FIRST INDO TRIP

I first went to Indonesia in 1993 with East Coast rippers Reuben Dews, Phill Stumf and Grillo. I'm pretty sure it was the first time all of us had left NZ, actually I think it was the first time the boys had left the East Coast. Prior to the trip I had worked for four months picking pumpkins and all I could think about was this paradise that other surfers had told me about; offshore winds, super clean waves, surfing in boardies, sunshine, full moon parties, and hot girls from all around the world. However the main reason for going was because I wanted to get my first barrel, I had only been surfing for about a year and was yet to venture into the green room. I planned on staying there for six weeks or as long as my budget allowed me to, and as it got closer to departure time I was buzzing with mixed emotions. I was excited to travel and discover new things and meet new people, but at the same time I was shitting myself! On arrival in Bali the first thing that hit me was the heat and the smell, it was so different from the clean fresh air back home. The ride from the airport to Poppies 2 was mind blowing, I couldn't stop looking around, checking people out doing things I'd never seen before. People cooking on the side of the road, hustlers everywhere, cock fights, people with monkeys, monkeys with people, the poverty. It kinda made me realise how lucky we are coming from such a clean and beautiful country. My first surf was at Impossibles, the long soft left handers were the perfect training ground and just what I needed to build up my confidence on the reefs. I got my first barrel at Desert Point, I remember taking off and holding the rail in the mean poo-stance and riding the face of the wave for about a 100 meters or so, until it eventually threw over me. The first night club I went to there was the Sari Club and I was blown away by all the European girls, they were so hot and different looking than the girls back home, and they weren't in Bali to surf, they were there to party! That's where I met my first love, an Italian princess, my soul mate, my beautiful wife Marina. Indonesia was my first travel destination, it set me on a surf mission around the world, I love the place with a passion, I love the people there, I love my friends I've met there, and most of all I love surfing there and I'll keep going back for many years to come