Mitch Coleborn, oasis toob, South Australia

Nine hours from the city of Churches and a lifetime on dirt roads will land you in the carpark fronting this world-class, but still relatively untarnished, lefthander. Three things you might wanna know about it: it’s a crazy toob, although that y’might’ve guessed from the girth of the tub Mitch here is standing in, two, Great Whites tend to frequent the area, stealing the life of one surfer a decade ago and threatening the existence of plenty of others before and since and, three, the local cats don’t exactly have a reputation for being bubbly and inclusive.

In mid-April, the joint turned on the day of the year: consistent at six feet with eight foot waves mowing anyone down who might’ve started to feel comfortable. An offshore rang from dawn til 11. The carpark was stacked with 40 cars. A rumour had gone through the nearby town that Kelly Slater was on his way – in the end, he chose Indonesia.

But, Mitch Coleborn and Craig Anderson, whom you can make out on the shoulder, showed and word on the beach was the pair took off just about as deep as anyone has out there. And, best of all, after the session, the pair went and thanked the locals for letting ’em surf their wave on the best day in forever.

“The locals were sweet, they seem to love us down there,” says Mitch, himself so in love with the area he’s been scouting out blocks of land. “It’s so cheap down there and we’ve been there twice and scored twice so it’s definitely consistent. I could see myself spending more time there when I was older. Surf trips where you can get away from people are pretty rare.”

And, the wave? “It all happens pretty fast. It’s a wave you can’t get crazy deep on ’cause it pushes across the reef so fast. Y’takeoff the peak, backdoor, and do as much as you can do get as deep as possible. It’s a barrel, no turns are getting done out there. It’s not the gnarliest wave in the world but it can throw you around.”

And, the wildlife? “It was like surfing at fucking Seaworld. The water’s so clear, there’s dolphins, a seal popped up so close y’could touch it. I felt pretty safe. In water that clear, you could definitely see a shark coming.”