Scribbles Abroad

South Africa

July 23, 2009

Super Tubes at Jeffery’s Bay

At times traveling can be stressful especially when things don’t go according to plan. Although we were unable to go to Central America due to uncooperative airlines (click here to read about what went down) we looked at it as a blessing instead of a curse. At first I was greatly disappointed at the thought of not going to Central America. We were suppose to meet up with friends and I was really looking forward to practicing Spanish and tasting all the yummy foods, not to mention surfing some epic waves. Kahi helped me to realize it was not the end of the world, we could always go another time and instead we could go to South Africa and spend more time exploring the neighboring countries. Although our trip was delighted a couple more days in Cali it was well worth it and soon enough we were back at the airport on our way to South Africa.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of South Africa. To tell you the truth I knew very little about the country and was a little nervous. When talking to others about South Africa I’ve heard both really good and really scary things. Someone actually told me that you couldn’t buckle your seat belt in the car because if you were car jacked and went to unbuckle yourself you may get shot because they would think you were pulling out a weapon. Because of the spontaneity of our trip I didn’t get a chance to research the country to find out much about the area.   Traveling has taught us that you can’t believe everything you hear and the best thing is to talk with locals to find out the real deal. There are many dangers in South Africa as well as in other places in the world, its all about knowing where not to go, what to look out for, and being aware of your surroundings

It was a long long journey to Cape Town. First we flew from San Diego to DC, made a stop in Senegal to refuel, then on to Johannesburg and finally to Cape Town. After picking up our bags and going through customs, which was a breeze, it was an hour cab ride to Hout Bay where we arranged to stay with our friend Darrel’s down hill skateboarding buddy Stu. To fight jet lag we went out for a drink at Stu’s friends house down the street, it ended up backfiring because we ended up staying out till around 3 in the morning. Needless to say we slept almost the whole next day. It was totally worth it though, these South Africans know how to party!

The area we were staying in was really nice and our room was more than we could have asked for. The next morning I looked out the window and got my first glimpse of Africa during the day. It was not quite what I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe some crazy animals to be running around or a lion eating an antelope. Haha! Not quite.   It seemed like we were in a small town in Cali, big fancy houses surrounding a cute little town with small cafes, a grocery store, and a few shops.

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Stu was super cool, he showed us around town and took us on an amazing hike. The mountains were beautiful with their steep and rugged faces.   I kept expecting to see a baboon or some other animal straight out of the Lion King. No animals but the view of the ocean and town was unforgettable. Fresh water springs were coming from the mountain side creating small waterfalls. We watched curiously as Stu cupped his hand and started drinking the water, we hesitated but gave it a taste. Best water ever!   So cold and as fresh as it gets. As we were making our way down the mountain the sun began to set, what a spectacular site.

The surf was pumping and we were desperately trying to arrange a car so we could get to Jeffery’s Bay, the best right point break in the world. Our friends Kohl and Sarah were also in South Africa surfing J-Bay at the time. We’d getting calls about how good it was and that we needed to get over there ASAP. Stu hooked it up and found us a car for the month through Best Beetle. The next morning we were outta there and making our way east to J-Bay.

The roads in Cape Town were a little heck tick and we didn’t have a very detailed map, so Stu gave me some awesome directions to the N2 which would take us all the way to J-Bay

The drive to J-Bay is usually 8 hours but in our little putt-putt car it would take a little longer. We had spent three days in Hout Bay and really hadn’t ventured very far. After driving only a few blocks we passed by the township where the majority of the black/coloured community resides. The change was so drastic that literaly on one side of the street are nice large houses surrounded by electric fences and barbbed wire, then right across the street are people living in make shift shacks mostly built out of corragated iron. It was especially surpising to me because we arrived at night and did not notice it as we drove in. As we continued our drive down the coast we realized that a similar situation existed in many of the towns along the way. After 7 hours of driving we pulled into Plettenburgh Bay to have a drink with Kohl and Sarah our friends from Hawaii. It was good seeing them and to hear about J-Bay and all the things to look forward to.

Town of Jeffery’s Bay on the horizon

The next morning we were back on the road making our way to J-Bay. We wanted to get there early so we could find a good place to stay. Somewhere close to the beach with a view of the surf and affordable too. Sarah and Kohl told us about Lazee Bay B&B, a nice cozy bed and breakfast that’s only a short walk from the surf. After checking out the town and a few accommodations we found ourselves at Lazee Bay. Our room was amazing!!! It was on the third floor of the house with a great view of the ocean. Best part of all was it was only $15 per night for both of us. This was great considering we were paying over $50 a night at the last couple places we stayed.

Lazee Bay and the view from our deck

A humble dinner in our room using the Alia board as a table

After our first surf session at Supers we were hooked. We could get used to this place, real used to it. Fast pealing right point break barrels (huge stand up ones) that go on for what seems like forever. Only a couple days had passed when we decided to stay here for a month. The Billabong Pro was coming to town in a week so we needed to secure a place to stay soon. Lazee Bay had just been sold and we were told we’d have to move out in three days. I was crushed. I loved it there.

