US photographer Chris Burkard and writer Ben Weiland pitched the idea of travelling to New Zealand for a story and photo spread in Surfer magazine.
Surfers Pete Devries, Jesse Hines and Mike Losness were easily convinced to join the two-week journey to trial some rugged southern surfing spots.
The group had recently visited Chile, Iceland, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico and Nicaragua on surfing journeys and the Catlins offered a different experience.
For Mr Losness, it was the first time he had been so far south in New Zealand, having visited twice before.
He described the waves as "unique" and was surprised to see so many empty beaches.
Sometimes, they wished other surfers would join them, just for something different.
However, there were unwelcome visitors.
On three occasions at one spot, the same sea lion hassled them until they left the water.
Their favourite beach was Purakaunui Bay, in the Catlins, because of its "great waves and amazing scenery".
Each day, they would assess weather conditions and choose a surfing location.
"It's all about the waves for us," Mr Devries said.
The group had opportunities to spend time out of their wetsuits and enjoyed seeing penguins on Otago Peninsula beaches.
Mr Devries said the Catlins was "one of the most beautiful places we've all ever been to" and Mr Losness planned to tell friends about the area.
The group travelled with the assistance of Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Dunedin and Venture Southland.
Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said with a monthly print readership of 700,000, and a website which generated 4.4 million hits a month, Surfer would garner international attention for the South.
"It's quite an exciting project for us to work on," he said.
