JUSTIN WALLEY
  • More than a game
  • One Football No Nets
  • Some thoughts from me
  • My travels in sport
    • Copa America 2015 Chile
    • Sierra Leone 2013
    • Euro 2012 Ukraine
    • Copa2011 Argentina
    • Rugby World Cup 2011
    • Africa 2010
  • About me
    • My life in football
    • My life travelling the world
    • My journalism work
    • My first published book
    • My life philosophy
  • Contact
    • My media pages
  • More than a game
  • One Football No Nets
  • Some thoughts from me
  • My travels in sport
    • Copa America 2015 Chile
    • Sierra Leone 2013
    • Euro 2012 Ukraine
    • Copa2011 Argentina
    • Rugby World Cup 2011
    • Africa 2010
  • About me
    • My life in football
    • My life travelling the world
    • My journalism work
    • My first published book
    • My life philosophy
  • Contact
    • My media pages
Search

Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand

And adventures in the South Pacific

Riding my first wave

6/10/2011

0 Comments

 
Wednesday, October 5 (Day 34)

Raglan - Ngarunui Beach - Manu Bay

What would you know? Just as I am finally beginning to unwind from my magazine proofreading work and the rugby, the project manager of the magazine suddenly comes back at the very last minute (when I thought we were ready to send to print) with requests for several new (loyalty-free) photos, proofreading of adverts(!) and additional text for one of the articles. With the 10-hour time difference it is not as if I can Skype anybody in the middle of the Latvian night and ask for bloody photos.

My magazine gives me zero budget for photos, so absolutely every photo we use must be free. Yes, that lovely word ‘free’. I have had instances where one or two photos have screwed up my time for several days at a time, sending emails and making phone calls; getting given the wrong kind of images; wrong quality images; and, finally, my colleagues not liking the images I get and demanding I find alternatives.

Yes, it comes with the territory but it never, ever helps when everything is so bloody last minute. Just to complicate matters, a thunderstorm has taken down the town’s Wi-Fi across the board, and I have been temporarily sent back to the dark ages.

I am supposed to be joining a surfing lesson class at one of the world’s finest surfing beaches this afternoon but now I am running out of time. There again, if there is no internet, there is sweet FA I can do about it for now. I don’t suppose my boss will be too understanding of my circumstances given that I am 10,000 miles away on a jolly. And, no, I don’t expect anybody reading this to have much sympathy for me either...

The internet fleetingly returns, I pull a rabbit out of a hat, and I am back with two minutes to spare for my very basic surf lesson. I was thinking my lesson would be on the beach, but instead Californian Josh talks me and two young German girls through the moves we need to know in the hostel car park, fits me up with a wet suit and board, and gives me the keys to the hostel car. “Off you go. You will be fine.”

This wasn’t something I was expecting to be doing: driving an old banger down the New Zealand coast in an almighty thunderstorm with surf boards tied to the roof, two 22-year-old German girls in the back seats, peering through the rain and the wipers for the turn off to one of the world’s best surf beaches.

The weather is shocking. I mean, you would never think of setting foot out of your car with it sheet lightning and raining like it’s the apocalypse, unless you really, really had to. But I need to change into my wetsuit and get my arse down to the beach. I can’t actually believe I’m doing this. I’ve spent so many occasions hanging around with surfers or hippies in surfing towns during my life and never actually surfed because of my lack of confidence in my own ability and here I am now trudging across a volcanic black sand beach and out to sea with a surf board the size of a house under my arm.

Thunder rumbles and a lightning strike hits somewhere not a million miles away. This surfing lark certainly isn’t easy. I know what I need to do but some small detail goes wrong each time the right kind of wave comes along. I seem to have swallowed half of the ocean and my eyes are red roar. Then suddenly, I catch my first wave and body board it for what seems like 30 seconds, until I reach the shoreline, where I fall off and fill my lungs with more sea water. The waves are gigantic and the ridiculous storm is making me feel - well not to sound too clichéd – very, very alive. The dramatic setting, thunder, lightning, huge waves and monsoon-like rain are enough to make this feel very special, regardless of my none-too-impressive attempts to surf. When I do finally call it a day, and carry my board back to the beach, I realise that my thighs are aching like I’ve done a half marathon. I think I only nearly came close to drowning twice. Truth be known, I never did pull off the stand on the board and surf bit. But I did manage a full five seconds surfing on my knees, a bit like a nervous Yorkshire Terrier in the back of someone’s pickup truck.

