Rising Kiwi sports sensation Paige Hareb is trying to pull herself down from “cloud nine” as she comes to grips with creating New Zealand surfing history while readying herself to take on the world’s best women surfers in Hawaii’s giant waves.

The 18-year-old from Oakura Beach yesterday became the first New Zealand woman to qualify for the elite World Championship Tour, a $US1m annual circuit known as “The Dream Tour” and limited to the best 18 surfers in the world.