NEW ZEALAND! 2010
I chose to cruise NZ in a camper van, which is the thing to do there if you’re a tourist because the camp grounds are epic overlooking the whole coast with wireless internet! Just remember to put on your hand-break because you often pull up on cliff drops and maybe share the driving with someone who can drive a manual, my friend Sarah never learnt which meant I was numero uno driver as you can see below! Teach your kids the stick shift parents it comes in handy.
We were welcomed with open arms by the locals who did the tribal Haka which would be intimidating if you were a guy but for the girls it is quite attractive to watch fit men in small shorts with 6 packs being all manly… not that I was looking or anything…
I do also have to say the trek to the contest each day was a little tricky as most kiwi’s seem adept at driving to the middle of no where and following some random paddock to find the surf. If your from any other country you end up in the middle of some small town with the locals laughing at you for how far you have come and thinking you’re an idiot!
“Oh yeah, Jim and Nancy let us use their property for the day for the contest so thanks to them for having us”… Meanwhile Jim and Nancy just happen to own the land with one of the most playful right-handers around out the front of Sally the sheep’s paddock! And I am still driving down the coast because I missed the 54th right turn silly me! 
^See above for the Haka....no need for comment
The highlight of my trip was jumping on a helicopter ride with Fuel TV and taking in the breathtaking scenery around the coast of Taranaki and the mountain behind it with Sally Fitzgibbons who was recounting as many helicopter crash stories and burning helicopter scenes from movies that she could remember which made the adventure all the more enjoyable!
above, view of Mt Taranaki from Heli ^^
Below: Sally Fitzgibbons and I pretending to be on the helicopter sky traffic alert...
The contest ran the first day down the coast 20 minutes from Oakura and then moved to Fitzroy Beach or the later rounds due to a massive cold, rainy and rather large change. I had my 3rd round heat yet again against Paige Hareb and coming up against the local town hero in this event was somewhat a little unnerving. Paige got me back for the last two events and moved through to quarter finals.
It was a hotly contested event and the door was wide open with the upset of the event seeing Steph Gilmore going down to tiny wildcard Sarah Mason. Carissa Moore the eventual winner displaying epic new school moves mixed with a strong solid back hand attack. She also donated her prize purse to the local Boardriding club (a cool 22 000 NZD) which was a completely selfless and kind hearted thing to do.
Next stop the 2010 Commonwealth Beachley Classic, Dee Why, Sydney Australia! For all the action go here: http://www.beachleyclassic.com/
For more pics and info on the NZ COMP go to http://www.nzsurffestival.co.nz/ !
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