Cairns KiteSurfari top-ends expectations

Report by Jon from KPQ After a restful night at Ant from Kitesurfari Australia’s rainforest lodge near Cairns, the nine of us, plus all our gear, are stuffed into two 4x4s for our five-hour journey north. We cross the Daintree River and are in deep rainforest on red gravel roads, passing the kind of plants you would expect to see in a zoo. The bumpy, muddy drive takes us a couple of hours north of Cooktown to Cape Bedford where the red dirt and rainforest is replaced by white sand and barren landscapes. Bringing up the rear, we arrive at the beach, missing the crocodile that the guys in the first car saw. The first thing we notice is: no wind! The sea is flat calm, no white caps or anything. This is not what we signed up for! We cruise along the beach a bit further until we get to our camping area and get out of the car. Bang! The car door is nearly ripped off by the wind. That’s more like it. The “camp” is just a shelter and a rusted-out trailer, not that anyone stopped to check it out as we all quickly ripped our bags off the 4x4s to start pumping up. We’d soon realise there was no rush to get out there “in case the wind dropped” because it never stopped! Situated on a small point just north of Cape Bedford, the camp is in the most perfect spot. The next four days provide relentless wind and we spend most of our time riding right in front of the camp where sandbars create a large, flat lagoon area about a foot deep. Even in 25 knots, the water here is flat and smooth, and there’s deeper water for landing/crashing big jumps just beyond the lagoon – you couldn’t ask for a more ideal spot. By the time we get back from our first session, Ant has set up the camp and there’s a BBQ waiting for us. Ant’s been running these tours for three years and has thought of everything. There’s a massive tent for cooking and eating, smaller tents for sleeping, reclining chairs, a shower that draws water from the ground, a toilet with the best view in the world, a rescue boat and the Argo – a very cool eight-wheeled amphibious beach buggy used for downwinders and collecting wood etc. With the constant wind and being camped only 30 metres from the water’s edge we are in and out of the water all day from sunrise to sunset. The conditions are perfect for learning new stuff or perfecting what you know. The wind meter never really reads much above 25 knots but it feels like loads more. We are never underpowered on 9m kites and sometimes powered on 7ms. I’ve brought a range of 9m demo kites so we all can try something different and the new 2011 Cabrinha Switchblade is the clear winner here. We generally get a session in before our first breakfast of cereal, then another before breakfast two (bacon, eggs etc), and this is how the day carries on. Everything is included in this trip – food, drinks, beer – and Ant makes sure you are never hungry. He is always feeding us something. Food is all cooked on the barbie and is welcome after yet another kite session. Basically we just kite and eat all weekend. My most magical session is at seven in the morning. I wake up thinking it’s morning but it’s just the full moon shining like the sun behind a cloud. Remembering what Ant has told us about crocodiles at night, I slowly set up my gear and wait for the sky to lighten a bit before using the boat trailer to self-launch. What a great feeling: everyone else is asleep, I am the only one on the water and the sun is just starting to glisten on the surface. Magic. We’re a group of eight – the maximum Ant will take per tour – and we have a range of abilities and experience. But by the end of the safari, we’re all convinced we’ll be back next year for the location, the conditions, the downwinders, the fires at night… even the crocodiles and sand that gets into absolutely everything. Thanks Paula, Nick, Tom, Tom, Paul, Matt, Dan and of course Ant for an amazing adventure. Click here to see more pictures Click here to see our kiting holidays Would you like to come on Safari next year? Email qld@kitepower.com.au to let us know you’re interested.