It feels even more silly driving back with the surfboards on the roof – like I’m a real surfer or something. I feel like such a fraud.

Back at Raglan Backpackers I wash down the board and surfing gear and jump straight into their 42-degrees Jacuzzi. This can’t be bad.

While all the twenty-something surfing chicks and Californian ‘hey man’ surfing dudes talk about their day’s exploits I lie back in the Jacuzzi and pretend for a minute or two that I am just like them: young, cool and very good at surfing. Nobody seems to notice the 40-year-old fraud perched in the corner of the Jacuzzi with a cold beer in his hand, smiling to himself.




0 Comments



    Photos, stories and videos from the New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup & the sunny paradises of Fiji and Samoa


    Picture

     

    Picture
    Picture


    Archives
    Access all the blogs from New Zealand, Fiji & Samoa by clicking on the archived months below:

    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011

      Contact 
      ​More Than a Game:

    Submit

    Key word search 

    All
    100 Pig Fine
    2000 Fiji Coup
    2003 Rugby World Cup
    2009 Tsunami
    200 Billion Galaxies
    2010 Fifa World Cup
    2011 Copa America
    2011 Rugby World Cup
    2014 Fifa World Cup Play Offssamoan Football Team
    2014 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers
    23 December Earthquake New Zealand
    30 December 2011
    4 July 1892
    8.1 Magnitude Earthquake
    Abel Tasman
    Aborigines
    Accents On The Park
    A Clockwork Orange
    Adam Neate
    Afu-A-Au Waterfalls
    Agadoo
    Aganoa
    Aganoa Beach Retreat
    Aggie Grey's
    'aiga
    Air Pacific
    Alduous Huxley
    Alofaaga Blowholes
    American Iguana
    Americanization
    American Samoa
    American Samoan Football Team
    Anarchist
    Anglo-saxon
    Antarctica
    Anthony Burgess
    Antony Micaleff
    Apia
    Apolima Strait
    Argentina
    Argentina Rugby
    Argentina V Scotland
    Armistice Day
    Arthur Conan Doyle
    Asau
    Auckland
    Auckland Airport Motel
    Auckland Horse Racing
    Auckland International Airport
    Australia
    Australia V Usa
    Avalanche City
    Ayia Napa
    Azuri
    Bahai Religion
    Bangkok
    Banksy
    Banyan Tree
    Barefoot Lodge
    Base Hostel
    Bath
    Bbc
    Beachcomber
    Beijing
    Bill And Ted
    Bjorn Heidenstrom
    Black Brown White
    Blowholes
    Bournemouth
    Brazil Carnival
    Bread Fruit
    Bring Back The Sun
    British Empire
    Bros
    Buenos Aires
    Buffalo Bar
    Bula
    Bure
    California
    Canal 4
    Captain Cook Cruises
    Captain James Cook
    Caqalai Island
    Castaways
    Cathay Pacific
    Catholic
    Catlins
    Cayman Islands
    Cemeteries Of London
    Central Bank Of Samoa
    Chemtrails
    Chicago
    Chickpea Curry
    Chris Ashton
    Christchurch
    Christchurch Earthquake
    Christian Congregational Church
    Christmas 2011
    Coldplay
    Conde Nast Magazine
    Contepomi
    Cook Islands
    Cook Straits
    Copa America Blog
    Coral Coast
    Coral Reef
    Coral View Resort
    Cork
    Cornwall
    Coventry
    Crab Racing
    Cricket
    Croydon
    Curio Bay
    Daily Mail
    David Choe
    Daweqa
    Da World Famous Craterman
    December 21 2012
    Denarau Port
    Desenchantee
    Dodgy Birds
    Dolphins
    Dormitories
    Drawaqa Island
    Dunedin
    Dusky Lodge
    Dusky Lodge Backpackers
    Earthquakes
    Easter Island
    Eat Pray Love
    Eden Park
    Ends In The Ocean
    England 67 Romania 3
    England Rugby Team
    England V Argentina
