April 5th 2022: Kaikoura's gift

Kaikoura is one of my most favourite places in the world. Even when it doesn't have a swell running this place is special, with amazing kayaking and mountains that drop directly into the South Pacific Ocean. Plus the town is loaded with great restaurants and cafés and some of the friendliest, most down-to-earth Kiwis you could hope to meet. Add in a swell or two and the coastline comes alive with some incredibly beautiful lineups.

At the end of summer, without a skerrick of snow in the tops, it feels a little like surfing in Tahiti – riding waves right into mountainous bays.

We were there for the Kaikoura Grom Comp – the third round of the South Island Grom Series. It was held one weekend after we scored that beautiful swell at New Brighton and Tangaroa kept smiling upon us with another east swell and then a south swell to bookend the adventure.

The main comp site was at Meatworks, which held 2-5 foot peaks throughout the event – the perfect testing ground for the country's best young surfers. Some of the surfing that went down was world-class.

But perhaps the most amazing part of the week in Kaikoura was the free surfing and the general quality of the young surfers coming through – not just in their surfing prowess, but in their attitudes and good sportsmanship qualities. There are a lot of good young humans in the sport right now and I reckon that's pretty exciting. 

See you at the beach, Derek

PS Want to check out the full story from our recent Backdoor surf trip around the Otago and Catlins coastline? That full Backdoor Surf team trip story is online right here at NZ Surf Journal.