I totally got this lockdown thing wrong. I expected to be taking the kids to remote beaches and surfing for hours in solitude while carefully observing the 2m rule. What surprised me most was that I expected that to be the case right up until midway through Day 1 when the rules shifted a fair bit.
Sure, I could understand surfing being off limits in places where the crowd pressure would make it impossible to maintain a 2m radius, but surely down south here we'd be able to find an empty peak? I felt like the carpet had been pulled out from beneath me. Surfing is a great tonic for me. It heals everything and makes me feel happy. To be without for four weeks ... I just didn't know if I could do it.
Then my wife showed me another perspective. We watched Covid-19 meltdown communities throughout the world. We read up on the seriousness of it all and listened intently to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and thought about the gravity of the actions she set in place and the unprecedented nature of it all.
That's when it started to feel petty to grizzle over a few missed surfs. In the context of this global pandemic and the battle to save the lives of those New Zealanders most at risk, I think a few missed waves aren't going to rank very highly. Yes, I'm obsessed. I can't wait to go surfing again. But for now I'd rather see New Zealand unite to beat this thing once and for all. Let's do this ...
So, instead of pictures from the inside of my house, here's some from one of my favourite places on earth: The waves and people of Upolu, Samoa.
See you after the lockdown ... Derek
PS Want to keep yourself entertained for the next four weeks? Then what better time to dive deep into some of the New Zealand Surf Journal stories. Here's our top five:
1. Surfing the 23.8m swell that broke all the records.
2. Slab hunting in the deep south.
3. Campbell Island: surf exploration in the Sub-Antarctic.
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