Surfin' USA!

Raglan is a small beachside community of about 3000 people, 48km west of Hamilton. It is world renowned for its surf beaches - in fact, Bruce Brown's classic 1964 film The Endless Summer about surfies roaming the world in search of the perfect wave features footage shot at Manu Bay, just west of Raglan. My plan was to visit this place, stay the night, watch some surfing and just generally hang out on the beach before taking off further north... As we all know, my plans are always changing and I actually ended up staying a week and a half! And what a fantastically relaxed week and a half!
I met up with Suze, her two new mates, sisters Lucy and Amy, and the rest of the Raglan crew that were soon to become my adoptive family. Pretty much straight away, we all cruised down to watch some surfing on the stunning and expansive black-sand Ngarunui beach. This is generally where all the beginners come to hone and show off their skills.
In the morning everyone, except for myself, went surfing. In fact it was a few of these guys' first time, but they all seemed to have heaps of fun and did really well - including standing up on their boards - I got a little envious.. So I decided, a little reluctantly, that Thursday was going to be my turn! I donned the wetsuit, picked a board and headed for the beach in the hostel car. Heading out into the waves, I didn't feel all that uncomfortable because I knew I'd only be staying in the shallows. I found a wave, caught it, and I stood up... First time of many! Gee, it's such good fun this surfing business.. Don't know why I didn't get into it before?!
Over the next few days I chilled in the hammocks at the wonderful Raglan Backpackers, taught myself to juggle 4 balls, searched for satellites and shooting stars almost every night, played a spot of tennis against Amy and Lucy, golf with the Raglan clan, kayaking once with Chris and Maike for cockles down the Opotoru river, and then a second time with Ames and Lucy a little further up where we spotted what I assume were trout jumping out of the water near our kayaks, trekked (or slipped, slid, rockclimbed and clambered if you will) to the top of extinct volcano Mt Karioi with Pam, found out my gearbox was stuffed and then got it fixed for $30 (awesome!), played a marathon session of twister, and attended a dress-up party in the nighttime for which we all decided to make masquerade-style masks.... Breathe in....
After getting in my last bit of surfing and being buried in the sand to keep the sandflies away (I think I got bitten no less than 50 times during my Raglan stint - I kid you not!) on Tuesday, we all took to the beach near the mouth of Raglan harbour for a bonfire - and of course toasting marshmallows - which lasted well into the night. What a brilliant way to end my time there!
Wednesday (25/4) was, as everyone knows, ANZAC Day and they held a touching, if a little unorganised, ceremony in the main street with bagpipes and even the resident donkey to represent the donkey "Murphy" used by Australian Private John Simpson in Gallipoli to carry more than 300 wounded men to safety over a period of 24 days before Simpson was killed by Turkish fire.
After the ceremony, I said goodbye to all who I had met, got in my car and headed north towards Auckland to meet up with a friend of mine...

Photos:
1. Me and "SurfBetty"
2. Rippin' it up on the world's smallest wave!
3. I think I've found my twin! Me and Lucy
4. At the masquerade party, from left: Lucy, Pam, Maike, Amy and Patrick.. That's an attractive fellow in the background!
5. Ngarunui beach
6. Beach bums: The Raglan clan
7. Negotiating the climb down a rock face on Mt. Karioi
8. Beach bums II: The Raglan clan revisited
9. When I asked for insect repellant this is not what I had in mind!
10. Bonfire on the beach.. Mmm, toasty..
11. Me, just before getting arrested for trespassing