There is something that always caught my attention. Well to be honest there are several things:
- How can they be so confident in an environment that is not natural (someone would have a lot to say about it considering that in the womb we are not properly surrounded by air).
- How can they have no fear of sharks (it will be that I saw too many episodes of "beach watchers" but whenever there was a surfer there was a shark, it didn't fail).
- How can they have such blond hair at the ends and so black at the root (do they stain badly?)
But, existential doubts aside, I always liked to see them act and I would have always liked to be one of them.
Already because there is a them: the surfers belong to a clan, a kind of society (not even so) secret a little like the ultras of a soccer team, or the old ladies who go to mass every Sunday at 8 and in the afternoon They play cards. They have something in common, an overflowing passion ... only instead of being devotees of the football team or the team of apostles they are from the sea.
Ah. The sea, what a curious thing the sea. So immense, so unattainable, so huge, that if you look at it well it never seems to end. The surfers, sliding on their boards, surrender to the sea and he plays with them by making them dizzy here and there, making them look like small shadows on their infinite mantle. He welcomes them and returns them to land again and again.
What will surfers feel when they have air in their faces, receive splashes of waves on their hands and foreheads, will they think of anything? Or maybe not, maybe best of all, they don't think about anything and can, for a moment alone, be part of something bigger than them ...
What is clear is that Raglan is one of the best places in New Zealand to surf: you only need a wetsuit, a board and a bit of value ... here are some of the waves on the left (which is not that they are communists eh ) longest in the world.
If, as I am a bit of a miserable (the biggest fear, even more about sharks, is not being able to take off my wetsuit) it is worth coming and enjoying the show from the top of the cliffs: luxury views that will make you envy for a while those little black shadows, which glide so fast across the sea. Although a second later, the Tasmanian Sea will return the smile of how beautiful it is.
How to get
We arrived from the town of Ngaruawahia, where we spent the night.
Where to sleep
In Raglan it is not allowed to spend the night, there is a sign that indicates that camping is prohibited throughout that area. We stayed in Ngaruawahia, in the park on the other side of the road, a very nice and quiet place, next to two rivers, with free gas barbecue and construction bathrooms (closed at night).
What to see
On Sundays there is a hippie mini-market (the town has in general a casual hippie touch, although casual looking!) And you can stroll along the main downtown street full of shops and stores. Although obviously the best are the beaches: the Whale Bay is about 10 km. Our advice is to reach the cliffs and have a picnic while enjoying the sea and surfers.
