The photo above shows another angle on the wave seen in the ‘End of the World’ clip. The question is, is this break actually ‘in the middle of nowhere’?

Remote wave discovery. Solo voyage leads to a self-taped, overhead, flawless left barrel surf session.

The southern coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Only farm roads come near the sea. One reef in particular was 2 km from the closest farm road. Our van got stuck in a mud puddle. We hiked for 45 mins to check the break but found the wind to be onshore. Further investigation going south uncovered numerous hidden reefs and rivermouth breaks, many concealed by private farm land. Our team included Pete Devries, Jesse Hines, Mike Losness, and Chris Burkard.

Pete studied our road map. He considered the wind, swell direction, and tide, and proposed a new spot to check whenever conditions deteriorated at our current location. The coastline has innumerable turns and bends, all open to the southern swells. The possibilities for finding new setups seemed to never end. So we spent hours driving the highway, chasing the shifting wind patterns, hoping to find offshore conditions.

When the swell was maxing we found a stretch of coast at the end of the road where the waves broke out to sea. It’s difficult to say whether they had names. It’s difficult to say whether these breaks had ever been surfed. They looked lonely, threatening, and slightly mutated. Unsurfable? I couldn’t tell how big it was from so far away. No one was eager to venture out, or find out what might be lurking below. It was beginning to rain, so we climbed back into the van. Our diet during the first days of the trip consisted of granola bars and water.

We arrived in New Zealand’s deep south in the middle of winter. Antarctic storms send swell from the higher latitudes towards South Island’s hidden reefs and coves. Days on end were spent waiting out rain and fog. The region is blanketed in forest. The breaks are difficult to reach. Farm roads are muddy. Following them can be treacherous.

Winds shifted frequently. The changing weather provided opportunities to explore into remote areas. The sun might come out briefly, but it would just as soon disappear behind a carpet of gray cloud. As soon as the wind direction changed it was time to look down the coast for another break that might be offshore.

The team included Pete Devries (pictured above), Mike Losness, Jesse Hines, and photographer Chris Burkard.