SB_issue55_Digital

andom
ales from
he road
raglan
words: phoebe swan
This was my first time to
the North Island, having
visited the South Island
with my family back in 2014
when I was twelve. Back
then I wasn’t as passionate
surfer as I am now. When
dad (Dave Swan) took to the
Dunedin breaks in the middle
of winter with the outside
temps around 1 degrees and
the water about 8-9 degrees,
I wasn’t having any of it,
but things have changed. I
absolutely love my surfing
now. When the opportunity
finally came to visit my best
friend Sophia (a Kiwi) who
returned home to attend uni,
and who I hadn’t seen since
the start of Covid, I was very
keen. I was confident I would
get the chance to surf during
my stay, in fact I was going to
make certain of it.
Dad always raves about
New Zealand, about how
different the North Island
is to the South Island and of
course, how good the surf is,
and how down-to-earth all
the surfboard shapers are. I
found myself eager to follow
in his footsteps and amazingly
I think I pretty much did.
Here’s a little rundown on my
recent trip.
MUST DO NO 1
I was told I must visit Roger Hall at Surfline Custom
Surfboards. I don’t know how many times dad told
me how incredible his boards are. “True works of
art”, he said and how the day he rode Hot Curls
with Roger and then drank beers until the early
hours of the morning at McLeods’s Pizza Barn &
Brewery in Ruakaka was, “one of the best days of
my life”.
Well, unfortunately Roger wasn’t there when I
visited, he was off on holidays testing his boards,
but I did manage to catch up with Reece who
does all the artwork on the boards, a talented
artist himself. Reece was just incredible, so
accommodating and happy to walk me through
the workshop. And I can conclude, dad was right,
Roger’s boards are amazing and his latest iteration
of the Hot Curl out-of-this-world. Hopefully next
time I get a chance to test one.
MUST DO NO 2
Surf the Mount, Mount Manganui that is. Thanks to
Sophia’s housemate Fran and good friend Jai I got
the opportunity to surf this place and I just have to
say how special it is. The water was so crystal clear
and we managed to get in some fun, mellow waves.
UNPLANNED QUICK TRIP
Thanks to the wonderful Fran, who’s driven me
everywhere with Sophia tied down with uni, we
made a quick dash down to Pokohino Beach on the
Coromandel Peninsula, not far from Whangamata.
It is quite possibly the most beautiful beach I have
ever been to.
like father
like daughter
MUST DO 3
Raglan, the epicentre of New Zealand’s famed long
lefts as seen in movies like The Endless Summer.
This is the ‘holy land’ and I so wanted to dip my
toe in the waters here. My first stop was Mickey
T’s (Mike Thomson) Raglan Longboards to grab a
board for the next few days.
Dad rang ahead and spoke with Mickey’s wife
Sunny. A little while later I was greeted by both
of them with the offer of a longboard and no
acceptance of payment. “You’re family” was all
Mickey replied. When I Facetimed dad later that day
I think it brought a tear to his eye – the old softy he
has become. “I haven’t seen them in 10 years and
yet that is how they welcome you. I am so lucky to
have met so many people like that during our days
with Smorgasboarder. I love them” was all he could
say again and again.
New Zealand is like that. Time and time again you
are taken aback by how friendly and welcoming
they all are. I have been told so many times by my
parents that is how Australia used to be. When and
why did we lose this side of us?
WHERE NEXT?
There were many other must dos on my list from
dad but alas I couldn’t ‘do everything’.
Hopefully I will be asked to return to
visit the other corners of the North
Island I have heard so much
about like Gisborne, Taranaki,
Wellington and of course
Northland. I will be back.