Hey fellow surf explorers,
I'd like to hear your thoughts...
So recently I started feeling really bored with my once exotic surf adventures.
The previously uncharted waters of Indo are now choked full of crowds, and the excessively good wifi in Fiji is simply disturbing. The lack of intrepid surf destinations has been getting me down...I smoke a little herb to just to cope!
That's when I started chatting with my local guru/sevant/oracle shaper dude (Mac Ol' the Sage). He pulled out this classic Tracks mag from way back in the day. Large format, news-paper style finish complete with the smell of old dust and surf wax. Ideal for toilet paper in times of crisis!
"Page 18" he muttered. I turned to page 18.
What I saw was amazing! Perfect barrels framed by rugged cliffs. Remote beaches, wild forests, obvious isolation.
"Duuuuuuuuude" I spluttered, froth flying from the sides of my mouth. "Where IS this"?
The Mac Ol' said nothing...this happens a lot.
I frantically read through the feature to search for clues on where this might be. North Harlindon was the only place name mentioned amongst 8 pages of flawless surf perfection. "Where the 4*rk is North Harlindon" I murmured?
For the next month I continued to pester the Guru and for the next month he tried to smoke all my weed. Finally with the promise to purchase a new custom surfboard (shaped by him of course), my left kidney and 3 magic beans, Mac Ol' tha Legend produced the goods! That's when he handed me a couple of maps to what surely must be the most unexplored surf region in the whole entire world! The Belegaer Coast near Middle Earth:
I studied the map looking for the most obvious signs of epic set-ups. River mouths and long point breaks. I also spied a place named Harlindon.
Getting to Harlindon was my next challenge, but this turned out to be easier than I expected. After a few beers (well, quite a few really) in a classic kiwi pub, I ended up talking to some fishing boat Captain named Amroth, who by pure chance was heading that way chasing fish! Apparently the tuna caught off Forlindon fetch top dollar in Tokyo, 5BTC each fish!
So in the last week of December, I jumped on-board his boat with a modest quiver under my arm. My pack is light as I anticipate a fair amount of freedom camping.
A 5'10 quad and my favourite 6'2 round tail ghost don't weigh that much, and with these 2x boards I feel comfortable chasing anything within the realms of your normal surf mortal.
In preparation I chanted to the ancient surf god Huey. I asked for double overhead perfection, no mutated 40ft bomb sets and definitely no gnarly rock-like hazards! Surfing alone offers no chance of jet ski assistance nor a Pammy Baywatch rescue when shite hits the fan, so I like to get all the help I can for these adventures!
3 days on the rum later and BooM! The Gulf of Lune parts as land pours into view and we sail in past spitting barrels at both headlands. My eye's bugged and I almost threw myself off the boat right there! 10 just minutes later, we cruised into a calm, perfectly protected Harlindon Harbour where Captain Amroth announced our arrival to the Seaport of Grey Havens. I quickly thanked Amroth, grabbed my gear and sprinted down the board-walk as I frothed to get back to those waves I'd seen just before! I barely even caught a glimpse of the elegant Elvish village as I torpedoed through the streets like a man possessed.
Once back at the beach I almost couldn't believe what I spied! It was exactly like that old tracks mag with spitting barrels everywhere and a perfect 5ft swell forming corduroy lines to the horizon!
Lefts:
And rights:
EEVERYWHERE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHhhhhhhh!!!!
I surfed my brains out for 5 hours straight. It was lucky no one else was around, as speaking would have been impossible through all that stoke!
With just enough energy left to pitch my small tent and light a small fire, I settled in for the night soothed by the not-so-gentle pounding of the sand-bar and that sweet post-surf haze, slowly reliving the wave by wave replay in my mind.
I woke up the next morning (New Years Eve) and the waves were just the same. More long epic tube-rides. Non-stop empty stand-up pits! Barrels for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a second helping of dessert - I feasted like a little piggy in the trough and then woke up again today for groundhog day...this place is the dream! Welcome 2018!!!
And so that brings me back 'round to right now and a simple question for you good readers!
Here I am exploring this totally isolated, unexplored land. My solar wifi seems to be working as planned, so I can write and read your comments every few days.
I'll share my photo's, observations and stories of this strange new place, but it would be really cool to have your input telling me where to go next?
Maybe you've heard of some good spots near hear worth checking or maybe you're just searching too, but this way we can all go along on this journey.
So here's the 3 options I'm considering:
- Just stay here and surf my brains out at this spot for the next 3 or 4 days (why leave perfection aye)?
- Head south, away from this harbour's headland area and see what's down there? Or,
- Go back to the fishing village, maybe meet some locals, share some stories and hopefully thumb a ride over the river-mouth to the Northern beaches I could see on the way in?
Please let me know what you think with a 1, 2 or 3 in the comments.
Also feel free to also share any travel tips or sage-like wisdom to help me on this quest for intrepid surf perfection.
I'll check in again in 24 hours and we'll see where I go to next!
Meanwhile, I'll be surfing this while I wait...
Oh man! I've just been barrelled times in the last week than I have in the rest of my life!!! Middle Earth is for real!!
Since no one has shared their thoughts on what I should do next I think I'll just stay here for the next few days and take some photos....
See you again in 2 day!