Yesterday, we explored a remote surf spot around the corner from Raglan, and ended up scoring great waves in the afternoon back at our home break of Manu Bay.
After our standard morning check of Manu Bay, we decided to take the campervan on a gravel road adventure to check on a wave magnet spot called Ruapuke. It is about a half hour drive south of Raglan, and the drive is spectacular. Imagine the road to Hana, but with nobody on it (we passed 2 cars in an hour of driving), no pavement, and lots of surf to see.
Here's what the road looks like:
Another shot of the road to Ruapuke:
About half way there, we found a little viewing platform that looks out over a deep gorge.
Looking north from the platform. The Raglan points are around the point to the right. The gorge is a more dramatic (and empty) version of Kualoa Ranch on Oahu.
Your intrepid travelers on the platform
Trying to capture the steepness of the gorge. The platform is perched right over it. Look off the edge and it is straight down, probably 500 feet.
A pretty standard beach break with offshore winds and nobody out. We watched it for a while then decided not to go out; it was a bit disorganized. With a world class point break walking distance from your campsite your standards get quite high.
When we got back to Raglan, the surf got better and, counterintuitively, the crowds got thinner. Cam and I pinched ourselves in disbelief, then sprinted into the water and found that we were the ONLY ONES OUT at Manu Bay, with a light offshore breeze and consistent, shreddable head high waves coming through. The universe can't stay out of whack like that for very long so as made the spot look good, about 6 other people joined us. We got it to ourselves for 45 minutes and were on a constant catch a wave, paddle out, rotation. Stooooked!!!
Hoping to get a repeat of that today...
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