Australian Gourmet Traveller - (05)May 2019 (1)

NowthatI’mnotcompeting,myjobis essentiallytofindplaces

offthebeatentrackthathavegreatwaves.I’mluckytowork

withsomegreatpeople,likeRipCurlandRedBull,whosend

meonsurftripsaroundtheworldtosearchforthesemoreraw

andwildsurfspots.InSouthAfricathisyearI campedinthe

desertforfivedaysandpickedcrayfishstraightofftherocks

• it wasincredible.Chasingwaves,followingswellsandtelling
  people I’m unavailable becauseI wanttosurfis whatI do.

TwodestinationsI keepreturningtoareSouthAfricaandFiji.

There’sincrediblesurf,someoftheworld’sbiggestwaves,at

CloudbreakoffTavarua,closetothemainFijianisland.Plus

Fijiansarebeautifulpeople.InSouthAfricayou’resurfing

onemoment,thenyoudrivefortwo hours and you’re

chasing lions. Scary, but fun.

Travelis definitelycharacterbuilding.Thereareso

manythingsthatcanandwillgowrong.Learningto

rollwiththepunchesandgettingoutofyour comfort

zone, that’s where you grow the most.

WhenthesharkincidenthappenedinSouthAfrica,

it wasdefinitelyhardanda processtocomebackfrom

[in2015,Fanningfoughtoffa sharkbypunchingit

intheback].Forme,it wasacceptingit forwhatit

was– it wasjustanincident.I lookat it aswalking

acrossthestreetandalmostgettinghitbya car.You

stillhavetocrossthestreetthenext day. For me,

sharks are just part of my job.

I’vespenta bitoftimeinAlaska,bothforsurfing

andforconservationwork.It’sanawesomeplace

where you can see mountains covered in snow,

rightthereatthebeach,asyousurfinthree-degreewater,

oryoucangofishingfor rainbow trout and have bears

right across the river.

Myidealkindoftripis justanywhereyoucangetoffthegrid.

I lovecamping.I lovegettingdownanddirty, getting back to

nature and not having to usemyphone.

I’vehadsomekillerroadtrips.AsanambassadorforMercedes-

Benz,I recentlytooktheirnewX-ClassV6aroundAfrica.We

couldputit in4WDandgetondirtroads,andthenheadback

ontothehighway.It’sa perfectcarforwhatI do– throwallthe

bad stuffinthebackandkeepthegoodstuffinthefront.And

in 2016 I drovetheirV-ClassvanfromFranceto

Portugal.It wasprettycooltopulloverontheside

of the road and turn the van intoa herocamper.

I’dtravelwithabout 12 surfboardswhenI wason

tour[Fanningretiredfrompro-surfinglastyear].Now

I cannarrowit downtofourtosix,allfordifferent

conditions.It’slikegirlspackingtheirsuitcase– you

have to have the right dress for every occasion.

SurfingbecomesanOlympicsportatthe 2020 Games

inTokyo,andI’mkeentogo.Nottocompete– I’mold

andslowandnotverygoodinthoseconditions,plus

therearepeopleouttherewhoaresomuchbetter.

I’d get flogged. But I want togoandexperienceit.

Mydreamforthisyearandnextis toslowlytravel

aroundAustralia.I wanttodeckoutanX-Classute

andjustgetoffthebeatenpath and explore Australia

• I’ll figure it out as I go.●

Justbackfrom...

Morocco,where

I wasshootinga

filmaboutGriffin

Colapinto, a young,

emergingsurferfrom

southernCalifornia.

Wecampedonan

isolatedbeach,the

nameofwhichI’m

keepinga secret,

formysakeandthe

locals!Thewaves

wereamazing.

Nextup...

Withmylineof

work,I watchthe

weathermapsand

chase the swells.

Mick Fanning

Theworld-championsurferon

chasing waves, lions and simplicity.

TRAVELLING WITH

GOURMET TRAVELLER 29

How I travel

INTERVIEW HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY CAMERON MURRAY.