Pete Tomlinson is desert through and through. He’s also the man you’ll see below, sitting pretty inside one of the most visually spectacular spots you’ll find anywhere on the Australian coastline. Pete grew up in the unforgiving heart of the country that surrounds this wave and still lives in the area with his wife and two kids. With employment opportunities outside of fishing, shark tours and abalone diving few and far between, Pete earns his crust as a fly-in-fly-out worker in mining, where he aims to make a positive difference in a much-maligned industry by working with Australia’s traditional owners to ensure their Indigenous heritage is protected. “I work for a company called CHS – Cultural Heritage Services who contract us out to bigger mining companies like Santos,” explains Pete. “The traditional owners we work with do a ground survey for artefacts and areas of cultural significance that fall within a proposed mining area. Our job is to record and map these areas so they are protected from mining operations.” When Pete isn’t working he makes the most of the waves at home, and he’s doing a good enough job to maintain sponsorship by Billabong, Otis Eyewear & Stacey Surfboards. He’s got his routine worked out down to a fine detail and that’s just how he likes it. “Family, friends, work, surf, music and travel, that’s my life,” He enthuses. “A surf or two. A fish or a dive, beach with the family, fresh fish for dinner, a jam and a few beers with the boys – that’s a perfect day for me.” A perfect day was just what Pete had during the session you see pictured here. “The waves were amazing this day,” He recalls. “Perfect wind combined with the right size and swell direction for this wave. Three mates and I traded tubes all morning, had lunch at the shop and then went back for more tubes in the arvo.” While this all sounds like utopia unless you’ve got your wits about you, this part of the world can get the best of the unaware very quickly and it’s not just the heavy waves and environment to look out for. The tales of intimidating local regulation in this region are legendary, but Pete offers that if you’re smart, courteous and maybe a little lucky you could well enjoy the desert jewels on offer. “There are a bunch of … Read more