'Biggest wave in world' a Kiwi secret

Dougy at Papa's

A reconnaissance trip to the base of the South Island has yielded "an amazing discovery" for the organiser of New Zealand's first big wave surfing event.

"I'm blown away," said Australian Gary `Kong' Elkerton after a tour of potential surf breaks off the Catlins coast and Fiordland, where top Kiwis showed him some favourite sites.

"I knew it could get big down there off the back of those powerful Antarctic storms in winter but there is one particular place we were taken to that is amazing.

"It could be the biggest wave in the world."

The current world masters champion and a 20-year veteran of the pro surfing tour, Elkerton is organising the Mt Woodgee Big Wave Challenge, some time in the next 12 months when the surf is at its peak.

He and current world No5 surfer, fellow Queenslander Bede Durbidge, recently met with a hardy band of South Island surfers who are pioneering tow-in surfing in New Zealand, including leading Kiwi Doug Young.

Young, a top five finallist in last year's Billabong Odyssey annual quest to ride the world's biggest wave, will lead the New Zealand team in the Mt Woodgee Challenge.

"Doug lives down that way and Bede and I met up with him and his (jet ski) tow-in partner Kyle (Davidson) to work on the planning of the event," Elkerton explained.

"The first of the winter Antarctic storms arrived just as we got into Dunedin - we got hit with 100km/h winds - but what we were shown by Kyle and Doug was nothing short of amazing."

As a result, Elkerton has abandoned his original idea of hosting the event at the Papatowai break off the Catlins coast and is moving the event to the new discovery instead.

"Papatowai can handle a big swell and it's a great set-up. But I think it is more of a paddle-in wave than a tow-in one.

"This new place can hold even bigger swell than Papas and I want it there, even though it is literally taking the whole show to a new level."

Elkerton said Young and Davidson discovered the mystery break eight years ago while sea-kayaking the Fiordland coastline. Sticking to the time-honoured edict of keeping certain spots secret, Elkerton will not give any specific details of the break's location.

"You don't want people going there anyway," he said. "It's a beautiful place but also a dangerous place. It's not a break right out to sea like many of the world's biggest waves are.

"It breaks right on the coastline against cliffs with huge boulders the size of cars up against them. You get out there by jetskiing 30km or so up a certain area from inland and then going around a headland.

"It's going to need more reconnaissance because of how hairy it is. Safety is critical and we've got to be sure we can get a ski into the dangerous whitewater area between waves to get anybody who has been caught inside."

Elkerton, a renowned big wave rider who won the Hawaii Triple Crown three times, plans further scoping of the area next month.

The possibility New Zealand has the biggest wave in the world will surprise many.

But in recent years, technology such as Google Earth and increased exploration has revealed the biggest breaks tend to lie in the most remote corners of the globe.

"There's a huge one off Tasmania and another biggie off Western Australia," said Elkerton. "Alaska is said to have a massive one, but this one in New Zealand might trump them all.

"It looks capable of holding 50ft plus."

Story courtesy of http://www.stuff.co.nz