I'm sitting here with throbbing sinuses, aching muscles and a dripping nose.
A cold! outrageous. Not me! a naturopath with a cold. it seems i am not infact made of metal inside with the constitution of an action hero.

But it was all worth it.
Raglan is so beautiful, wonderful. Not sweetly wonderful or beautiful.
Vast and wild and unkempt and frightening and awesomely beautiful and wonderful.
A place where you can see that it is endless, and want to weep with the absolute and infinite beauty of this unbelievable planet.
nope, I can't explain. I knew I wouldn't be able to. You have to go and see.

Soundsplash was mint. We mismanaged our energy and alcohol supplies and slept through some of the best bits, but actually, the best bits was the whole thing, for the whole weekend i wasn't thinking of the future in any way, i was right then and there. the present. a blissful place.

The surf is choice. but you coulda read that in the lonely planet.
the first afternoon was onshore and crumbly and a bit too big, but i gave it a whack, just good to get out. I had been gaggin to get out all day and Loren 'i left our tickets in auckland' had kinda held the troupes up. but nay fear. we got round that bastard. and got through the alcohol checks TWICE. we shoulda brought more.
An indication of the attitude that weaves together raglanites, everytime we need to 'bend' the rules on something, the 'official' (a bro in orange fluro) would say.. ahhh, you're not supposed to.. but just don't say i let you.
and we were in, or off, or whatever we wanted. sah-weet.

Blackseeds Friday night, kinda mellow set for them but always good.
Headed out early next morning greedy for waves, and totally mistimed it and got onshore and crumbly again. And dark. And cold. And just plain unwelcoming.
Just as i got dry and got my clothes on (up the big ass hill you have to walk up to get back to wainui reserve, kind of a mish after fatiguing from paddling) the wind changed and it became perfect barrelling offshore movie shot spray spraying off it's rails. gutted.
i was achey tired from only 4 hours sleep and it was TOO HOT to move or sleep or fart or do anything so i just had to slug around in the shade waiting to get up the energy to go back down.

Dragged lol up and went back down and the whole weekend was redeemed by the perfect, clean, 2ft lefthanders, green and shiny splender. me and about five others hogged this break, it was perfect, i grinned with glee. Got up a good few times and had a good few little rides. The frustration of the mornings crapness ebbing away. Even hot enough to surf in only bikini and boardies. happyness.
Came in and sacrificed my board to Rei who wanted a turn. Lay on teh beach with Lol and got a perfect tan. Nearly got picked up by the guest lifeguards who wanted to take us for a ride in the life saving boat. BLoody ahy! you can flirt with me for that kinda credit!! then they walked 50m to the next two hot babes in bikini's and no doubt offered them too a ride. opportunistic buggers! but you can't really blame them.

Oh and there was reggae, and dub, and the yummiest vegetarian kai on the planet, and dancing, lots of head nodding and hip shaking and that drumming without sticks thing you do with your hands when your dancing. yeah some of that. and barefoot stomping.
Bata Cuda Sound Machine (sp) were the unexpected highlight of the gig. you know that music that makes you shake every last little bit of jelly on your body and sweat drip from your head to your toes. yup. was good.

The unexpected lowlight was waiting for Kora to come on while Dub Syndicate played a really boring 2 hour set. I likened it to my ring tone. only more bass. I don't even know who those guys were, but the vocals came from their laptop, and like. just nah. it was for WAAAYYYYSTED stoners to mong out to. we wanted to dance.
The blessed and beautiful brothers of Kora came on at 3 and played til 4, which took the absolute last of my energy. i was dancing in a rug, and it wasn't dancing, it was swaying, smiling, and swaying. and who should be next in the line up but the one and only Shapeshifter.
and what did i do? i went back to the tent and fell asleep listening to them play the first track off their new album.
The flood light of the whopper muther lamp thingy in the camp ground drifting down through our blue tent i whispered haggardly to rei and lol: "i've been thrashing this album, as loud as i can, in my car, for months, on the way to the beach. Its my stoked out surf album".
and they groaned in sympathy for me. and then we were gone. I didn't even stay awake to hear them finish the track.
then i wake to; clarey, clarey.. your alarms been going off for half an hour and people are starting to get their cars.

we'd planned to get up early and leave before the masses did. a shame we only got home 'early'.
i peeled my eyes apart and did what had to be done. we made a swift and tidy exit. Loren and Rei are amazing camping compadres. Ready with the booze, smoked fish, roast vege's and anecdotes. Quick and clever and love to dance to reggae. god bless you both you rockers.

Breakfast in the rising sun of raglan city drinking mean soy latte and having big vege breaky.
slept thewhole way back and woke up with this cold.
small price to pay.

if i had a camera, you'd be looking at the choicest pics that would BLOW YOUR MIND out of your ears with the sheer stunning beauty. i've never seen coastlines so long, so big, so endless, so dwarving, so levelling.
I sat and meditated on both sunsets and was filled. filled. empty and full and good and a tear came to my eyes as the burning globe sunk behind the endlessness of sea and it's parallel and perfect ripples of swell washing in from the horizon.
I love Raglan. I love Reggae. And the surf is what everyone says it is.
Race you there.
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