Skeleton Reef, Catlins NZ (Papa's)
Yeah.... All mitchs fault....... ;)
Hahaha this is gold... Wouldn't worry too hard welly... I learnt about papatowi and it's location when they had a full feature in tracks a fair few years back... If that didn't affect the crowds u don't think this will!
A place with freezing cold water ? Yeah we are all heading down there inzider
As Camel alluded to above it will never be under too much pressure, you can almost see Antarctica from there and the average punter has no desire not to mention the skills to tackle this wave. '
Seriously the cat has been out of the bag for about 20 years on this one and I still can't imagine any crowd problems down there. I know when I was in living in NZ there was photos of the joint every time it broke in both NZ magazines, not to mention TV footage and features in surf videos.
It is honestly like saying I can't mention Snapper or Bells Beach here for fear someone might want to surf there.
Inzider has fallen into the paranoid kiwi trap, the boys who surf that place don't need protecting, the wave does that for them. And it's an insult to say you only cared about Australia for the money or whatever, there are plenty of us here trying to make a life for ourselves that don't need you perpetuating the myth of kiwis coming and going as economic refugees.
Ok, its good to see some people can distinguish the real point I was trying to make
It wasnt about Papas at all, just naming breaks in the media, period.
Not that difficult really.
Fallen in to the paranoid kiwi trap? Been to raglan lately?
Insult australians ? please , they bowled the underarm, sucked americas to dick throw us out of anzus, get fucked staines, kiwis in OZ are just the mexicans of the pacific. If you are there for a better life you are an economic refugee by default.
"they bowled the underarm".... Yeah well after giving Qld Sir Jo, you deserved it ;)
true that sheepdog, paybacks ay
@ Inzider
Yeah I might get over to Raglan in a couple of months but I won't have trouble getting any waves because crowds are relative and after living where I live (no names) nowhere on earth will seem crowded again, it's an unexpected bonus of my situation.
I have no problem with keeping secrets secret but when we are talking about well known breaks it just seems a stupid, especially when we are talking about perhaps one of the most inhospitable locations on earth. Especially on a forum that may be lucky to have a few hundred eyeballs over it.
So what happened to Raglan? Endless Summer? It's hardly a place you would expect a solo session. Still plenty of places in NZ where you'd be glad to see another person paddle out.
Mexicans of the Pacific, pretty bitter there mate, I live a pretty good life and I'm thankful for the opportunities I have over here, certainly easier than New Zealand maybe that's why I have an open mind, who knows maybe the time will come and I'll return to NZ, never say never.
I knew a bloke who was the first to surf 'Scrotums' on Easter Island. Left hand point, breaks in a massive NE swell but needs a Souwester to be offshore. Sharky too but worth the 3 week boat trip out there and to be picked up again in anywhere between 3-6 months. Campings a no-no though with a distinct lack of firewood.
Told me to keep it under my hat, didn't want the hoardes descending on the place in the school holidays.
Its always up to the individual to decide whether a place is worth divulging name, exact location, conditions it breaks in, because once the decision is made there's no ability to reverse the leak of information. And the only way to ensure people don't go to far with it is to set an expectation right?
Mags are the worst for spilling the beans and its good that these days mags are even being held to their actions with the increase in social media and the ability for the public to call them out.
Like i mentioned earlier, precedent should be taken with a grain of salt. From the day a spot graces the media forward is it really a great idea to spill all the beans on the place? It should be the opposite if we want to retain a level of respect & secrecy for certain spots or areas.
I don't agree with spoon-feeding the facts to the internet, Wannasurf and SurfSpotting are at the worst end of the scale. I am a big supporter of the culture of keeping places secret and it should be something that surfers are pro-actively trying to contain, not exploit.
Swellnet has been running photos ever since they started and have always retained a level of respect for location naming. They've come up to some resistance from time to time also but I've always seen Swellnet take the higher moral ground and edit or adjust their information. I respect the guys for it, and that's one of the reasons why I'm a supporter of this site.
