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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.
Mount Maunganui sophia, phoebe, jess & fran hot curl Reece showing off some of his impressive artwork on another of Roger’s boards Pokohino Beach Mickey-T & Sunny ruakaka
Page 1 and 2: smorgasboarder 2023 #55 SURFmagazin
Page 3 and 4: 44 34 CONTENTS #55 2023 76 94 14 ne
Page 5: Photo: tommywilliams.photography
Page 9 and 10: Publishing this edition has been a
Page 11 and 12: SUNZAPPER.COM.AU | @SUNZAPPER 25% Z
Page 13 and 14: I owe my dad a huge debt of gratitu
Page 15 and 16: for the seas Eco-conscious. Sustain
Page 17 and 18: HANDMADE SURFBAORDS HUGE CHOICE. UN
Page 19 and 20: “My role is publisher, so I have
Page 21 and 22: outerislandsurfboards.com Born of a
Page 23 and 24: One of the greats As one of Austral
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