Pataua Surf Camp 08

Earlier this year, the Year 11 Physical Education class from Epsom Girls Grammar School attended a surf camp at Pataua Surf Camp. After a fantastic week the girls came home with a love of surfing and the skills and knowledge to keep on improving…

Day 1: Sunday 6th April 2008

The day had finally come, I was leaving with my year 11 physical education class to Pataua to enjoy a amazing surf camp. The bus ride was the usual; there was singing, chatting, sick people and food. Even though it was raining when we arrived, everyone was determined to set up tents and organise their stuff. We then meet Di, the organiser of the whole camp who took us for a walk right up to the end of the north beach.

Day 2: Monday 7th April 2008

The weather today was a lot better as the sun could be seen through a thin cover of clouds. Breakfast was made and the classes split up for their morning activity. My class started with surfing. We where introduced to the other instructors, Emily and Camilla, then split off into groups of seven with one of the 3 instructors. Camilla took us out to the middle of the estuary while showing us the correct technique for paddling our surfboards by cupping your hands with long powerful stokes and showed us where our sweet spot on the board was. We then covered turtling (log role) which involved holding the board tight and flipping ourselves and the board upside down then flipping it back round again which is essential when paddling out through the white water and broken waves. We were then taught how to sit and turn on our boards quickly to catch a wave in the surf.

Once we had mastered this, we took our new skills out to the surf where we paddled out to the waves and practised our log role and quick turns. The waves where perfect for learners as they were small but powerful enough to carry us. The first step in learning to surf is to catch a wave to the shore in the seal position. After everyone had had a go we went onto the shore and were then taught how to stand up and chose our preferred standing position (e.g. regular or goofy). After a lot of practising we took it to the water where I had a few seconds standing up before body slamming onto the shallow water. After a tiring three and a half hours we went back to the camp for lunch then started our next afternoon activity which was a hill climb/bush walk and Waka Ama with Ara Moana Adventures. With the Waka Ama we were taught the different parts of the Waka and how to use the paddle correctly. We then split in half where half went for the bush walk first and the other half used the wakas and we rotated around after half the activity time had been.

Day 3: Tuesday 8th 2008

Today was a windy day and overcast making in hard to get up out of our warm beds. My class had surfing the second part of the day so the first part we took the opportunity for a walk to the south beach over the bridge connecting the south and north of Pataua. The whole class took turns at jumping from the bridge which was definitely a memorable moment. On the south beach a sand castle competition was held (my group being the winners) then we played in the surf along with sunbathing and rubbish collecting. Later after lunch we went for our surf lesson with our instructors who told us today we would be out in the waves attempting to surf, where they would watch and give tips for improvement. This lesson consisted of a lot of success and failure but I was definitely improving as my rides into shore on the surfboard lasted a lot longer than the day before. I got very tired as the waves didn’t come in their usual sets as the wind made it very choppy and rough making it hard to walk/paddle out to the stronger broken waves with our boards. That night everyone was fast a sleep by 10.30pm, exhausted from the huge day.

Day 4: Wednesday 9th 2008

Surfing was our first activity of the beautiful sunny day, however, huge waves formed out the back where they broke then reformed before quickly breaking right on the shore. Not much surfing was accomplished as many struggled to even make it out to the broken waves. Timing played a big part in our surfing today and we were also able to practise log rolling in extreme conditions. After a lot of bruises and ultimate dunkings we moved onto our second activity which consisted of a casual walk and Tuatua collecting for a feast of Tuatua fritters the next night. The following day was assessment day so we all got a good night’s sleep.

Day 5: Thursday 10th 2008

This morning’s activity was a walk through a local famous farm owner’s property as he showed us his environmentally friendly and true kiwiana farm, which had many native trees and soon to be native birds and lizards. The second part of our day consisted of our surfing assessment, where we basically showed our instructors our technique and success on our surf board. The waves were perfect as the white water was strong creating more time to stand up and ride the wave in. I was still messing up and falling off while trying to stand up but as soon as I caught a wave the whole way in to the shore my frustration disappeared. I was very happy with my outcome as I had achieved a merit in surfing in only four days and now will carry on trying to improve. The bonfire was the perfect way to end a perfect camp as I was presented with my certificate of merit in surfing. I would like to thank Diana, Emily and Camilla from Surfpad for teaching us how to surf. Arrin and Paul from Ara Moana Adventures for helping us with our surfing and providing us with Wakas and wicked local knowledge. Finally thanks to the Pataua Outdoor Education and Recreation Trust for allowing us to use their facilities.