"Swellnet has been running photos ever since they started and have always retained a level of respect for location naming. They've come up to some resistance from time to time also but I've always seen Swellnet take the higher moral ground and edit or adjust their information. I respect the guys for it, and that's one of the reasons why I'm a supporter of this site."
Agreed, I think Ben, Stu and Craig have struck the right balance with this site especially in the face of keeping it commercially viable. For being a pretty much free product that offers a lot of content across a broad spectrum, with minimal ads is a credit to them. I'll continue to frequent this site as long as they keep up their high standards.
PS This was not a paid endorsement and Shaun, I have nothing to do with Patagonia although I do like their gear.
Most wetties are made in the same factory, including patagonia, so you can't go wrong unless you pay $900;-)
Welly, re: your request (which we've deleted) - we're not going to go in and change specific names - it's a waste of time (something we don't have much of this week while Stu is away).
In the grand scheme of things, this singular thread is not going to contribute to an increase in crowds across any New Zealand surf spots, so let's just leave it as it is - it's been an enlightening discussion, and should be archived as such.
Can't see a huge influx to Easter Island either;)
thermalben wrote:Welly, re: your request (which we've deleted) - we're not going to go in and change specific names - it's a waste of time (something we don't have much of this week while Stu is away).
In the grand scheme of things, this singular thread is not going to contribute to an increase in crowds across any New Zealand surf spots, so let's just leave it as it is - it's been an enlightening discussion, and should be archived as such.
Thanks Ben, I get what your saying, it's all good.
Was kind of having a laugh about it tho.
Cheers
Zen I know a chick who said that wave smoked, she got sucked over dry but called it Ball Bags.!
She totally blew it Welly!
Yeah She thought she was all over it
Checked my NZ surf guide last night, this spot is in there.
To many a local down around the Catlins in the South East of the South Island, Skeleton Reef is a dangerous reef.
Most locals down that way that know it as Skeleton Reef, are either fishermen or farmers.
But to some this reef is know as 'Papatowai' which in Maori, "Papa means land and towai is the name of a native tree.
For some reason surfers named this break 'Papatowai'...? Why I'm not sure, maybe that it is close to the land and breaks like a huge tree (Tāne Mahuta is a giant kauri tree (Agathis australis)
In 1991 whilst living in Wanaka, I remember going down to the Catlins for a surfing adventure by myself when the snow had run out of quality and was I keen on getting the body in the waves. I left Wanaka on a journey to pass Dunedin on the way to a beach break which was famous for sheltered waves in sw winds, with a secluded camping spot at its best.
Whilst driving south of Dunedin, I remember pulling over, at the top of a hill to witness a right hander breaking solidly way down on the coast line. I watched this wave break so consistently and thought to myself that is a very rideable wave....!
What a long way to walk I thought and it is probably bigger than what it is...? So I jumped in my car to arrive at the secluded beachie which is so protected to s-sw swell only to see it maxing out and no where to surf. Set up camp and waited for the swell to dissipate, which did 2 days later and was over joyed with 4-6 ft peaky beachies to myself, no-one around not even a seal to talk or flip too...
This beach break became one of my most favourite beachies in NZ and regularly visited it often by myself or some times with others, as the years passed it got a couple more to say the least.
I will never forget looking down on Papas that day, it was breaking solid and was probably 20 ft plus and breaking so consistently. I never really thought about it until years later, that the swell I was looking at was huge, I thought it was so rideable. Haha with my little 6'4" and miles away it looked like 6-8ft which was way out of my realm anyway ;)
Many times driving to the same beach I never saw a swell that big, so who knows it was probably a lot bigger.
I'm not sure who were the first people to surf this wave...?
I heard from a good mate that it was surfed in the late 90's after Kylie Davidson started setting up a big wave comp in memory of a good old charger from Dunedin. The comp was down around Invercargill way and on their way home back to Duno's they had a good look at Papas........
This wave has since seen some great local charger's and many from far away. From towing in to paddling this wave is apparently a great big wave.
Kudos to all that take the drop there in solid shit :)
My best mate charging Papatowai.
Kudos brother ;) Your a legend.