Wave pioneer Ross Clarke-Jones stars in Discovery Channel's Storm Surfers: New Zealand. In the one-hour show, he works with fellow Australians meteorologist Ben Matson and veteran surfer Tom Carroll to track down the biggest waves in the world. After a successful first instalment in Tasmania, Clarke-Jones' quest to conquer un-surfed regions leads him to New Zealand. The show takes viewers face-to-face with the harsh conditions of Fiordland, on South Island.
Clarke-Jones has 'pretty much never said no to a wave' - sometimes, he admits, to his own downfall. For him, the best surf was the last one. Sunday Young Post talked to him about his experiences of tackling massive waves.
Sunday Young Post: What makes Fiordland so extreme for a surfer?
Ross: Apart from the temperature being so cold, just the inaccessibility of the place. We had to ride our skis upstream through pristine, beautiful, untouched backdrop, which makes some of the colours just incredible.
If something happens to us out there, we're in a lot of trouble. If we lost skis or anything, we'd never get back. It's a long way from the hospital and medical treatment, too. It was a little dangerous.
SYP: In New Zealand, you experienced an Antarctic storm. What was that like?