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Posted on Thursday March 4th 2010 at 2:25 p.m.
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As many of you know Nelson is not the place where consistent surf or a solid surfing culture exists due sheltered area of Tasman Bay. Having said this there are still the die hard Nelson Board Riders crew who are out battling away at 2 foot of wind slop with 4 second periods whenever the opportunity arises, and many who are always willing to make the 3-4 hour drive to Kaikoura to catch a few screamers.
Having spent a couple of weekends through January in Kaikoura we were feeling the need for a change. Serious change. Well-particularly myself, being a goofy footer I was dying for a left hander. There were stories we heard about Karamea and how the beach breaks are not to dissimilar to those of the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coasts in Queensland. Nelson is geographically very close but is still a massive 5+ hour drive and to be honest, if we were driving and saw the waves around Westport at the 4 hour drive mark that is where we would stop.
The right conditions arrived on Sunday 31st of January, just a cheeky 2-3 foot with virtually no wind and SwellMap was indicating ratings of 8 or 9 out of 10 and just to add to the perfect story-not a cloud in the sky. Conveniently enough my buddy Tomo had just finished his fixed-wing aircraft licence and had access to a little 4-seater Cessna in Motueka.
So here we go, rushing around after a relatively heavy night (for myself-pilot following regulations) trying to get organised for an 11.30am departure from Motueka. The whole 45 minute drive we were just hoping that 2 boards plus gear would squeeze in!! We arrive at the airfield and covertly sneak the boards into the plane (successfully) and trying not to be seen as questions would probably be asked by the local seniors about how sensible our decisions were.
Once airborne it was a matter of minutes to reach an altitude where we could actually see the ocean on the west coast, as we got closer we were laughing hysterically, Tomo turns to me and says "Rewi! Who does this?" I had a grin from ear to ear and was frothing at the sight of lines from a spaced out ground swell coming in from the west. I was still battling a mild hangover mixed with some tiredness and was struggling to believe what we were actually doing. It took us 24 minutes of flight time to get there, less than a tenth of the drive time it would have taken us. Once on the ground reality struck us-mainly because the walk from the Karamea airfield to the beach would take us a similar time as what flying there took.
Once we were about 25 metres from the sand dunes our feelings were a mix of excitement and nervousness. Had the view from the air really indicated what was happening? Were we going to find a big close out? The final section of the walk became a jog just so we could get that first view of the conditions. Once we seen it there were a few yells and signs of satisfaction: 2-3 foot, perfectly spaced out and peeling for ages. We had arrived just on high tide so we had no time to mess around, wetsuits were dropped and we raced in with only boardies , the one and only duck dive sent a few shivers but we managed to keep warm by scoring handfuls of waves each as there was no one else out. We even had a couple of Karamea's local hotties down the beach watching (they were actually from America-I have no idea what Karamea's talent levels are like on that note) and just to add in there-one was topless, not something you see every day on New Zealand beaches. After an hour or so we were exhausted from catching a massive amount of waves in such a short period the tide started to drop and the swell changed so it was not quite so good so it was time to have some lunch and plan our departure. Keeping in the theme of the high-rolling day we popped the top off a nice bottle of moet and used it to wash down the crayfish and caviar we had devoured (was more like a soggy sandwich, melted moro bar and some luke-warm powerade).
So as we're lugging our gear back to the air field with worn out arms the two ex America-Karamean girls decided to offer us a ride back which we were in no position to decline, I think they wanted a free ride in the plane or maybe just a piece of the pilot. As we fly back to Motueka I take over the controls for five or so minutes just to get a feel, after that mission-becoming a pilot would definitely have his benefits. Once again another epic surf mission has come to an end although this one in particular, as unique as it was, will never be forgotten.
AND!! The best part about this outrageous surf trip was: It cost us less overall than what it would have cost us to drive. Scott
Captain: Tomo
Co-pilot: Rewi
Voting opens this week! You get to decide who takes home the bag of goodies including a custom surfboard shaped by Pete Anderson!