Super Tubes

Super Tubes

The Point

The next day we drove around town looking for a place to rent for a month. Most places were booked for the contest and some were just too expensive or far from the beach. We found a place that was a little further from the beach and quite affordable, both of us were pretty stoked on it but it didn’t have an ocean view. On our way back to Lazee Bay we passed a house with a sign advertising self catering accommodation. We called and asked if there were any rooms available starting July 3rd and they told us they had just finishing renovating a one bedroom one bath and that it should be finished by then. The price was right, the room had its own kitchen and the view of the surf breaks was unbeatable. We were sold. Plus the guy who owns the house, Curt, is also from Hawaii. Small world or what? Strange how we keep running into people from Hawaii and the influences they have on our trip.

The view from our new home

A brai (or BBQ) with our new friends a the house

We are looking forward to kickin’ it in J-Bay for a while. Staying in one spot makes traveling a heck of a lot easier. When you move around a lot, like we did in South East Asia, you’re constantly looking for new places to stay, carrying your stuff, and getting on bus ride after bus ride. This type of traveling is exhausting and although you get to see a lot in a short amount of time you never really get a good feel for the places you visit. Moving into a house and staying in a small town would give us the opportunity to meet locals, settle down and really enjoy our time here. Not to mention our chances of scoring epic surf would greatly increase. Its difficult to score good surf when you spend a week at one spot then move on to the next.   What’s the rush anyway? We have three extra months of traveling time since we had to cancel our Central America leg. Why not hang out in J-Bay and rack up some tube time.

Walk in beer fridge at the local beer supplier. You can get a six pack for about $3

A traditional South African lunch from the Die Kospot of roasted potatoes, broccoli, rice, sweet potatoes, and roast beef

Tortilla chips and salsa from The Mexican that really sucked, their enchiladas were really really good though

Biltong!!! Similar to our beef jerky is soooo yummy and very popular here
PARKO be kickin’ some okole on the World Tour

July 17, 2009

Pretty cool experience. Not something we need to do all the time, but every once in a while, watching a professional surf contest can be extremely entertaining. The best day of the contest went down on the second day. The weather was frigid, it started off with a light drizzle while ominous clouds loomed over us and a scary storm cell sat on the horizon. Rain or shine the surfing would continue and the die hard fan didn’t mind. We on the other hand felt that if we were going to get wet we might as well be in the water.

Stormy conditions, but great waves.

So we ran back to the house, threw on our suits and got back in the water just in time for Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds heat. We were sitting at the very edge of the contest zone sitting right next to the water patrol. We were catching the meanest, best, most hollow waves we’ve gotten so far. I was getting double barrels on the waves and getting so deep it would get dark inside there sitting on the foam ball. The waves were so long that you would get out and run up the point to start all over again.

That end section where all those people were, that’s where Louise and I posted up for the best heats of the entire contest.

But the best part was that on the biggest waves at Supertubes (the section closed off to the public / contest-zone), the contestants would be catching the waves all the way through our section giving us the best seats in the house. We saw Dane Reynolds 10 point ride and then watched Slater in the next heat get 4 waves over 9 points. We all thought he got underscored. He should have had four 10’s. I had to duckdive to get out of their waves a couple of times, and you could even catch the same waves that they were on earlier up the point if they had fallen or gotten off prior to it getting to you. In the water is the best place to watch the contest in my opinion.

WATCH THE HEATS BY CLICKING HERE, YOU CAN SEE US IN THE WATER. WE’RE FAMOUS!!!!!! Watch Slaters heat against Nic Muscroft. Slater still has what it takes and more.

The special heats between Mark Occulipo and Tom Curren could have been a lot better if they had waves, but in both of their heats, the waves didn’t cooperate. Curren and Occy for non-surfers, are legends of the sport. It would be kind of like if Jordan came back to go one on one against Magic Johnson. Needless to say there were a lot of spectators for these heats. We watched both of their heats, and they were entertaining. I will have to say that Tom Curren is surfing better than Occy, but Occy when given an open face at Jbay continues to be the epitomy of back hand power surfing. In their history they have been in 16 heats with them going 8-8. Now they have been in 18, going 9-9. The suspense continues……..

It was supposedly the busiest event they’ve ever had there. There sure were a shit ton of people.

The last day we posted up on a media stand and watched the remainder of the contest. With every wave as the surfers were hitting the lips of the waves or getting barreled, you would hear the corresponding shutter clicks of the hundreds of photographers cameras. Its hard to see how they can make a living taking photos with so much competition. They’re taking the same photos using the same gear. I figure there is some inside track where the popular photographers have an inside in getting their shots chosen rather than the joe blow with the exact same photograph that would probably sell theirs for a lot less.

