NEXT STOP NEW ZEALAND!

 

 

This was on right turn road 1520? I think

Where: South west tip, North Island New Zealand.

When: April autumn and chilly!!!

Where to eat: Oakura pub, beer on tap, nice n warm.

Where to go out: The local boardriders club at Fitzroy beach pumps, and after club 55.

After popping into the sou-west tip of the north island of New Zealand half way through last year and having a ball at the snow, in the surf and in a Zorb, (giant blown up ball you ride down a mountain, the things we do for fun ay) I was excited to go back to New Zealand for this new and exciting stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour! When young rookie Paige Hareb qualified for the tour in 2009 and then again in 2010 her and her parents could not think of a better spot to hold a WT event then the place she calls home Taranaki as it is a place that has been so good for her  surfing!

With reefs, beachies and beautiful scenery New Zealand cannot be surpassed for abundance and variety, even if the population of people is surpassed by that of sheep…

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! Just remember to put on your handbreak because you often pull up on cliff drops.

 

 

 

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 anywhere else 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 there property for the day 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! And I am still driving down the coast because I missed the 54^th right turn silly me!

 

 

 

looking out for sheep!

Above the clouds, Mt Taranaki^^^

 

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 scenes from movies that she could remember which made the adventure all the more enjoyable!

The contest ran the first day down the coast 20 mins from Oakura and then moved to Fitzroy Beach for the later rounds due to a massive cold, rainy and rather large change. I had my 3^rd round heat yet again against Paige Hareb and coming up against the local town hero in this event was somewhat a little unnerving and paige got me back for the last two events and moved through to quarter finals. It was hotly contested event and the door was wide open with the upset of the event Steph Gilmore going down to tiny Sarah Masonwildcard of the event and 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.

 

Tags: ASP World Tour, Come join me on the World Tour! Stop 3., New Zealand, Rebecca Woods