25:Annihilation Point, Mahia Peninsula, NZ (May 07)

The following photos were taken while I was at Annihilation point on the Mahia Peninsula near Gisborne in late April/early May. The day started off a bit cold, gray, and rainy with strong cross/offshore winds which created a series of steps on the wave face. But after an hour in the water, the winds magically dropped off, the rain cleared out, and so did the crowd. Next thing I knew, I was surfing perfect right handers with just a few guys in the water. A purely magical New Zealand surf experience!!


Me on a perfectly groomed right hander. Waves and spectacular scenery!

Me setting up for a backside tube. I came in after this wave and a guy on the beach said I completely disappeared from sight only to reemerge further down the line. He said it brought hoots from the crew watching, although I couldn't hear a thing. Nevertheless, nice to have a moment of acknowledgement.

Lee Monroe, Hawaiian living in Sydney. Saw the weather maps predicting solid swell for New Zealand so jumped on a cross-Tasman flight and wound up scoring all-time Annihilation Point!

Another perfect wave peeling down the point--unridden. Not enough guys out to catch everything!

Annihilation Point backdrop from further down the road. Note the few heads in the line-up and a guy riding a perfectly peeling righthander!