Venturing South - Johanna Brebner

Growing up in New Zealand, I’ve always been drawn to cooler climates, so stepping off the plane into the crisp Victorian air was a comforting and familiar sensation. After an unseasonably hot stretch on the East Coast, it was a treat to soak in the refreshing temperatures of the Southern coastline before the spring heat sets in back home. 

The raw power and size of the swell on Friday and Saturday had me trudging laps up the stairs, tail between my legs, after multiple failed paddle-out attempts. I was immensely humbled, but that’s the beauty of the dance, right? The long-period swell and deep ocean energy stood in stark contrast to surfing on the East Coast, leaving me eager to spend more time down here and become accustomed to the energy in the water. Watching Laurie, Jack, and a handful of locals surf with ease at the peak of the swell was incredibly inspiring and ignited my desire to learn from them and find my rhythm in waves like these in swells to come.

All images by Milo Inglis

In the needessentials short film ‘On Top of the World’  Johanna Brebner and Aiyana Powell experience the wonders of surfing in a foreign Arctic land. With 1° water temperatures and minus 15° days, it's not the place most people first think of when planning a surf trip. To find waves in such a remote and beautiful region the pair had to hike long distances through deep snow and ice just to access the coast. Johanna describes her favourite track from the original soundtrack that was composed for the film by Headland.

'My favourite track from the film is ‘The Glass Blower’ by Headland. The footage for this segment was shot on our last evening in Iceland, underneath the rising March full moon. We lucked into a small patch of evening light to grace our last surf, on a tiny left, in a dwindling swell. The music ties in so beautifully with the backdrop of evening colours. A stark contrast to the moody blizzard segment prior. It’s the last section in the film and ever since hearing it for the first time, the song has stuck with me. Headland are truly gifted musicians and transmute feeling with such ease through each of their timeless scores for the films.'