The Awakening

Big Brother erupts and redefines the realm of ‘big-wave’ surfing here in NZ

- Cory

When meteorological experts announced late 2018 that the South Pacific was set for a bumper season of tropical storms, surfers of Aotearoa ears perked up! You see Cyclone swells hold a special place in the hearts of Kiwi surfers, and when they kindly track through our swell window they can ignite and awaken spots that have only been surfed once in a lifetime of some surfers.

While the 2019 season didn’t really live up to the pre-hype, nine depressions formed of which five manifested into cyclones. While several of these fuelled Ozzie with weeks of swell, and we were leftfeeling missed out. There was one depression that sat perfectly tracked and as far as a week out from making landfall the numbers being forecast were well off the charts. The phones began to ring red hot! And the who’s who of NZ big wave surfing were mobilising for the event. Even internationals were throwing their hat into the ring, and when you see those kinds of names pop up on your screen, you know something unique is about to go down!