As borders open, restrictions ease and global travel is once again introduced as a mainstay there’s an immense amount of joy among the surfing fraternity - the Indian Ocean, the surfer's true Disneyland, is back on the list.
Over the last two years, there was a sting caused by seeing social posts from ex-pat friends that shared near-empty peelers from lineups all over the world. Images of perfect corduroy waves breaking in the background as the warm tropical sun sets over the places we knew and longed to surf again. Palm-fringed, white sandy beaches and a blessed lack of crowd surfing waves that you couldn’t get to no matter how much you wanted to.
Meanwhile, lives at home faced turmoil. Rules and mandates dominated headlines, social and cultural fracture lines appeared and the angst of lockdowns, lock-outs and lock-ins haunted our lives like a toxic miasma.
Now, five months after a shaky New Year haunted by the creed ‘Let it rip’ we arrive in more familiar waters, a ‘normal-looking' world with the opportunity to travel and surf stretching ahead of us and into the horizon. 2022 brought back the possibility of the surf trip and then made it a reality. The Indian Ocean season is calling you and so far it’s a ‘helluva’ season.