A quick flight to Gisborne this morning (Friday May 29) rewarded Australian surfers Joel Parkinson and Mark Occhilupo with a perfect finale to the Corona Surf Trips. The pair enjoyed solid 1.5m waves at Wainui Beach.

After a quick porwhiri performed by Campion College students Parko and Occy hit the water with local legends Bobby Hansen, Maz Quinn and Blair Stewart. A handful of other eager surfers paddled out to secure a superior vantage point from the hundreds lining the sand dunes.

Mark Occhilupo Photo: Cory/NZ Surfing Magazine

Bobby Hansen Photo: Cory/NZ Surfing Magazine

The conditions were the best they had been all week with a crisp offshore and clear blue skies.

Current world number one Joel Parkinson dominated the session annihilating several oncoming sections and displacing massive amounts of spray to the applause of the crowd. Late in the session he got the best barrel of the afternoon and followed it up with a huge aerial to hoots from the sand dunes.

Joel Parkinson Photo: Cory/NZ Surfing Magazine

“That was definitely the best surf of the trip for me for sure, I had a ball out there” commented Parkinson. “The waves were such fun and it was good to surf with Maz, Bobby and Blair”.

It was a fitting finish to the whirlwind tour by two of the best surfers in the world. The Corona Surf Trips scored perfect Whangamata Bar on Thursday, sampling long lefthanders where Occy stole the show. The trip finished with the punchy beach break session that Gisborne is famous for.

Images by NZ Surfing Magazine.
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