While the northern hemisphere is coming into that time of year when the ocean really starts to fire up, down here in the southern half of the world Spring is upon us—which is beautiful for all the flowers and fine weather and animals having sex with each other, but not ideal if you like to surf. With an abundance of high pressure systems headed in our direction, it’s time to get some backup plans in place for those days when your local break resembles a backyard swimming pool. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
Go wake surfing
Got a mate who owns a boat? Buy him a six-pack or whatever his poison is and have him drive that thing up and down your local waterway while you and the rest of your buddies take turns ripping into the wake. Although there’s no promises you’ll be able to make it look as easy as Taj and Kerrsy do in the video below, you’re bound to get some laughs out of each other’s attempts, and when the waves at your local are topping out at half a foot, it’s the closest your going to get to scratching that itch to surf.
Jump off something high
There’s few better ways to spend a sunny afternoon than getting a group of friends together and jumping off something high and halfway scary into a cool body of water. A headland, a tree, some inland swimming hole—there’s plenty of options out there if you bother to look, and with the adrenaline flowing and some good-natured banter, you should be able to goad someone into doing something stupid enough that they end up on the wrong side of a painful and hilarious slapping. Bonus points for teasing the poor bastard with the fear of heights.
Create your own high-speed waterslide
Pinch your old man’s best length of tarp, grab the dishwashing detergent from the kitchen sink (as well as the spare bottle your mum bought for when that one runs out), find a steep hill and some kind of water supply, and voila! launch yourself down that slope with as much velocity as you can muster. This one works best if the ground you’re sliding over is bumpy, uneven, and capable of rocketing you at least half a foot in the air as you hurtle downhill towards whatever awaits you at the bottom.
Try sandboarding
Winter may be over, but that doesn’t mean your snowboard has to be confined to the garage for the next nine months. Get a crew together and go hunt down the biggest dunes you can find. It might not give you the same rush as riding a wave or carving through some fresh powder, but at the end of the day you’ll be sandy, tired and stoked you didn’t waste your day doing sweet FA.
Get swooped
It’s that time of year when magpies go from observing us with a warbling, affable air of nonchalance to targeting us with vicious, bloodthirsty attacks from the heavens. Rather than avoiding those streets where they guard over their nests like guard dogs with wings, strap a helmet to your head, grab your bike and peddle down it for all your worth as they launch air raid after air raid on your plastic-covered dome. The helmet should protect from you from any lasting injuries, but the rush you get from feeling their savage wings beating just inches above your head will stay with you for the rest of the day.
