BLC go Native

Late February saw a hardy crew of Burleigh’s finest(?) head across the Pacific to the Solomon Islands and in particular to Papatura Island Retreat. With a sniff of great waves peeling over not too nasty reefs we left in rainy - well pissing down weather for the 3 hour flight to Honiara. Our crew of new Pres D Dawg Lowe, Tony White, George Punch, Simon Fowler, Graeme Simpson and youngens Pete Wickham and Dan Carter had planned this trip for months and were frothing to get there.

We arrived and soon found we had been abandoned by our local agent who was to transport us to the domestic terminal. Never mind Punchy's mate Mark had meet us from New Guinea and sorted it out The second leg was in a Twin Otter 16 seater and yes it's raining here too! We landed spectacularly on a grassy but very wet paddock I mean run way and all is good!

Our hosts Aussie expats Peter and Marg Blanche welcome us to their retreat and we were very impressed with our new home for the next two weeks They have a top job with the help of their local crew in building a superb retreat made in the traditional way but with a few of lifes essentials thrown in.

The waves were really good although not epic, with two surfs a day nearly every day ranging from 2ft to 5ft you could not complain. The left hand breaks at Kummas and Zolis were our most commonly surfed with Kummas the favorite of all. An almost mechanical left that rapt around the reef but very user friendly even on longboards. Simon, Pete and Dan chose short boards for the trip and all got some great waves. Our routine of leisurely breakfast, into the boats for a surf till late morning back for a cleansing drink, lunch, relax then off for an afternoon session was the theme for most days although some chose a read in the hammock, fishing or a bush walk. Did I mention the fishing Pete Wickham landed some of the biggest GT's I have ever seen as well as Mackerel and sweep lip. He is the man I tell you. Also squid off the jetty most nights meant calamari for dinner next night. Food was sensational with fresh fish thanks to Pete, lobster pasta - you name it we had it!

The island is rich in rainforest and is private with no one around for miles. You have the surf breaks to yourself and I mean no one else in the water. The water is unreal but very warm at this time of year.

We did get rained in for two extra days as the weather went really bad and the eventual connecting flight back to Honiara was something else Wow if I had any hair left it would surely be grey!!!

This place is magic and should be a must if you’re looking for a spot away from the mainstream. Pete and Marg are unreal, the beer is always cold the staff are super friendly and eager to please. To get surf every day for two weeks is a bo-nus and if you really lucked out there are about another dozen or more breaks to surf that weren't working for our stay - the potential here is incredible

Tony White