Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
TRAVEL<br />
SURF TRIP<br />
ABOVE AND TOP: As we<br />
discovered a quiet little bay just<br />
north of Tutukaka, scored a great<br />
little ripple and a few fun rides,<br />
little did we know, RIGHT, what<br />
Mother Nature had in store for<br />
us the next day...<br />
“And then it<br />
got just a little<br />
bit rainy...”<br />
Around from Tutukaka we find<br />
a spectacular bay - a horseshoe<br />
shape with a white sand beach.<br />
Despite the overcast skies you<br />
could see what a magic spot this<br />
was with superb little beach houses<br />
fringing the shore.<br />
Super-clean little knee-high rights<br />
peeled from the southern corner<br />
of the bay, absolutely perfect for<br />
the Roger Hall 7’ Hot Curl. We all<br />
take turns and swap boards every<br />
ten minutes or so. As the waves<br />
pick up, we move to some solid<br />
little beachies toward the centre of<br />
the bay. After three hours or more<br />
we finally make our way back to<br />
Tutukaka where we stay the night.<br />
And then it all went pear shaped.<br />
During the night, gale force winds<br />
hammered the Northland and it<br />
absolutely pissed down. By the<br />
morning our campground was starting<br />
to flood, as was the entire township<br />
and every bordering suburb. It then<br />
became a race against time to get<br />
out. Road upon road was closed.<br />
Weather reports stated those who<br />
could not get out would be trapped<br />
for the next four days.<br />
We tried several alternate routes<br />
but could not escape. We passed<br />
a spot called Sandy Bay that was<br />
wild but firing with no one out -<br />
mind you it was bloody murky - but<br />
there was no time to stop. We<br />
pushed on until we finally came to a<br />
grinding halt on a back road on the<br />
way to the state highway.<br />
There was no way through. We<br />
waded the waters in the flooded<br />
stretch of road and it was just<br />
below the waist. A friendly<br />
dairy farmer coming through the<br />
floodwaters on his tractor waved<br />
us on to his property to find shelter<br />
from the rising waters. Proving<br />
how small the world is, the friendly<br />
farmer Craig, used to shape his own<br />
surfboards, known as Blue Moon,<br />
which used to be glassed at Roger<br />
Hall’s Surfline factory.<br />
Frustrated, we sat for the next<br />
hour pondering how our NZ trip<br />
had just been washed away.<br />
But then it came - a break in the<br />
weather. The rain ceased for a<br />
while at the same time the waters<br />
dropped. We went for it, escaped<br />
and were on the road again.<br />
38 may/jun <strong>2012</strong>
Change language