December 31st 2024: The 2024

The forecast was marginal. We went anyway. That's the appeal of the Catlins. It's always more than just surfing. It's about driving ridiculously winding roads through amazing stands of native bush, while dodging wild deer. It's about jumping fences while following a map that is hand-drawn on the back of a napkin. It's about getting lost in thick native bush. It's about keeping the fence on your left. It's about quietly sneaking past a sleeping sea lion. It's about picking a path through a brackish, brown river that trickles from the bush to the sand. It's about following the river to the sea and watching deer scatter off the beach. It's about the remoteness of it all. It's about discovering that the forecast was bang on, but you don't care because you're about to surf a completely new spot for the first time.

That's what the Catlins is all about. Pretty stoked I got to share that with Keo and a few of his buddies this past week.

Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for reading my weekly photo blog all these years. I wish you all the very best for 2025 and hope the year ahead is filled with adventures.

See you next year ... Derek

PS My 2025 is kicking off with a fair chunk of travel so print and book orders will be a little slower to despatch. If you need anything quickly then please make a note of that in your order, or even drop me a line so we can arrange a pick up etc. Thanks for an epic 2024.