It has been more than 15 years since I last made the trip out to Piha. So when a friend decided to hold a birthday party there it was an easy trip to plan. Despite being on the verge of a city of a million-plus, these beaches have retained a wild west coast feel and a healthy dose of that Kiwi beach charm.
It was also a chance to catch up with my friend Luke Darby, who I worked with on New Zealand Surfing Magazine in 1998 and 1999. He's a creative director, rips in the surf and is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. These days he works out of a rustic little beach bach in Piha, surfs every good swell and produces quality film, photography and web work for a range of clients.
"I can't remember the last time I went into town," he laughs. "My clients love an excuse for a business meeting out here."
Alongside his creative work for clients he also produces Zepher.co.nz – an online creative portal dedicated to sharing the stoke of surfing. It's pretty cool ... check it out ... you may even find a familiar guest blogger among his blog lists.
Another old friend of mine who calls Piha home is Craig Levers also known as CPL. We worked on NZ Surfing Magazine back in the day also. When he heard I was coming through for the weekend he jumped on the phone and arranged a handful of Piha's promising young groms for me to shoot with.
That's how I came to be swimming out at Luke's Lefts (yep, directly in front of the Zepher.co.nz HQ) with Braedyn Louie, Toby Dobson-Smith, Shane Kraus, Alex Shields and Olo Taylor. Joining them by chance was Jonas and Elin Tawharu – the brother and sister from Mount Maunganui – and also rising stars in surfing. It's really nice to meet the next generation of surfers and discover they're also friendly, well-mannered individuals. That's got to be a great sign for the future of the sport.
Despite flat light and everything from drizzle to torrential rain Piha really turned on some fun waves and they were welcomed – locals reckoned the past three months hadn't had one single favourable wind.
One thing is for sure, Piha is certainly a quantum leap away from the hustle of the city – an oasis on the edge of New Zealand's biggest economic engine.
We hope you're winding down ... this might help: surf forecast.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Richard Christie is on the verge of qualifying for the 2015 World Surfing League as I write this. He is next in line and needs a handful of current World Championship Tour surfers to requalify through their results at the Billabong Pipe Masters (which has a lay day today). The pendulum could swing either way here. If it swings in his favour then Ricardo will be the second-ever Kiwi to make it to the elite ranks of world surfing. Maz Quinn contested the WCT in 2002. Good thoughts your way, Ricardo!
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