New Zealand Archives - Page 4 of 6 - New Zealand Surf Journal

Kelly Slater Confirmed For Piha Pro

Derek MorrisonFeb 10, 2020July 2, 20201

Eleven-time World Champion Kelly Slater has confirmed he will launch his 2020 season in New Zealand this March at the 2020 Corona Piha Pro. The Goat, as he is known, is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all-time, with comfortably the most title victories, 11, and no less...

Westport Pumps For South Island Grom Series

Derek MorrisonJan 21, 2020July 2, 20200

When the West Coast of the South Island is becalmed by an enormous high there is no better place to be than Westport’s Tauranga Bay. With a 1 to 1.4m long-period swell pulsing through and a grom comp about to unleash on the T Bay Superbank, there’s a lot to...

Super Heat: Inside The 2020 New Zealand Surf Open (Unofficial)

Derek MorrisonJan 10, 2020October 14, 20201

The 2020 New Zealand Surf Open (Unofficial) is the impulsive gathering of New Zealand’s best surfers at a break that is completely pumping. It is unscripted. It has no rules. It has no timeframes. And no parameters. Just 40, or so, of the best surfers in New Zealand over a...

Photo Essay: Summer Roadie With A Twist Of East Swell

Derek MorrisonJan 7, 20200

Mount Maunganui-based surfer and ocean photographer Lou Burton mixes Xmas and New Year with a little pulsing east swell for the perfect summer tonic. Together with her mates she proves the great Kiwi summer surfing roadie is alive and well … with an occasional shark scare thrown in. Christmas came...

Watch: Jamie Civil’s Masterclass In Backhand Barrel Riding

Derek MorrisonNov 13, 2019November 14, 20190

He may prefer to hide away from the limelight, but Jamie Civil keeps drawing attention to himself in pumping hollow waves. Civil would have to be one of New Zealand’s best barrel riders and this edit by Tim Shaw and Oscar Johns attests to that. Filmed over a winter in...

Remembering Pete And Danny

Derek MorrisonSep 25, 2019September 25, 20190

Kaikoura turns it on for the semi-annual Pete and Danny Memorial Contest recently. Glassy conditions and waves in the 3-6-foot range ensure competitors are fizzing at a local righthand point break, but it is the smoky campfires and laughter between two tribes that steals the show. Back in 1995 two...

Piha Pro Confirmed: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Derek MorrisonSep 10, 2019November 27, 20191

It’s official! World Surf League today confirms the Piha Pro QS10,000 is real and will take place in March 2020, 2021 and 2022. The World Surf League (WSL) hasn’t been to New Zealand shores for five years – its last event a women’s 6000-rated Qualifying Series (QS) event held in...

Storm Chasing With Team Backdoor

CPLJul 24, 2019July 2, 20200

When a low-pressure system parks itself off the east coast it spins everyone into a frenzy. The recent July swell was no different and Piha photographer, CPL, fresh up for air after a deadline, wasted no time. He picks up the story … “Yes!” That was the emphatic reply I...

Watch: Inside The Nomadic Life Of Joe Wilson

Derek MorrisonJul 2, 2019July 2, 20200

Filmmaker Sara Guix, interviews singer songwriter Joe Wilson in Raglan for her next installment of her Why Did You Leave? series on travellers and inspiring people. “It’s a wonderfully honest and fun video on why I committed to travelling and leaving home to follow music,” laughs Joe. “This is an...

Momentum Builds For 2020 Piha Pro QS10,000

Derek MorrisonJun 7, 2019September 16, 20190

Details have been revealed about a bid for Auckland to host a World Qualifying Series 10,000-rated event at Piha in March 2020: the Piha Pro. But it is not a done deal … just yet. A document leaked to the NZ Herald today suggests the event will be a QS10,000...