For those of us born and bred in the Southern Hemisphere, the words “summer” and “waves” are very rarely used in the same sentence. Unless of course you’re cussing in a fit of surf-starved frustration and inserting “never has any bloody” between them.
Luckily for this Southern Hemispherian, I’m blessed with the opportunity to live in a place that always has summer waves. Even when it’s flat, it’s head high somewhere in the Mentawai Islands. So when people talk about the Early Season out here, my ears prick up and I salivate at the thought of super fun, empty waves with little to no crowds.
Even more fortunately, after feasting on late season treats out here in 2013, my return home to an Australian summer was blessed with a seemingly endless run of swells.
Normally, the holiday period back home is a time for me to put down the camera gear, put the boards in the shed, lick my wounds and rest a battered and bruised body from a long Indo season. This time though, I couldn’t look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. So I reloaded the boards, charged the cameras, packed the car, slammed the trunk and made sure I was there when the swells slammed into Australian coastlines.
The good run didn’t end there either. Now back on deck here at Pitstop Hill in the Mentawai Islands for the 2014 season, I’m feeling just as lucky. Four months in and I think I must’ve been a good lad somewhere down the track because with the waves we’ve had so far this season, I feel like I’ve been cashing in some karmic chips. So here’s some of the highs from this year so far. And if this has been my “low season,” I can’t wait to see what’s still to come.
See more of John’s work at johnbarton.net.au on Instagram: @johnnyjungle.
