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Photo ‘Rusty’ Russell<br />
TRAVEL: FIJI<br />
There is a certain level of surfer who can ride that<br />
wave at 6-8 foot. Then you have days like the one<br />
when the Volcom Pro was called off. The waves<br />
were 20-30 foot with 50 foot faces and even Kelly<br />
Slater was sitting on the boat a little apprehensive. I<br />
think the size sorts out what ability you need. Check<br />
it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEEG8J9Xaxs<br />
You still may get a few cowboys who just want to go<br />
out there and this is what they are trying to regulate.<br />
They want to ensure people have a clear understanding<br />
of what it takes to surf a break like this.<br />
Any regulation will be a work in progress because it<br />
is such a unique idea. It will be a while before you<br />
could sign off on any one rule.<br />
What are some of the positives regarding the<br />
opening up of Fiji’s surf breaks?<br />
For Australians - unless you managed to sneak a<br />
week in at Tavarua or scored a place through the<br />
lottery system, where surfers can get a chance to<br />
surf Tavarua on the Sunday after island guests have<br />
departed on the Saturday - it has been difficult for<br />
surfers to go there.<br />
It’s one of our closest big wave destinations to<br />
mainland Australia but has been dominated by the<br />
Americans. Forward bookings by US travel agents<br />
who represented Tavarua and Namotu made it<br />
near impossible for any Australians to access the<br />
surrounding breaks.<br />
With the Surfing Decree, Australians have the<br />
opportunity to surf the likes of world famous breaks<br />
such as Cloudbreak and Restaurants as well as<br />
many other Fiji surf breaks that in the past could<br />
only be surfed exclusively by guests staying at a<br />
particular resort.<br />
We have found there is now a substantial increase<br />
in surfers wanting to go to Fiji. In my eye that is a<br />
positive because it spreads out surfers outbound<br />
from Australia. Surfers aren’t just going to<br />
Indonesia, the Mentawais or the Maldives any<br />
more. They now have a South Pacific option that is<br />
just as consistent and as good as Indonesia.<br />
Aside from Tavarua and Namotu, Surf Travel Co.<br />
represents many others within Fiji. The Decree has<br />
opened up a lot of waves in Fiji that surfers simply<br />
don’t know about. And we are back on the search.<br />
We are researching new areas throughout Fiji.<br />
That’s exactly what the Surf Travel Co. is all about<br />
– bringing to light new and exciting destinations for<br />
surfers to experience.<br />
And the beauty about Fiji is that it caters for all<br />
budgets from the backpacker to five star luxury<br />
accommodation.<br />
Photo ‘Rusty’ Russell<br />
56 jul/aug 20<strong>12</strong><br />
The Surf Travel Co. represents numerous resorts and<br />
charters throughout Fiji and are one of only three<br />
companies in the world that now represent Tavarua<br />
and Namotu resorts. For more info, see the website<br />
www.surftravel.com.au or call 02 9222 8870<br />
LEFT: There was no shortage of spectators<br />
during the recent Volcom Pro.
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