local with some
knowledge, Gary – not a surf
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| Sam and the Sea Lions |
er himself – took us to a beach that’s a bit of a
walk from Cannibal Bay – near New Haven, just west of False Islet. The
following day (4 Nov), when we got up and said farewell to Gary, we made the
walk over to this beach where we found the breaks way more consistent, and
lucked out with next to no wind. Sam and I both took turns working Sam’s board,
and while Sam managed to bag a few really nice lefts, I barely stood up. It’s
been a long year since my last surfing mission, and it totally shows!
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| Bussass the Lamb |
Another day, another fantastic, clean, lonely
South Island beach. Yup, it was just the three of us, playing football/soccer
and jamming acoustic/uke on the beach while one of us was in the water.
Absolutely fantastic.
Now, as I write this, we’re sitting in one of
Sam’s friend’s play room (Jorinde, thanks so much for the hospitality!), just
outside of Dunedin, making plans for the northern stretch of the southern coast
(through the Otago – we’re looking to hit up Timaru, Oamaru, and then head out
to the West Coast, where the breaks are crazy), and looking to find some more
boards in Dunedin tomorrow. It’s been a pretty good week, and hopefully some of
the surf shops and clubs we visit tomorrow will be receptive to putting Soul
Surfers stickers up in windows.
If you’re hanging around the South Island this
early-summer, and you find a Soul Surfers Foundation sticker, or some
information tucked under your windshield wiper blades while you’re parked at a
beach access point, don’t worry! Check us out !
Chris ‘Kikila’ Perrin
4 November 2013
(all photo credits: ©Tom Ingledew-Gale)
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