Saturday, January 17, 2009

Jan. 18 -- Kaikoura



Jan. 17, 2009
Mangamauna

Came upon the long right-hand cobble point at Manga on a crystal clear day and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. What a great wave. While there's been East swell in the water, its been too jumbled to work on any of the sandbars from Christchurch north. However, Manga, like any good point, makes all that combo ground/wind swell rideable. And at Manga, there are snow-capped mountains dropping into the bay!

There were probably 25-50 people on it throughout the day, but with a good point with constant windswell, there's lots to go around. And the beauty of a point is that when you do get a wave, it's often worth the wait. This is one of those points where there's a line of surfers walking back up to the point in their wetsuits to paddle out after riding a wave all the way into the bay.

Manga is just north of Kaikoura, which until the 90s was only a crayfishishing village. Now, all the tourist amenities are showing up, but it's still small enough to have a frontier feeling. And like any surf town, you recognize the people in town at the bakery, surf shop, etc. from surfing.

I'm striking distance from the ferry to the North Island. I think I will stay here and reap the goods until the swell dies.

I picked up a guitar in Christchurch.

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