Welcome to NOMB Surf´s latest feature: the Surftrip Series!!
Once a month we will spoil you with a surftrip report, featuring NOMB Surf´s headcoach Angie or a guest surftrip writer. What better way is there to relive your surftrip experience than sharing it with likeminded surfers?? Apart from doing it all over again of course 🙂
So sit back, make yourself a nice cup of tea and enjoy NOMB Surftrip Series #1: A winterbreak in paradise – Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Hi there!
My name is Angie, I am the head surfcoach of NOMB Surf. In case you don´t know, we here at NOMB Surf organize surfcoaching trips to really cool destinations all over the planet. And guess how the NOMB Surf idea was born? Right, I loooove to surftrip. There´s just something about visiting different places, surfing new waves and experiencing new cultures. It´s that certain feeling (they call it itchy feet) that makes some of us go out there and explore our planet.
But that´s enough about me, let me tell you a bit about one of my most crazy and amazing surftrips ever. Destination: Rapa Nui. In the photo above you see me standing on the westcoast of Easter Island. Looks nice you think but imagine that there is nothing (!!!), seriously nothing, behind me for another 3.600km. Until the Pacific Ocean hits the Chilean mainland.
Being an small isolated island in the middle of the Pacific, every surfer automatically will start thinking about how many swells might hit this only 23km small volcano island. The answer is quite simple: loooooads!!! Check out one of the spots on the other site of the island. Looks not too big because the pic was taken from high above. Down there the waves were roughly 5m high and trust me, it´s brutal. Only a handful of brave surfers surf this spot!
You get to Rapa Nui by plane (the boat once goes twice a year). Either from Santiago de Chile, Lima (Peru) or Tahiti. There is loads of accommodation, from cool little beachhuts to a luxury 5 star hotel, there´s something for every taste. However be prepared to fork out, Rapa Nui is a seriously expensive place. Everything is imported and the local community puts a well deserved high price on their natural and cultural heritage.
But the fact that Rapa Nui is easily one of the most magical places in the world, money really doesn´t matter once you feel the spirits and energies flying around that place. I am generally not a very spiritual person but there is something that catches you the moment you step out of the plane. You don´t believe me? Go and find out for yourself! How can you not be blown away by standing next to the 15 Moai statues in Tongariki??
Surfwise Rapa Nui offers great spots for nearly every level. Having said that, it´s probably not the easiest place in the world to learn to surf. A certain level of surfing will help you to enjoy the crystal clear waters even more. Duckdiving for the first time with your eyes open will leave you speachless. I wasn´t aware of just how much beauty was underneath me until I opened my eyes. Fishes of every imaginable color and shape swim around you and enjoy the waves as much as the surfers do. You might even be lucky and surf next to a turtle or three.. In Hanga Roa, the town on the island, there are a couple of different surfspots, all reefs that break clean and can hold size as well.
The Rapa Nui are friendly people who are aware of that their island lives of tourism and welcome everyone with genuine warmth. But don´t be surprised if after a couple of days you are being asked when you gonna leave again. There is a serious migration problem on Rapa Nui so don´t think about installing yourself for a longer period of time. On my first trip to Rapa Nui we spend over a month on the island. We were welcomed with very open arm but were accepted to stay for that long only because we have friends among the local surfcommunity.
So what do to on Rapa Nui once you are totally surfed out?? Even though it´s only a small island it will take you quite a while to explore everything. Anakena beach for example, a picture perfect polynesian beach. Palmtrees, moais, clear water and white sand. Just how you imagined. Or you can climb up Rano Kau, a volcano with water and floating greens. A once in a lifetime sight really!
I was very sad to have to leave Rapa Nui, I totally fell in love with the magic, waves and people of this place. That much that I returned to Easter Island one year later. It´s an amazing place that makes you get in touch with yourself, simply by letting you be part of it´s rich and diverse polynesian culture. Imagine the music, the dances, the paintings, the artwork, the language, the history.. I was totally blown away. And put some great and consistent waves on top of that, and you might actually never wanna leave this little paradise.
Sounds good to you?? You never know, one day there might even be a NOMB Surftrip to Rapa Nui.. Until then, keep checking into our Newspage to be up to date about our upcoming surfcoaching trips!
I hope you enjoyed Surftrip Series #1, stay tuned for monthly new surftrip reports.
Sea you in the water soon, great waves for everyone!
Angie
