Southbound and down

After leaving Wellington last Thursday we headed southeast to Kaikoura. This stretch of coast was like nothing I have ever seen and was very different than the green meadows we passed through on the North Island. The terrain here was rugged and windswept with a desert yellow colour scheme.  In the background were towering snowcapped mountains.

After scoping out a few blown out surf spots on our way into Kaikoura Town we stopped into a local sports store where the owner was able to give us some advice. We also saw a pizza joint in town called Dexerellies, which Dex naturally had to take a peak inside. This was actually good fortune because the owner happened to be a surfer and turned out to be a valuable source of information.

The surf spot we were referred to by our friends in town had perhaps one of the most beautiful backdrops for a surf spot I have ever seen. If one of us had of been a decent photographer, and one of us could do something cool on a wave, we easily could have landed the cover of any surf magazine. It was that impressive.

Amazing

The weird thing about New Zealand is that while it is so rich in amazing surf no one seems to surf. I’m sure the spots around the big cities have their days but in the country the chances of seeing another surfer is very rare. There are simply too many spots and not enough people to surf them. While you’re probably thinking that’s awesome in many ways it’s a double-edged sword because you really question things when you show up to a break that is pumping and there isn’t another soul in sight. You start to wonder why no one else is out and it makes for some really nervous surfing.

I ended up surfing that evening alone and while I got a few good waves I couldn’t really get comfortable enough to surf to my full potential or to stay in for that long. After about 5 waves I retreated to the camper van and we headed back to town for some pizza at Dexerellie’s.

The pizza at Dex’s was really good and we learned a bit more about the area from Dexter himself. One thing he told us to do was to hit up the trivia night at one of the local bars, which we did. We had a ton of fun at trivia and even got to meet the Mayor, who after a couple Montheith’s Brews told us that we were free to park the camper van wherever we liked in town that evening. Again, nothing but the finest Kiwi hospitality.

Dex and Dex

The next day when we woke up the surf was a bit bigger and the wind was down. We decided to check out a few spots but after not seeing anything we like we headed back to our spot from yesterday, which to my relief had two other surfers in the water. Success!

Before the other surfers got out I clawed myself into my wetsuit and jumped in the water to join them. From the comfort of our camper the waves didn’t seem that big but once I got in the water I quickly realized the size, as well overhead sets pushed through and peeled dangerously close to the cobblestone beach. Furthermore, the very deep offshore that makes Kaikoura a whale watchers paradise also makes for some very powerful waves and some very fast rides.

I caught a few waves but I had a really hard time controlling my short fat tailed small wave board in the punchy surf. When my new friends got out, I decided that it was time for me to go in as well and I paddled to shore narrowly escaping the pounding shore break which had grown in the hour I was in the water.

On my way back to the camper I spotted a familiar face. It was Dex the pizza guy. Not quite surfed out and excited to see another soul I ran back to the camper the got a more suitable board and jumped back in. Together, Dex and I got some waves until the winds ended our surf session. This time when I went to get out I wasn’t so lucky with the shore break and got absolutely pounded to the point that small cobblestones fell out of my wetsuit zippers when I got changed! Ouch.