1. Wide-tooth comb.

Salt water makes your hair incredibly knotty, and if it wasn’t for my pink, plastic wide-tooth comb I’d have some pretty gnarly dreadlocks by now.

3. Ibuprofen

Painkillers are pretty easy to come by wherever you are but the muscular aches and pains you’ll get from upping your exercise intensity can be reduced significantly with anti-inflammatories.

4. Surf/Yoga pants

These have been an absolute revelation this trip. As well as looking super cool, the Okiino mermaid yoga pants I’m wearing in the title pic double up for yoga and for surf. They’ve protected me from burning the back of my legs – a common rookie mistake – and getting a rash on the fronts of my thighs from the board. They’re also quick-dry so you can bust out a few yoga moves on the beach after your surf sesh to stretch out any tight muscles.

6. Tinder

In my defence, this is not a recommendation I came up with myself but my fellow campers assure me that it is essential. It’s generally not going to be hard to meet people when you’re on a surf trip, especially with everyone looking so beautiful in bikinis and boardies, but you can never be too sure with these sorts of things, so why not download a dating app to your phone before you go.

7. Wet wipes

You’re going to need zinc to protect your face from burning when you’re out on the water. The only problem is that it’s tough to get off your skin but wet wipes should do the trick. Also, be careful not to get zinc on your clothes as it can be a nightmare to wash off.

8. Sarong

Towels get wet and heavy pretty quickly so pack a sarong for the beach that you can air dry in the sun.

 10. Adaptor

Make sure you have everything you need to charge your devices when you’re abroad.

11. Silicon earplugs

Essential for a good night’s sleep, especially if Tinder has proved successful for campers in the room next door.

12. Offline playlists

Back at camp and in the car on the way to the breaks – you’ll need some banging playlists to soundtrack your trip. And I heard some unusual advice from one of the surf instructors here who recommends listening to classical music to calm the nerves and get you in the right frame of mind before heading out into the waves.

14. Rehydration salts

Make sure you double the amount of water you usually drink as you’re increasing your exercise and most likely out in the heat for several hours in the midday sun. Dehydration can be very dangerous and unpleasant so taking rehydration salts is a smart idea.

15. Go Pro

One guy on our camp brought a drone which was awesome, but people have also got some great footage on their Go Pros. Make sure you pack all the attachments you need to document all the different parts of your trip – the board mount, chest strap, selfie stick etc.