Our location wasn’t as nice as being out in the water but the surf had dropped a bit and waves weren’t coming all the way through. For the day it was perfect because we got to see the whole wave and at the end of the heats the surfers would walk right by us. The morning started with Slater getting eliminated by Taylor Knox. Slater just couldn’t get a wave. That’s the tough part of surf contests. It doesn’t matter how good you are, I was telling Louise it seems as though 75% is skill and 25% is just mother nature cooperating or not cooperating with you. As the day progressed all the guys I wanted to win were eliminated and although I love Parkos surfing, I was cheering for the Americans. In the end, Parkos surfing was unstoppable. This may be his year to take it all but I hope that Slater fires up again to make it one of those years that go to the very end, keeping us on the edge of our seats and making professional surfing exciting.
With marketing budgets shrinking at surf companies around the world it is definetly going to trickle down to the surfers. Less money, less free gear, etc. Unless the fans continue to demand the competitions, the WCT could be in jeapordy. I prefer to believe that the WCT is in fine form. The contest was put together beautifully with no visible hiccups. They are getting better at what they do and therefore are set towards further success. You can now watch the contests live on the internet, just open up a window on your computer screen while at work and you can get work done while they wait for waves. Then when the waves come, maximize the screen and enjoy being virtually in an exotic location watching your favorite surfers. You can always get to the live links to the contests at www.aspworldtour.com. Then next contest is at Trestles in California in a couple of weeks.

Parko the winner being carried up to the stairs, that’s how close we were!
WCT first round

July 13, 2009

Day 1 is complete.

They got through an entire first round and part of the second round. This newer format sees immediate elimination with no repocharge heats. In other words, once you lose you are out. Pack your bags and go home or relax and enjoy Jeffreys Bay. We’ll see what those who have been eliminated choose.

The contest comes along with a music festival, but it ended last night.

The most intriguing fact regarding the weather here in Jbay is this; if the weather is nice and warm there will be no waves. You hope for cold and cloudy days because it means the waves are coming or will be staying. Today was the first cold day we’ve had since the start of the contest window and the surf delivered perfect 3 foot waves rifling down the point. Did I mention it was cold?

While the kids chased the pros down the beach to get their autographs we felt a tinge of sympathy for the pro surfers. They travel the world with another 43 of the best competitive surfers in the world. If they paddle out, there is bound to be a bunch of other professionals around and all the people that come to watch the contest out in the water as well. Unless you travel away from the contest site, you are subject to crowded conditions and people gawking at every contest. Although the waves are usually really good and sometimes those gawking are beautiful women, most of the time if its firing, the contest is on and those girls gawking are actually only 16.

We watched a bunch of heats today but that’s not why we are here so we ended up going for a surf half way through the day. You can surf right on the fringe of the surfing contests area. Therefore, your favorite pro can catch a wave and when his section ends you can catch the same one.

Our favorite heat today was Kekoa Balcasao against a hometown favorite, I forget his name. Anyways, Kekoa, if you haven’t seen him before looks like a bruddah. He’s thick, could have played football for St. Louis or maybe even Kahuku. Yet he fricken rips and handled his heat. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the Hawaiians. Other than Kekoa and I think Torrey, the Hawaiians took an early exit. Freddy Patachia, I think, got robbed. He was up against Kai Otton and that guy played all kind of paddle around bullshit games that suck about competitive surfing. The guy starts off the heat by burning Freddy and then a couple waves later the guy got the barrel of the day. As time expired and Freddy didn’t get a good enough wave to answer we concluded that sometimes Karmas not listening.

Tomorrow morning EARLY, probably in the dark, is the Clash of Icons. OCCY vs. CURREN. They’ve met up 16 times competitively and they are both 8-8. They’ve both been out of the tour for a while and both are in their 40’s, yet it is set to be the heat of the contest. They are both legends and we can’t wait. Once its done we’ll be hitting the water. Tune in.
The World Tour is here

July 9, 2009

Just got out of the water, surfed Supertubes, the best section of Jeffreys Bay on the alaia. Wanted to see if it worked and this evening was my last chance before the start of the WCT contest. Looks like the first heats should be hitting the water tomorrow morning. I’m not sure if you’ll find this interesting but I figured I’d give it a try. I wanted to depict for you what its like to be here. Kinda do a real blog, one every night there is action for the length of the contest, July 9-19th.

In most sports one is separated from the athletes as they play or even practice on a court, field, pitch, etc. In surfing, one of the things thats sets it apart from other sports is that any surfer can paddle out and end up sitting next to a professional. Take this evening for example. I paddled out and was amongst around 30 of the top 44 competitive surfers in the World. I got to get a real personal view of how these surfers are because you can tell a whole lot about a person from the way they portray themselves out in the lineup.

