Christmas surfing! Took a day trip out to the west coast to surf at the world famous 'Raglan Bay' today. And what a splendid place it is! It was an interesting drive of about an hour to get there through green rolling hills that are part grassland and part wooded. The forested valleys contained all manner of trees with an odd mix of old oaks, tall poplars interspersed with plam trees and big ferns.
Arriving at the coast, we were greeted by the sight of turquoise waters with uniform lines of waves. Bliss! We stopped at the first beach we came to, then back tracked to town to find out where best to go for our first wave and to hire boards.
Having got the required local knowledge, we got suited up and took hire of some boards. There were definite 'sets' of waves which (as always) were surprisingly bigger than when viewed from the cliff tops! The water temperature was lovely. Wetsuits, but no boots; some were surfing in shorts but we'd have got frazzled by the sun if we had! We both caught some quality, long rides, and were grinning ear to ear from start to finish. Although it was busy, there was enough room to pick up a waves without trouble. The tricky part was keeping covered in enough factor 50 - the sun feels so much more intense.
After returning our hire boards, we drove up to Manu Beach, which is a famously long left hand break. Although the waves were small, it was amazing to watch perfectly formed waves break out across the bay. Can't wait to go back for a go!
Tiredness was beginning to return by late afternoon, so after a quick look in the surfboard shops of Raglan town, we scooted home for a chill. And just to top things off, as we were trying to muster the energy to prepare a meal, our neighbour called over to say that she'd cooked dinner for us and we should come over and fill a plate each! Unbelievable!
Wonderful Kiwi hospitality! 😀
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