Scribbles Abroad

Auckland, New Zealand

Next stop Auckland, New Zealand.  One of Kahi’s good friends Kyle, who he met and worked with in Tahoe, and his girlfriend Nat scooped us up from the airport and whisked us away to their cozy Auckland home.  They hooked us up with a place to stay and a car to use while touring their country.  More than we could have ever asked for.  They made traveling around New Zealand relatively affordable for us, lending us not only their car but camping gear and warm clothes. The weather would be much cooler here and the water even colder than Australia.

Kyle and Nat both work for beverage companies and get an allowance of beer every month, something Kahi was super stoked on. Peroni anyone?

Kyle was just as amped on surfing as we were and took us to a few the surf breaks he surfs regularly.  The closest waves were a little under an hour away, pretty far but well worth it.  Auckland is a cool city but the country side is gorgeous.  The rolling hills, steep cliffs, farm lands, and the beautiful beaches make for a spectacular view.  Our first surf in NZ was at Bethels Beach and it was pretty fun, the waves were a small but the conditions were great.  The waves were lining up and the ride was long considering it was a beach break, if only the waves were bigger.  We knew this place would be unreal given the right conditions, we’d be back.

Kyle taking us for our first surf session in NZ

Bethles

Kyle took us to another spot somewhere between Whitianga and Whangamata called Black Swamps.  It was the same story here, the wind was perfect and the crowds were non-existant but the swell was a little small.  Kahi and Kyle both managed to squeeze themselves into some mini barrels.

Mini barrels, somewhere between Whitianga and Whangamata

A swell was about to hit the west coast of the North Island so we decided to head up north to try and score Shipwreck Bay in Ahipara.  It was about a 4-5 hour drive from Auckland but it seemed like nothing after driving across Australia.  We got into town quite late but luckily there was a campground right in front of Shipwreck Bay.  Setting up an unfamiliar tent in the dark and in the freezing cold wasn’t easy but we eventually managed to get it up.  Since we arrived at night we weren’t able to see the beach or the area where we were camping.   In morning light revealed a beautiful bay with a tiny left pealing around the point.  We were excited at the potential we saw but again it was just too small.  The swell wasn’t peaking yet so we decided to head further north driving along 90 Mile Beach in search of some fun beachies.

Shipwreck Bay, Ahipara

90 Mile Beach, Ahipara.  With 90 miles of beach we were bound to find something surfable.

We drove down 90 Mile Beach and found some decent waves at The Bluff.  It was good for about an hour then turned to doodoo.  We found a dead dolphin on the beach, looks like it got hit by a boat or something.

The perfect little camp ground right in front of Shipwerck Bay and Kahi chasing pigs.

The waves still hadn’t shown up so we headed to the most norther point of New Zealand, Cape Reinga.  This is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet creating strange tidal clash.

The waves looked fun at Cape Reinga but this is a sacred place for the Maori people and we didn’t want to offend anyone.

The light  house at Cape Reinga.

There weren’t any waves so we went sand surfing at the giant sand dunes near Cape Reinga.

The following day we kicked it with Kahi’s buddy Sam (AKA Holomua) who has also been traveling around the world.  We had miss each other in a couple of countries and we were finally able to meet up.  Check out his blog at www.gosambo.com.  We spent the day hunting for waves around Ahipara.  The swell just didn’t have enough juice for the spot and the waves were rather small, chest high on the biggest sets.  We went for a short surf anyway and it was pretty fun but it would have been amazing if it were about double or even triple the size.  Sam was kind enough to invite us back to his hanai family’s home over in KeriKeri.  We picked up some food for dinner and of course some alcohol for the evening.  After a couple of drinks we did a round of shake faces, check em’ out they’re unreal.

The drive to check out the other surf breaks was a bumpy rocky path that wound around the point.  We saw this guy pull in a nice sized fish, he was stoked.

We got some fun small surf but the waves weren’t quite big enough to show their true potential.  There was bay after bay of small pealing lefts, if only the swell was a little bigger.

Us and Sam at the house, it was so nice to sleep in an actual bed again.  Thanks Sam!

Shake face!

It was a four hour drive back to Auckland but we made it no problem.  Stopping at Waikete to take a dip in their hot springs made the journey all the better.  We met back up with Kyle and went out to the rugby game.  We were in for one crazy evening.  The rugby game was cool but it took forever to figure out all the rules.  These guys were tough, running full speed at each other and tackling the crap out of each other.  Looked painful.  I think the guys were more interested in the cheerleaders than the actual game.  After the game we went to Kyle’s friend Jimmy’s house where we helped him celebrate his last day of work at Cocacola.

The rugby stadium in Auckland and the crazy fight for the ball.

The beginning of our wild night

At Jimmy’s house it was shots all around and then it was all down hill from there.

Things got a little crazy and needless to say we were all hurting a little the next day.

The group shake face, even better than the solo ones

Our next little trip was to Piha on the west coast about an hour from Auckland.  Piha is beautiful and is definitely one of the more popular surf spots around.  We found a camp ground close to the beach and set up shop.  Piha was home for the next couple of days.  The surf here could be fun but for us it was a little frustrating.  Beachies with shifting peaks made it a little difficult, not to mention the crowds.

Piha, New Zealand.

Kahi cooking up a storm and our feast of a dinner.

We kicked it at the beach and had another shake face session

Sam and Louise greatly improving their shake face skills

Kitekite Falls, Piha.  It’s only a short walk to this really cool waterfall in the back of Piha.  You could go swimming but its so cold!

We knew the surf in New Zealand could be epic but we just hadn’t scored.  Small surf  and stormy surf gave us time to check out some scenic and touristy areas that we probably wouldn’t have visited if the waves were pumping but we knew our turn would be soon.  The surf reports told us our next journey would be to Raglan, one of the best and well known surf spots in New Zealand.  We kept our fingers crossed.  Next blog will show you, our patience paid off.