In this first installment I will give you a short personal opinion that was gained from surfing with these guys. First off, I was riding an alaia (the board that looks like a piece of wood), and therefore had to work three times as hard to paddle a board that barely floats. Not that I was looking for sympathy but I wouldn’t turn down a handout, in other words a wave passed by and given to me. But then again, these guys are out there as a profession. They need to learn the wave and get tuned for the contest which has $250,000 USD up for grabs. So I was just enjoying, waiting, watching not just these guys ripping but the whales and wildlife that is so abundant here in South Africa.

So you might be wondering who was ripping the hardest. Hands down, it was Jordy Smith. Maybe it’s the fact that he is from South Africa, but the boy was killing it. Note that not all the top guys were out. Next who was rude……I hate to add evidence to the already established stereotype but it was the Brazilian guy but not Adriano. They’re not helping their cause or maybe they don’t give a fuck. Who seemed most focused? It was Taj.

I met Keaunu Ahsing out there, he is the wildcard for the event. A wildcard earns a birth into the event by winning a prior contest especially for an entry into the main event. The Hawaiian was a really nice Hawaiian. He is considered a grom by the other surfers out there and wasn’t getting as many waves as the top 44 but thats because of the hassling that’s involved with getting a set wave at Jbay. In the contest there is only 2-4 guys out there at a time and therefore the hassling disspates and the surfers can worry about what they do best. When the contest begins he’ll be up against the higher rated guys but he said he’s not worried. Keaunu’s excited and I hope all you at home send some Aloha his way.

I ran into Freddy Patachia, another Hawaiian. Bruddah used to be, maybe still is, sponsored by Bud Light! Now thats a sponsorship you can use, not just wear. I’d probably save a couple thousand a year, but I’d prefer Steinlager.

Dean Morrison (Dingo) isn’t on tour, I think, but he was out there with a big beard looking feral. He was a real nice guy and took the time to come over and say hello but more to actually check out the Alaia. He said he was just in Tavarua and Rob Machado was killing it on an Alaia, straight up doing big snowboarding style carves. He said he gave it a try too but was having a real hard time going backside on the Alaia. I told him I found the same true. Then a wave came.

Taj said he saw Dingo get the best wave he’s ever seen out there that evening. It was firing. Supertubes was going off at 2-4 foot Hawaiian and glassy. 2-4 foot Hawaiian conversion would be a wave that is about 3 feet overhead when the surfer is at the bottom of the wave or 6 foot Calistyle. I think they should just convert to, ankle high, knee high, waist high, chest high, head high, overhead, double overhead, and triple overhead. For waves bigger than that lets just say the buggahs big. Or keep it to Hawaiian Style.

Timmy Reyes from California was also catching some really good ones, I’d say he was surfing second best out there. He surfs very fast and gets a fair share of waves, he’s good at positioning. Jeremy Flores was a mellow guy out in the water and I didn’t get to see him catch many because he was surfing down the line from where I was but he seemed really nice. Roy Powers another Hawaiian was out and he was surfing well. I ran into John Shimooka (Schmoo) whom I hadn’t seen since I was in High School. On my short stint at Roosevelt I was on the surf team and Schmoo would be at some of the contests stoked on us groms and being a positive role model. He was rippin too.

Altogether it was an interesting experience to surf with so many good surfers at once. There is a point where surfers reach the next level and all these guys deserve to be where they are. They surf so darn well its ridiculous. I will try and take some video for you all to see for yourself, or you can log on to the aspworldtour.com website and watch the action live. Only problem is that its a 12 hour difference from here to home.

Miss you all. Louise and I will catch a wave or two for you.

Aloha for now, more to come in a day or two once the contest starts.

Above: This is where we are staying in Jbay. We eat most of our meals here and just kick it. Its also the only place we catch the wireless signal. You can see whales out there almost every day.

Below: This was my best and last wave last night. I’m on the Alaia and you can kind of see me. I didn’t make it out.
Going Going Back Back to Cali Cali to Cali

July 6, 2009

WE WEN GO BACK MAINLAND FO CUPPO DAYS, LI’DAT

Pops and I

Off we go again!

We decided to route our ticket through San Diego. From there we planned on finding our way up to LA and then off to Nicaragua. As planned, things didn’t go totally as planned.

Barret picked us up from the airport in SD and took us to his summer house in Point Loma. He has to move out of the palace every Summer so that the landlord can rake in the dough from the Zoners (people from Arizona). Thanks a ton to the two of them for putting up with us and all our crap! While there we surfed a bunch. The south swell, that we got the start of in Hawaii, was lighting up Southern facing breaks in SD. We surfed Neubs, Abs, Sub-Abs, Garbage, No Surf, and Bird Shits within one week in the summer. Slightly unheard of. The first afternoon I got to share a golden cube (a twelve pack of Pacificos) with Derek Adams, my homeboy fo’ life! He’s on to baby number two hopefully gonna name her something Hawaiian even though he haole. Oh wait, I stay haole too.

