Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 345

Need to know For prices, reservations and
lessons at Raglan Surfing School see W www.
raglansurfingschool.co.nz; T [phone]; for
Solscape see W www.solscape.co.nz; T +64 7825
8268.

468 surf
aT raglan,
new
Zealand

Don't be surprised
if you to come
to the beach
town of Raglan
and stay for
longer than intended. Many do. Experienced
surfers are drawn by the reliable swells and
one of the world's longest left-hand breakers,
while beginners are seduced by the laid-back
Bohemian atmosphere and their first taste of the
addictive surfing thrill.
The town hugs the south side of the large
and picturesque Raglan Harbour, 48km west of
Hamilton in Waikato. Fresh-faced surfers go in
search of gentle waves at the rock-free Ngarunui
Beach, 5km out of Raglan, while the more
experienced boarders head to the long breakers
at Manu Bay and Whale Bay, both around 8km
out of town.
Surfing lessons are provided by Raglan Surfing
School and Solscape, who both rent boards and
wet suits and provide a range of deals, from day-
long starter lessons to accommodation-inclusive
packages. Raglan Surfing School is based at
Karioi Lodge in Whale Bay and has all the usual
surfing facilities, including hammocks (of course),
flat-screen TVs and hot tubs. But if you're after a
more back-to-nature experience you're better off
staying at Solscape, based at Manu Bay, which
has an eclectic mix of accommodation ranging
from tipis to recycled railway carriages and self-
contained eco-cottages.
If you decide to have a break from the waves,
you can go horse-riding in the area around
Mount Karioi and further south at Bridal Veil
Falls. Or if the wind picks up you can also try
kitesurfing - the lie of the land at Raglan means
it's one of the best places in New Zealand to try
this. Just don't expect to leave when you thought
you would.

469 birds of paradise in papua
new guinea

When it comes to courtship, birds of paradise
know how to do it in style. The Magnificent
Bird of Paradise favours the low branches of
bushes, the Blue Bird of Paradise hangs upside-
down in a tree, while the Six-Plumed Bird
of Paradise puts on an elaborate show in its
specially prepared clearing on the forest floor.
You may have seen the latter starring in the
BBC series Planet Earth : at first it looks like a
rather unglamorous crow, but then it transforms
its wings into a little tutu, stands on tiptoe and
hops back and forth in a coquettish dance. As
one of the producers of the series remarked:
“they are like two birds for the price of one”.
Birds of paradise are the holy grail for
birdwatchers, yet most of them live in the
jungles of Papua New Guinea, one of the least-
explored regions on Earth. Though tourism here
is still in its infancy, birdwatching tours are
relatively well-established and there are plenty
of operators that will take you to reliable spots
to see birds of paradise.
Local expert Samuel Kepuknai leads one of
the best tours (typically six days) to Kiunga,
Ekame and Tabubil in the lush virgin forests
of Western Province. His Kiunga nature tours
begin in a region known as KM17, where you can
see the Greater and Raggianna birds of paradise
performing their mating rituals on the same
tree. The tour then moves on to several other
well-known watching spots in the jungle, such
as Frame Bower Bird Hill and the Elevara River
- where you take a boat trip to see a variety of
other birds, such as the azure kingfisher, great-
billed heron and channel-billed cuckoo.
Those with deep pockets can head to Ambua

Raglan is home to one of
the world's longest left-hand
breakers