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Northland surfers given unforgettable day as they share waves with greatest ever, Kelly Slater

March 20, 2020

Kelly Slater was supposed to be competing at the Piha Pro this week before it was cancelled, instead, he was spotted in Northland.

Imagine heading down to your break and getting a front row seat to the greatest ever surfer carving it up on your waves.

Well that’s just what happened for some Northland surfers with Kelly Slater.

Slater was supposed to be competing at the Piha Pro this week before it was cancelled.

In a settlement of fewer than a 1000 people, word was always going to spread quickly about Slater around Pataua, east of Whangārei.

"Some people told us, 'Are you going to go and see Kelly?' and I didn't know what they were talking about,” one local said.

"I looked really close, and I kind of had a bit of a shock," another told 1 NEWS.

"Got off the bus, came over and Slater was in the water,” a disbelieving local said.

The 11-time world champion gave an impromptu masterclass for disbelieving Northland riders.

"Before we knew it, we were in our wetsuits and in the water, and there he was."

"When I saw him, my heart was just pounding of excitement," a local surfer said.

"He did some massive turns and stuff," one local said.

"He did a 360 air straight in front of me, it was pretty cool," one surfer said.

The 48-year-old spent two hours in the water before happily hanging out with a fast-growing crowd of admirers, signing surfboards and t-shirts.

The dads were as excited, if not more, than the kids.

"One of the guys brought down a guitar that he signed, plucked a few chords. Played with the gods, had a beer with him. Offered him a beer really awkwardly. He was keen to have a beer, he was awesome."

"Absolute legend, amazing," one man said

"He was nice. He told me what waves to go to and stuff. It was so cool," one surfer said.

A day these young surfers could say: "I surfed with Kelly Slater."

It was a pinch yourself moment with the greatest ever giving a small community a moment they'll never forget.

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