This is Neubs, It don’t look like much from here but it was pretty darn good. Super long right. Point Loma Nazarene College overlooks all these breaks.

While in SD we picked up our new board from Jeff. Its our first egg twinnie. Check out his boards they’re sweet. I think Jeff is still growning, or I’m shrinking. www.mccallumsurfboards.com.

Had to grub one session of In and Out.

Then had Carne Asada Burritos for every other meal.

Jessica and Roscoe decided to come down to SD to hang out with us and after that we were pretty much all inseparable for the rest of the trip which turned into major road trip. They rolled down in the dream car of every young person in Hawaii. A sweet Tacoma. They had picked it up for a grand up in OC but would be able to sell it in Hawaii for at least 5k. Roscoe brought with him an Alaia board that he shaped. Since then that Alaia board and I have become inseparable. As I write from our room in Jeffreys Bay in South Africa the Alaia sits next to me aching to get back in the water.

The Tacoma and us checking out Swamis

The Team

We got to hang out with Scott (T-Bucket) and Andrea, they be getting married soon, then babies, then golf memberships, then scotch, then lots of it, then……………for sure happiness the whole time. We love them and hope to see them soon again. We kicked it with them for a sunset, sipping wine and chugging beer (the good stuff Keystone Light) at Horseshoes in La Jolla watching the mobs of surfers soaking up the summer swells. Then that night we hit up Ruth Chris Steakhouse with a gift certificate and lived large. The steaks were so rich but so damn good. While there I ran into some friends I hadn’t seen in a while, it was Keith and Monkey, two mates of mine that are really good friends with Marcus. They invited us over the next day as they were living with Markie up on the cliff overlooking Blacks, tough life.

The next day is one of those days that one does not forget and molds into your persona. What made it so special was the Hawaiian Family Style that we take with us everywhere and how it spreads to many we get to spend time with. Instead of people going there separate ways, people will tend to come together to spend time and have a good time together.

We did a Hawaiian Takeover at Dukes house. Louise and I were on the couch and Roscoe and Jess were in the detached apartment (the Tacoma truck bed) out front on the street. Our shit was everywhere. In the morning while th boys slept, the girls snuck down to get some groceries and then came back and cooked up a feast for breakfast. When Barret woke up he made us fancy coffees with his third most cherished possession. But not before going into the Ights with his first most cherished possession. Much of the California trip was spent in the Ights.

I called up Markie and he said Blacks looked alright. I called up Merrick and he said he’d meet up with us too. So after breakfast we all figured out how to fit 6 people and 6 boards into Dukes car. It all fit! We all surfed Blacks together and then came up and kicked it at Markies pad. It was such a nice place, they had a pet lioness, and as we went up into the Ights the lioness became more playful. We reminisced about old times when I used to live in SD and it was good to see that everyone was still pretty much as I left them a few years back.

We got some lunch and then headed to the other side of SD back to Sunset Cliffs. It was head high but really fat and it didn’t look like much fun on a shortboard. So Duke being Hawaiian in his roots dropped a few of us off and headed back to the house to grab 5 longboards. I decided to ride the Alaia. We had such a fun session out there at Garbage. Swapping boards, catching long A-frames both ways, and just sharing in eachother’s stoke. The sun was out and was keeping us irie. As it set our hungers grew and a BBQ was now headed for session.

We had a giant BBQ that night along with Golden Cubes and the Ights. It was a shindig. The day had come to an end and it was time to head North.

The next few days we spent with the Zuziak Family in Laguna Beach. Jess and Roscoe took us up there and it was really convenient because they lived only a few minutes up the road. They could live anywhere. Half of their time is spent sleeping on a boat in Newport and the other half is in the Tacoma. The Zuziaks opened their homes to us and made us feel like we were back kicking it with them at their home at Velzyland on the North Shore. Sarah, their daughter, was graduating from Laguna High and the first day we went to help out at a pool party her mom Thasa was organizing. Louise and I got mistaken for High School students twice! They told us, “if you leave the pool party you can’t come back!” I wanted to be like, “I never want to come back! I’m finally free, I graduated!” But instead we said we didn’t go to school there and were only helping. Louise under her breath and pointing to me was like, “he’s thirty!”

That afternoon when Eric (EZ) got off work we headed to Salt Creek for some fun waves. The South was still pushing through and was meant to build in the coming days. Louise rode her shorty and I switched up with the shorty and the Alaia. I learned that you can go backside on the Alaia, just a bit harder. The wave was crowded but we still got plenty waves. Saw a kid that surfs with us in Hawaii at Ala Moana, he was up there for the NSSA contest at Trestles, the same spot we headed to the next day.

Salt Creek with EZ

Louise’s infectious smile. If you zoom in on her face you can see it. She always surfs with it.

The Alaia doesn’t float very well.

