Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Today I saw how the other half live. In the hopes of sneaking some uncrowded waves, we were on the hunt for surf early, and found ourselves at Off the Wall at 7AM. There was a sideshore wind on it, and the threat of a rain squall, so AVG and I joined Rudy Palmboom and Damien Fahrenfort for a coffee at their humble abode: the Billabong House.

The Billabong house is right on the beach, and next to the OTW pathway, so it’s perfectly positioned. From the path, you enter through a high teak gate into a lush garden that flows downwards to the beach, and upwards to a beech wood wrap-around balcony. Entering into the house, you walk through sliding doors into a huge lounge with a massive plasma screen on the wall, and a marble topped counter island in the open plan kitchen. The house is vast and decorated with famous surfing photos, and Luke Egan presides over it all – ordering the grommets to clean the shower and do the dishes.

It is a beautiful place from which to watch the drama at Pipe, Backdoor and OTW, and is reserved for photographers and WQS surfers sponsored by Billabong. Next door, in the bigger, more luxurious version of this house, you will find the rest of the team: Andy, Joel, Taj and Occy, cocooned in the Billabong WCT house.

Moving Eastwards from the Billabong compound, the next mansion is the Red Bull House. It’s a Cape Cod style Hawaiian beach house, complete with hip hop banging off their balcony and 4 or 5 bikini models drinking cocktails seemingly at all hours of the day.

Next door is the Oakley House, where Dave Weare and Greg Emslie are in residence. It is open plan and sunny downstairs, and the bedrooms on the second storey have sea-facing balconies. With a light wood interior and one touch home entertainment system, it’s French doors open up to a garden where bougainvillea and frangipani flowers frame the ocean view.

At all of the houses, surfboards broken and whole line the lawn - each board bearing the signature sticker placement of your favourite pro. None of the houses is more than 10 steps from the golden sands of Ehukai Beach, and at each house it’s a case of all the drinks you can drink and all the food you can eat. Boxes of wax and suncream are dropped off for every surfer to use, and ding repair guys are available on speed dial – just press 2 on the landline to get anything fixed within 24 hours. And, as if it could get any better, each house offers a panoramic view of the best surfers in the world demolishing some of the heaviest waves on the planet.

You can stay there too, rent free. Just survive the WQS, make the cut and get into the top 44. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that the WCT just might be the best surf club in the world?