    England V France
    England V Georgia
    England V Romania
    England V Scotland
    Environmental Disaster
    Estonia
    Eugenics
    Euro Breakup
    European Championships
    European Football Championships
    Existence
    Fa'afafine
    Faafaine
    Fa'a-samoa
    Fa’a-Samoa – The Samoan Way Of Life
    Face Paint
    Faile
    Falealupo
    Faroe Islands
    Fast Show Sketch
    Female Sex Tourism
    Fiafia
    Fidel Castro
    Fifa World Cup Blog
    Fijee Experience
    Fiji
    Fijian Military Coups
    Fiji Gold
    Fiji Independence
    Fiji Time
    Fiji V Samoa
    Finland
    Fireball
    Fjordland National Park
    Fluoride
    Fox Glacier
    Fractional Reserve Banking Bomb
    France 17 New Zealand 37
    France V New Zealand
    Franz Josef Glacier
    Franz Josef Yha
    Franz Jozef Yha
    French Polynesia
    Fruit Bats
    Ft
    Galway
    Gary Speed
    Geckos
    George Orwell
    Georgia V Romania
    Ghost Town
    Global Pharmaceutical Industry
    Gobi Desert
    Greymouth
    Guam
    Guatemala
    Haka
    Hamilton
    Hammerhead Shark
    Harry Enfield
    Hawaii
    Heart Disease
    Hillary Clinton
    Hindu
    Hornets
    Hotel California
    Huntsman Spider
    Hyatt Regency
    Iceland
    Incheon
    Indiana Jones
    Indian Food
    Indonesia
    Inter City
    International Dateline
    International Date Line
    International Federation Of Netball
    Into The Wild
    Into The Wild Movie Trailer
    Iran
    Irb
    Ireland V Russia
    Italy V Usa
    Jack Daniels
    Jane's Fales
    J D Salinger
    Jersey
    Jet Star
    John O'callaghan
    Jonny Wilkinson
    Kaikoura
    Kaikoura Beach
    Kaikoura Peninsula
    Kaliningrad
    Kate Ryan
    Kava
    Kea
    Kiev
    Kirikiti
    Kiwi Experience
    Ko Pha Ngan
    Korean Air
    Ko Samui
    Lady Boy
    Lady Samoa Ii
    Lake Baikal
    Lake Taupo
    Lano
    Leauva
    Lebanon
    Leicester
    Leonardo Dicaprio
    Levuka
    Levuka Masonic Lodge
    Lighthouse Family
    Lomaiviti
    Lonely Planet
    Lord Of The Rings
    Los Pumas
    Lost World
    M25
    Machete
    Manase
    Mango Bay
    Mango Trees
    Maninoa
    Mantaray Island
    Manu Bay
    Maori
    Mark Cueto
    Marlon Brando
    Matai
    Mathew Vaea
    Maverick
    Max Keiser
    Mcdonalds
    Megabus
    Melbourne
    Merchandise
    Meteor
    Mexican Standoff
    Mike Tindall
    Milford Sound
    Mitre Peak
    Money Laundering
    Mongol Rally
    Monty Python
    More Than A Game
    Morethanagame.info
    Morris Hedstrom Trading Store
    Moscow
    Mount Fuji
    Mount Matavanu
    Mount Silisili
    Muslim
    Mylene Farmer
    Nadi
    Nadi Bay
    Nanuya Lailai
    National Express
    National Geographic
    Naviti Islands
    Navoti Landing
    Neil Diamond
    Nelson
    Neo-liberals
    New Caledonia
    New Zealand
    New Zealand Bands
    New Zealand General Election 2011
    New Zealand Sheep
    New Zealand Wine
    Ngarunui Beach
    Ngauruhoe
    Niue
    Nomads
    Nomads Hostel
    North Island
    North Korea
    Nuggets Point
    Obesity
    Occupy Detroit
    Occupy Movement
    Oi You! Collection
    Otago Stadium
    Pacific Ocean
    Pagan
    Papua New Guinea
    Paradise Islands
    Patterson's Shipping
    Paul Insect
    Perito Moreno
    Philippines
    Picton
    Poland
    Polynesia
    Population Reduction
    Postcards From Heaven
    Pride Of The Pacific
    Prince Charles
    Projects We Like
    Pukekura
    Pulemelei Mound
    Punakaiki
    Punakaiki Beach Hostel
    Queenstown
    Queen Street
    Raffles Hotel Singapore
    Rafting