We spent the entire next day surfing Trestles. Up at 5:45, out the door by 6:15 and at the beach shortly thereafter. We didn’t get back to the house till 5:00 that afternoon. Trestles was firing and we scored. We brought down shortboards, the fish, and the Alaia.

The Alaia

That night, our friends Jeff and Gina came up for dinner. We met them at the Zuziaks house on the North Shore back on Oahu. There they found out about our favorite cocktail, the Bloody Mary. Back in the day Jeff was a bartender and his specialty was the Bloody Mary. Jeff made some for us while on the North Shore and we were immediately hooked. Since that day we’ve been jonesing for another. The few that we had while abroad were terrible by comparison and it was a real treat to share some with them that night. It was because of Gina that we ended up going to Lovina in Bali and swam with the dolphins so it was really special to share those photos with her.

Jeff shared some of the community drama he was going through. A council member had initiated a bill to stop all fishing and gathering from Laguna. These are the same shores he has been diving since he was a kid. He has his special holes where he can find lobsters and abalones year after year during the fishing season. There is already a limit imposed and most adhere to it, there really isn’t a problem of over collecting. But seeing an opportunity to jump on the eco-green-conserve bandwagon, the council member decided to introduce this bill in order to gain voter support. The council member nor the vast majority of the neighborhood has ever put their heads underwater to take a look themselves. Last I checked, sadly, the bill has passed.

The next day we went to where Jess and Roscoe worked fixing boats preparing them for resale. The boats or should I say yachts were beautiful and both of them are very good at what they do. Its a skill that can take you anywhere in the world. Only downside is you have to deal with a bunch of self-righteous individuals born into money, but with that there are some good ones. While at the shipyard we decided to make some adjustments to the Alaia. We cut off a foot so it would fit into my boardbag, and then raised the conave up the board. Glad to say that all is fine and the adjustments are working great.

The boatyard and the Alaia under surgery in the background.

After that we met up with Chris Masculino from Quiksilver. We met him while in the Philippines surfing Cloud 9. He was inspired by what we were doing and in his position had the ability to hook up free gear for us from Quiksilver. He first sent us a big box of goods to Hawaii and since we were going to be in his hood, we wanted to say thanks in person and just catch up. We went to the Quiksilver Campus, like Nike, and got the whole tour and while on it we got our arms filled with more gear. By the time we left Quiksilver that day we had a giant bag filled with gear! As a bonus we got a bunch of clothes for kids that we hoped to give to underprivileged children while on the road. That night we all went to get Pho, our goal was to find a Pho restaurant that had the name Pho and a number in it. Success, Pho 54.

We headed to LA later that night, thanks Jess and Roscoe once again. We stayed with the Altschulers in Pacific Palisades. They treated us to a great time of good food and good company. We got to kick it with Ethan, a truly talented young man with a memory of an iron trap! His current passion of roller coasters is apparent in his drawings of which he made one for us. Auntie took us out to Sushi and kept saying, order more. But when the food came out everyone was full! I had to eat so much sushi that I barely made it to the lua. Auntie bought us a gift certificate to Whole Foods so after dinner the girls went shopping while I sat on the toilet.

While in LA it was our intention to meet up with Maui, my best bud back in the day. He spent countless weekends at our house in Kailua on Kaimake Lp. Maui is now a big time film editor in LA. He wanted to get his hands on our tapes from our trip. Its his intention to try to put together a teaser in order to sell a show to some channel. We figured, what we got to lose? So we met up and had a couple beers before he had to get to work editing a new show for the Travel Channel.

Then it was time to get to Nicaragua, or so we thought. We bought tickets on Continental Airlines a few days earlier and nowhere throughout the prompts did it say anything about surfboards so I decided to check and found a section that said we would be charged $100 for a boardbag with two boards in it. The next day I wanted to make sure and so I called the airlines who agreed with me and then said…….wait…….I think there is an embargo. An embargo, WTF is an embargo on surfboards, yeah I know the definition but why on surfboards. The lady explained but it didn’t make any sense. We weren’t going to be able to take boards, unacceptable. I hung up and ran through my options. About an hour later I called back because these people mix up their opinions between representatives and I was right. The next guy I talked to said no worries, that the embargo did not pertain to surfboards and that we would be fine. I then asked him to put a note on our ticket that said we had spoken with him and that he had advised us that we would be able to take our surfboards despite of the embargo and had him put his name on it which he did. Although I didn’t feel fully comfortable with this, it was all that we could do. At this point Continental wouldn’t refund our money on the ticket and the only thing we could do was show up at the airport and cross our fingers.

