Swell

It is Saturday morning and I am currently standing here in the Auckland airport to depart for Sydney. I am leaching off of the free internet here, so I will try to make it quick. Below is a post I started, but never finished, so I'll complete and post it here.

(2/24-27/09) After a trip to the Post Shop to ship some things home yesterday morning, I headed back to the hostel from hell to check out (after waiting in the lobby for 15 minutes for them to unchain the front entry) and went straight to the harbor for the pick-up for my surf trip. There were nine others awaiting the arrival of Kane, our surf instructor and entertainer for the next five days. We all tossed our things into the trailer that was connected to a big van and headed on our way to an unknown destination. Following a drive of approximately four hours, we stopped in a little town to do some quick shopping for items we might need for the week (fine, we stopped at Liquor King, their equivalent to ABC Liquors) and got some goods for the week. After having to make soooo many decisions, we were back on winding country roads, up and down mountains, and arrived at our destination nearing four in the afternoon.

Around 6:30 PM, we squirmed into our wetsuits and headed down to the shoreline for our first lesson. I decided to stick with the neophytes as I don't think simply jumping up on a 25 lb rescue board as a ripple pushes you along really qualifies as surfing. It turned out to be a good thing as I had multiple nasty habits, primarily caused by paddling. After a quick sand session and practicing standing, Kane let us "have a play" in the white water. The bach (basically a short term beach accomodation or house) was just right. Bunk beds in the rooms, a nice sized socializing area, pool table (something I'll never be able to do well), and most importantly, beach front with a killer view of the coast.

The next day we went out early in the morning, and I soon progressed to the unbroken waves. It's pretty amazing that I lifeguarded so long and still had no real grasp of surfing. In only five days I quickly acquired skills that I had not in over five years of guarding--although it did help to have a good teacher, too. With Kane's instruction, I quickly went from learning when just the right moment to catch the wave was, to riding it in straight, to riding along the break, and finally to learn a little carving. I was really impressed that he could watch us all, and then tell us to make the most minute change and it made the world of a difference. He knew just by watching me me from shore that I was afraid of nose diving and so kept myself about an extra inch back from where I should have been in order to catch it. He claimed that this was the worst week of surf he's ever seen, but we would never have known that as he took us to some of the more favorable spots on both the east (Pacific) and west (Tasman) coasts, ensuring that we got what we came to get. It was a spectacular five days of meeting some really wonderful people with some potential contacts in Oz. I am actually somewhat sad to leave, but Oz calls.

I wish I could write more, but I am pressed for time and there's a line of pretty annoyed people waiting for a computer. Some of the pics you see on the slideshow are of us on the beach, but I am waiting for the actual action shots. I'll catch up on here again soon!