    Raglan
    Rainforest
    Reality
    Rebuilding Christchurch
    Reef Sharks
    Rena
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    Romanian Rugby Team
    Rotorua
    Royal Hotel
    Ruapehu
    Rugby World Cup
    Rugby World Cup Blog
    Russ Abbott
    Russia V Italy
    Rwc Daily September 10
    Rwc Daily September 13
    Rwc Daily September 14
    Rwc Daily September 15
    Rwc Daily September 16
    Rwc Daily September 17
    Rwc Daily September 18
    Rwc Daily September 19
    Rwc Daily September 20
    Rwc Daily September 21
    Rwc Daily September 22
    Rwc Daily September 23
    Rwc Daily September 24
    Rwc Daily September 25
    Rwc Daily September 26
    Rwc Daily September 27
    Rwc Daily September 28
    Rwc Daily September 8
    Rwc Daily September 9
    Sacred Heart Church
    Salelologa
    Samoa
    Samoa Loses A Day
    Samoan Bank Notes
    Samoan Pyramid
    Samoan Reggae Christmas Rap
    Samoan Rugby Team
    Samoans
    Samoan Slap Dancing
    Sangatoka
    Satan
    Savaii
    Scotland V Georgia
    Sea Breeze Resort
    Sea Lions
    Seals
    Sea Stacks
    Self Sufficient
    Seoul
    Sex Tourism
    Shanghai
    Sheep Shearing
    Silvio Berlusconi
    Sipi Tau
    Siva
    Skiing
    Slap Dancing
    Smugglers
    Snowboard
    Solidarnosc
    South Africa
    South Africa 87 Namibia 0
    South African Shanty Town
    South Africa V Samoa
    South America
    South Island
    South Pacific
    South Pacific Chief
    South Pacific Clams
    Soviet 5-year Plans
    Speights
    Spirit Of The Pacific
    Ss Mauritania
    Stanley Kubrick
    Star Mounds
    State Propaganda
    St. Helen's Rugby
    Stopwaroniran.org
    Submarine
    Sulu
    Surf
    Surfing
    Surviving A Tsunami
    Suva
    Svalbard
    Switzerland
    Sydney
    Tajikistan
    Tanu
    Tasmania
    Tasman Sea
    Tatiana Motel
    Taufua
    Taupou
    Tavewa Island
    Te Anau
    Teletubby
    Te Papa National Museum
    Texas
    Thailand
    The All Blacks
    The Beach
    The Catcher In The Rye
    The Catlins
    The Cook Islands
    The Guardian
    The Kennedy Regime
    The Maori
    The Mayans
    The North Sea
    The Pentecostal Church
    The Philippines
    The Shirt 2010
    The Solomon Islands
    The Specials
    Tierra Del Fuego
    Tim Nice But Dim
    Toby Flood
    Tokelau
    Tonga
    Tongariro
    Tongariro Crossing
    Tonga V Japan
    To Sua Ocean Trench
    Touch Rugby
    Trafalgar Park
    Travellers International Airport Motel
    Turangi
    Tuvalu
    Uefa Euro 2012
    Uk Public Sector Strike
    Ukraine
    Ukraine 2012 Blog
    Ulan Bator
    Upolu
    Usa
    U S Turkey
    Uzbekistan
    Vailima
    Vancouver
    Vanuatu
    V-bar
    Vietnam
    Viti Levu
    Wales V Fiji
    Wales V France
    Wales V Namibia
    Wallis & Futuna
    Walt Disney Cartoon
    Wanaka
    Wanaka Yha
    Waterfalls
    Website Optimization
    Wellington
    Welsh World Cup Squad
    Wer Wenn Nicht Wir
    Whale
    When Will I Be Famous?
    Wi-fi
    Wish Lists
    World
    World Trade Organisation
    W T O
    Yellow-eyed Penguins
    Yellow Sea
    Y-not Bar

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • More than a game
  • One Football No Nets
  • Some thoughts from me
  • My travels in sport
    • Copa America 2015 Chile
    • Sierra Leone 2013
    • Euro 2012 Ukraine
    • Copa2011 Argentina
    • Rugby World Cup 2011
    • Africa 2010
  • About me
    • My life in football
    • My life travelling the world
    • My journalism work
    • My first published book
    • My life philosophy
  • Contact
    • My media pages