As we entered the check in lines for Continental the line agents immediately singled us out because of our boards and started questioning us. We told them where we were going and they said, not with those surfboards. I told them our situation and they then pulled up our ticket. The agents note was attached to the ticket and they looked at me as though I had hacked into their system to insert the note myself. As they discussed amongst themselves they came to the conclusion that, “the agent only advised that we could take our boards.” They said because he used the word advised and the fact that the country would refuse the boards to leave the plane we would not be able to take them with us. The following hour was spent cordially arguing semantics and logic. In the end, they refused to reroute us for free, refused us taking our boards with us to Nicaragua, but I convinced them to at least give us our money back. We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to get down to Central America, lugging our bags around LAX from airline to airline. But everything was sold out for the next week to almost every town in Central America. Louise and I made the executive decision that this was a sign and that it was off to South Africa for us.

As I made the phone calls to line up what we’d do next we realized it was for a reason and that all would be fine. We got to spend a bunch of more time with Maui, the Zuziaks, Barret and Duke, and best of all Jess and Roscoe. We caught a bus from LAX to Maui’s neighborhood. Maui just happened to be renting the poolhouse from a hero of mine since I was a little kid. This man…….Bobby Six Killer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or his real name, Branscomb Richmond. He’s been in countless movies and TV shows but my favorite was always the 90’s sitcom, RENEGADE! While with Maui we got to spend a bunch of time with BSK, he even took us out to breakfast one day! I know I am using a lot of exclamation points but this is BSK we’re talking about! BSK was a hilarious guy and with the heart of a HAWAIIAN. We got to meet Tutu, his mother, his wife (former Miss Hawaii), and his daughter. The morning we went to breakfast with BSK and his Mom was great, everyone kept recognizing him and those that knew him treated him like a great friend. He remains an idol and an inspiration.

We also got the opportunity to run into another friend while there. On condition of anonymity I’ll convey the following while leaving out my bruddahs name. My buddy had a condition (a sore back) that allowed him to get his legal marijuana card which allowed him to go into his local ganja dispensary and buy weed legally! He took us one day and I’d have to say it was the best smelling store I’ve ever been in. I think that every state should instate this program. It seemed to work really well, while in the waiting room we saw all types of people come through. We had a good time in the waiting room snapping pics and inhaling the intoxicating fumes.

This was ironic, the co-op is right below this billboard, supposedly completely coincidental. My buddy took us into the So-Cal Co-Op while he picked up his herbal medication.

If anybody can do it, Barry Can(nabis).

Louise looks so guilty in the waiting room! But these shops are set up to take the guilt away. There should be no guilt associated with the practice of entering the IGHTS! The place looks really clean and smells green.

As you could guess, Jess and Roscoe came and grabbed us again from up North in order to take us back South. Our plan was to jump back onto our Round the World Ticket which next leg was from San Diego, to DC, to Johanesberg, to Cape Town. Our leg to Central America was not a part of the ticket and was completely seperate, since we weren’t going, it ends up saving us money. On the way South we first headed back to the Zuziaks. We would make it just in time for Sarahs graduation party! The food was Hawaiian and Eric had prepared homemade poke (Po-kay). We made a beautiful lei for Sarah and it was good to spend a bit more time with their family. Just take a look at Camerons shakeface here, he’s learning well.

EZ whipped up this epic breakfast for us.

The next day we spent it in true Laguna Beach fashion down at the beach with, which seemed to be, the whole town. Eric was jamming slack key guitar while the kids were in and out of the water for hours. We surfed their local break at Thalia St. and dodged the blackball (the area you can’t surf with surfboards) with the Alaia and foam boards.

Then we headed down to San Diego and stopped at different breaks along the way to check the surf. But we had a reggae concert to get to and the surf wasn’t that good so we picked up a golden cube and booked it to Barret and Dukes. After entering the Ights, we all were treated to a great show by THE DEVASTATORS. These guys fricken rock and I am so surprised that they’re not touring Hawaii yet. They are just as good if not better than most of our local bands at home and they really get the crowd shkankin. We rocked till the end that night and had a fricken blast.

The next day we spent packing for cold weather and eating our last carne asada burritos. We were off to South Africa at 6AM which meant we had to be there at 4AM. As I was lining up a cab, bruddah Barret out of the blue said he would take us. I was flabbergasted. Tried to talk him out of it for about a second and a half and then accepted. Tanks bruddah Barret.

Now back at the airport we once again felt we’d be alright. When checking in in Hawaii, United Airlines was going to charge us for our boards. We explained that Air New Zealand had told us we wouldn’t be charged as long as we were underweight. Our tickets were not the normal travelers ticket, these were Round the World tickets that allowed for excess baggage. We convinced United in Hawaii to speak to Air New Zealand which they did. The tense moments leading up to the big boss (Ben) coming out and Air New Zealand concluded that we would not be charged for our surfboards as long as we were under our overall allocated weight. A huge sigh was let out and in order to avoid this type of drama again a note was put on our tickets going forward letting all airlines know that this has been decided and we felt confident.

