Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
This past week I took a whirlwind trip through Northland for a new book project I am working on. It reminded me once again that a trip to Northland should never be of the whirlwind type. I love it up there ... apart from the heat, which I was slowly acclimatising to. The west and east coasts are less than 10km apart at some points. And they both offer totally different experiences.
It's a bit like the luxury of Otago's north and south coasts but with less consistent swell (especially on the east coast) and way more bone-rattling gravel roads to navigate between lineups. Rarawa is one of my all-time favourite beaches – not so much because of the waves, which get very good, but because of the super fine white sand that makes the whole place look like a tropical island paradise. It also squelches between your toes.
The Tutukaka Coast is another favourite and it is no surprise to learn that John John Florence based himself there while in New Zealand. It is also the base for the C-Skins New Zealand team of Cian Sullivan, Simon Clowes and Olive the furry warehouse manager. We've tested their wetsuits right here in St Clair and they performed very well. Simon Egginton is also based in Tutukaka and he's the Smoothstar NZ guru. A little further up the road is Tribal Surfboards and just to the south is Roger Hall and Hayden Chamberlain's iconic surfboard factory. It's a small enclave of grassroots surf industry that punches well above its weight.
I admire people who locate themselves somewhere stunning, and with great waves, and then just join the dots to carve out a lifestyle there. That's most surfers in Dunedin ...
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Ever wanted to surf with our top international surfers Billy Stairmand and Paige Hareb? Well, here's your chance and you could win one of 5 $100 vouchers and a heap of spot prizes thanks to our mates at Backdoor and Sticky Johnson. Meet up at St Clair Beach around 6:30 pm this Thursday (November 30), say hello to the Backdoor surf team and go surfing with them. Everyone is welcome – little grommets, salty sea dogs, and fully grown adult grommets, too. There will be pizza afterwards to stave off that souwester while the expression session bounty is awarded. Let your mates know! We'll see you there.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: