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Big Brown Land, Long Blue Highways
by
Dave Parmenter

“Ah, so you are a collector of books, I take it?“ said the proprietor of the antique shop, raising a hopeful eyebrow.

It was 9 a.m. in a sleepy grazier’s town along the Hume Highway, halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, and even though it was the beginning of the Easter holiday weekend the main street was empty save the man stacking boxes of old books on a trestle table on the sidewalk in front of his shop. I had pulled over, consumed with curiosity as to what sort of books drifted onto such far-flung shoals.

Well, not exactly,” I replied. “Just looking for good hardbound reading copies, mostly.” Most of my favorite authors were English, I explained, and I’d rather read them with each harbour, tyre, and grey intact.

School of Rock
Going Backstage at Fantasy Surf Camp

Put Donovan Frankenreiter on a stage and you’ll find he’s quite comfortable there. The professional surfer slash musical performer has been entertaining large crowds for quite some time now, and is arguably more comfortable in the heat of spotlight than almost any other surfer on earth. Truth is, stage fright has never really been an issue for the hilarious Frankenreiter, which is why he’s one of the most beloved characters in the popular Drive Through series of movies…But he recently learned there is still one crowd that freaks him out.

Exposure

A SURFER Magazine Photo feature comprised of the best images to pass through Photo Editor, Grant Ellis' desk. Enjoy.

The Father, his Son and their Sacred Spirit
At home with Michael, Mason and Coco Ho
By
Matt George

The Throne, February 4th, 2008, 3:16pm

Michael Ho is going to live forever.
Though most of us will never know him at all.
This time, you find him at Pipeline, sitting on the Ronnie Burns Memorial bench under the old Hau tree, surveying the domain that has been his right since he was 17 years old.
He sits alone. And you see that his aura makes the bench seem a throne.

It is late afternoon and like an aging lion, Michael Ho sits on this bench, barefoot and shorts, no shirt, one leg tucked up under himself, watching his cubs at play out in the ragged small surf of Ehukai. His teenagers Mason and Coco, are out there in mock battle with the rest of the young pack, developing the skills that with a little luck, will allow them to survive in this hungry world.

Allow them to live forever too.
At least that’s the plan.