i have a friend who works as a flight attendant.so you can imagine i spend a lot of time wording me up on places to visit(yeah thanks mat ya prick)and he strongly advised i go to this particular island because of the waves.his last words to me before departure were
"hey ross if you go to CENSORED just take your chick.dont go with any other surfers.it could be ugly if you do"
with that in mind i took his advice and landed in CENSORED with my then girlfriend(now wife).the airport was a tin shed affair and everyone else seemed to have somewhere to go so the place was soon empty ,a bit of sign language and horrific Tahitian(speaking French is a no-no in these parts) with the remaining peole soon had us camping.
from what i could gather i had to walk south along the reef which fringed the shore and there was a wave about a km down the coast ,
sweet!in the hour before dawn i got up(who sleeps in a three season tent in the rainy season in the tropics?sweaty people thats who.)i ran/limped my way down the coral beach in the darkness setting off the neighbourhood hounds in the process.
in the early light i could make out what i thought was a righthander banking on the edge of a reef pass maybe a kilometre offshore.after 6 weeks in Moorea and Tahiti i had become accustom to the long paddles,this one was easy compared to some.i studied the current and thought F#ck it i'm out there.i still had a little further to walk so i thought i might make use of the current and jumped in the water and started paddling.as it turns out the lagoon is more of a coral garden,quite shallow
so i had to navigate around the more pronounced coral as the current motored toward the pass.once the real current got me i was in the break pretty fast,trying to figure out position.nothing but the sounds of the coral below me.
first set arrives.my original plan was to sit out a set and take in the behaviour of the wave.nup,looks like i'm in the spot i'am going
.its maybe a 4-5 foot wave i get in late,now i have never been to Hawaii so i have no gauge in the comparison of power,however anyone coming here should not assume you are surfing waves in the leauge of say indonesia.as i bottom turned i saw that i was to far back to make the section,i just thought "ah stuff it i'll just pull in and enjoy the view."done this plenty of times in indo without consequence.
the tube bottoms out ,in the flat part of the vortex that we all know so well.i choose to abort at this time.the wave picks me up which i'am expecting.what i'am not expecting is the ferocity in which it throws me into the reef,feet first(i dont wear booties).after jaming my feet into the coral i proceed to put my han out and roll onto my shoulder.reef rash time
.welcome to CENSORED.i decided the damage was manageable and continue the surf getting to know this frieght train right hander.
a lone figure approaches from the channel.i'm worried its a local which means its time for me to go in.i see the white skin of a fellow popa'a(non Polynesian) and assume i'm safe,
he's an old guy so i go about my business,assuming he doesn't want the gnarly ones,theres plenty of waves.a set fills in and i spin to take it and the old guy starts paddling outside of me.he looks at me and says "my wave buddy"!!
at home this would have been met with a quick rebuke,but hey i'm not at home and i like this guys cheekiness so i let him have it and take the next one.
we paddle back out in silence.i'm still in shock from being "told"which wave i'll be taking
.so i decide a conversation is in order."how long you been in CENSORED?"i ask the spindly old man covered in sunscreen.
"25 years" he replies as he spins around to take off.
dont i feel like a fu#cken tool
this guys more local than the locals.instant respect.
we get talking about stuff between waves and i start to watch him surf.
he surfs smooth as you'd expect surfing reefbreaks,except he surfs just as well switchfoot!
he tells me when we finish surfing to come and meet his wife and see his place.my next wave barrels right through to the end section,which is very evil and finishes on dry reef.i have pushed it to far and get pitched again.
somehow i hardly bounce and wind up standing on dry reef.
i have two options here,walk over the reef and paddle around through the lagoon 1.5 km paddle.or march down the coral staircase before me that is about to be buffeted by another 4ft whitewater(10mtre walk.)
no time to think i start jaming my feet into every hole running down the reef to beat the whitewater
a couple more waves and i'm paddling in bleeding but happy.i watch my new mate Rande put his head down and start paddling aginst the current.i'm thinking,the old farts lost it!hes paddling toward the reef!
next thing a keyhole appears in the reef,he's in still water and stroking for home
.he beats me in by 15 minutes.on shore he tells me i took the right option on the reef as the lagoon is full of stone fish
.we go to his house wher i meet his wife Emore'(spelling?).what a nice woman.they invite us to use there snorkelling gear to dive in their front yard 
Rande runs a guest house(pension),but i get the impression he "selects" his guests
.he is in his sixties and thinks nothing of climbing a coconut tree to show you the right cocnuts to collect,surfs eight foot waves like there nothing and lives on an island that has got to be as close to the "wild west" as you'll get nowadays.fit as f#uck.knowing the locals he must have fought for his place on the island,not to mention winning the respect of Emore's family(from Moorea) when he was a young man.imagine it,young man goes to watch a polynesian dance display at some tacky resort in Tahiti and meets his beautiful wife
and never leaves.his back yard looks across to island that the Polynesians believe to be the birthplace of thier race(if you know it keep it to yourself
)and he probably still sits there with his dog watching the sunset,not drinking(when i was there i did it for him ).funny thing when your travelling.you get a glimpse into peoples lives.
i only knew Rande for a little while but he was such an inspiration,i guess no ones life is perfect but i aspire to have what he has.in his sixties,still surfing,still in love with his wife, still fit.
hope your still doing it mate,parahi,nana.
i'll have a beer for ya ya non drinking wierdo
