Nathan & Shannon Ducker >> C4s for Lagoon Sessions and Catalysts for Reeling Surf

Having explored a lot of the southern half of Western Australia over the past few years, we were keen to make the most of a holiday opportunity to explore some remote areas in the far north. Being mid winter, we weren’t going to take kitesurfing gear but after some very inspiring stories from good friends Darren and Tina Marshall, we were totally amped and ready to go with our C4s for epic flat water sessions and Catalysts for waves.

Darren and Tina were staying at a pristine site alongside the Ningaloo Reef. They were currently on their offseason winter break and invited us to catch up as we headed north. They are both very well known and respected in the Australian kitesurfing community having kitesurfed since the sport began. Between them, Darren and Tina hold numerous Australian Champion titles and own AKS (Australian Kiteboarding School). AKS would have to be one of, if not the most, successful kitesurfing schools in Australia and keen supporters of Ozone kites.

What was supposed to be a short stay on our way north, turned out to be a week long, action packed, adventure camp. Darren had taken an extra 24 hour drive to bring up their boat which provided access to some the best parts of the reef for snorkeling, spear fishing, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, kite surfing, water skiing and some unexpected big shark spotting.

We began each day with a boat trip out to the surf break and we’d stay out there until our hunger got the better of us. The rest of the day would be filled with flat water kiting on Ozone C4s or skurfing behind the boat, snorkeling, sandboarding, etc. Towards the end of the week I decided to give the surfing a break. I used the choppy conditions as my excuse but it was actually more to do with the fact that there were five large tiger sharks spotted near the break the day before. A two minute boat trip straight out from the camp put us directly over the top of a tiger shark over 4m long. There was a smaller one (also close to 4m) nearby.

The next day turned on some great conditions for winter wave kiting. The wind was cross offshore and the waves were a good size. We forgot about the fish with big teeth, pulled out our Ozone Catalysts and surfboards and set off towards the outer reefs. The wind was gusty but the kites made the conditions comfortable. We negotiated the small channel through to the reeling left hander and shared wave after wave following the same lines we had when we surfed each morning.

After a week of epic kiting on our C4s and Catalysts, we continued on our way north to the rugged Kimberley Region. We had no idea that we were about to encounter floods, crocodile and bat infested waters and become trapped on a beach by high tides surrounded by retiree nudists!

Nathan & Shannon