Travel Lockdown a Blessing for US Surfers

Back in March, photographer Ridge BenBen and surfer Joe Kisling, both from the US, travelled to the South Island for the Single Fin Mingle logging contest, an annual event that describes itself as a “multi-faceted festival based on traditional surfing displays, art shows, film screenings and musical performances.” In other words: an all-around good time, Zander Morton writes for Surfer magazine. Unfortunately, the event was scheduled smack in the middle of a pandemic, which forced its cancellation and left BenBen and Kisling stranded on an island far from home.

The images featured in Morton’s story “make a strong case” for New Zealand to be the “best place to be get stuck during a travel lockdown”, according to the author.

“We were supposed to be there for 12 days, but ended up stuck for a little over a month,” BenBen says, about the trip from which all of the photos in the article were shot. “Of course, if you’re gonna be stuck somewhere during a worldwide health crisis, New Zealand is probably one of the best and most beautiful options out there, especially before surfing was banned.”

“It seems like everywhere you go in New Zealand you’re left in awe of your surroundings.”

Original article by Zander Morton, Surfer, June 24, 2020.

Photo by Ridge BenBen.