I am also a premier associate from flying so much therefore we headed to the premier line which was two people long vs. 45. To take you through it quickly, the lady at the front decided that the language was not clear enough on the note and decided that we were going to be charged $250 per board and then she had us open our bags. Inside she found our boards and we were headed to pay $1,250 for all our boards and that we actually wouldn’t be able to take our 6’6″s because they were 2″ too big. I once again cordially explained to her, pulled out the business card of the head of United in Hawaii who said if we ran into any drama to give him a call. But it was 2AM in Hawaii and I didn’t want to call him. I asked to speak to a manager who came over and treated us like criminals. Extremely rude, but I thought she was the Customer Service Manager? I plan on writing a separate piece all about the dramas of traveling as a surfer which should come out soon. Anyways the Customer Service manager for United in SD and that she would do us a huge favor and only charge us for two boards. Therefore, unless we wanted to leave our boards, we were going to be charged an extra $500 to get our boards onto the plane. There wasn’t much more we could do at this point.

To end it all, this lady below calls over another one of her bosses after the lady said ok at $500 and begins speaking to him in French. I was able to piece enough together tounderstand that she was saying she was going to only charge me for 2 although I had 5 and was he ok with that. He said ok, but pull his file. For not speaking french I was pissed I understood her. Thanks to Spanish and traveling around picking up words here and there. I must have looked stupid, but you know what united lady, you really made me not like French people even more.

We are currently fighting the charges with United, will let you know how it goes.

Hmmmm, how much should I jack this surfer boy?

Yeah, thats it lets jack him hard! Going to go have fun? Not without paying, heeeheeeheee.

So now we are in Jbay, Louise and I plan on making these posts shorter to keep you guys interested. Although we kind of eluded to it before, we are going to try and make a concentrated effort at it now. Hope all of you are well. Much Aloha to you and yours.

Next post, coming from Africa.
Back in the 808 state

June 28, 2009

As much as we love traveling it sure was nice to be heading back to our home. Looking out the window of the airplane and catching a glimpse of the white sandy beaches and inviting turquoise ocean brought tears to my eyes. Hawaii is like none other. From the surf, the people, the lifestyle, and our families its hard to top this paradise we call home. After being away for over 8 months we realize just how lucky and blessed we are to be raised in such a amazing place.

Skype and Facebook helped us from getting homesick by keeping us connected with those we love. None the less we were very anxious to get back home to see our family and friends, to score some surf and eat all the yummy food we’ve been craving for months. Hawaiian mixed plate with kalua pig and lau lau plus all the fixins, poke, maunapua, pho, sushi, korean bbq and chocolate drop cookies from Liliha Bakery to name a few.

The first couple of days were a little hectic but we soon settled back into the swing of things. We luckily got to stay at Kahi’s parents house on the east side of the island. Town was a little insane and their home was an relaxing oasis from the chaos.

The waves in town were small and playful but we were even more stoked on the fact that two north shore swells had rolled in while were home. It was the middle of May and there were two solid swells, its was unbelievable. After surfing in different countries I’d have to say the North Shore is by far some of the most powerful surf out there. Even a 2-3ft (Hawaiian) swell could knock you on your butt and teach you a lesson, especially when your least expecting it.

A few days before we had to leave we rented a little beach cottage right in front of Pipeline. There were no waves but the beach was beautiful and the water was refreshing. The family and friends came over for a barbecue and to hang out all day. We built a giant slip-and-slide on the beach, which wasn’t very easy but ended up being tons of fun. It was so nice spending all day at the beach it was really hard to pack up and leave.

Our visit home was coming to an end and it was time to sort through all our junk, pack up and getting moving again. Packing would be a little more complicated than before, we’d need to pack for warm weather but also winter in South Africa. We packed a separated box of winter clothes and planned on leaving in San Diego, and we’d pick it up on our way to South Africa after traveling though Central America.

As hard as it was to leave again we were both looking forward to the next part of our journey in Central America. Much aloha and mahalos to all of our family and friends for everything and especially to Gary and Gwen for opening their home to us. We love you guys!
Western Saaaaaaaaaamoaaasal

June 5, 2009

IF ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS SEE THE SURF PHOTOS, SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM.

After a few days in Western Samoa we knew we wanted to extend our stay. Louise and I have learned that if we like a spot, its advantageous to extend it if possible. But with so much to see in this world we are also marking our favorites for a return. Samoa is up towards the top of our list and we extended our stay by an additional 10 days. It wasn’t just the surf that fired us up, it was the culture that cemented Samoa as being one of those places that when people ask us, “where were your favorite places so far?” we reply with Western Saaaaaaamoa as one of them.

We were recommended to check out this place called Sina PJs by a friend of a friend. With the realization earlier in our trip that certain types of people travel in similar circles, a friend of a true friend is almost almost always reliable and ends up being a friend of your own. That being said, a friend of Sams named Panapa pointed us in the direction of Sina PJs. The fales (hale in Hawaiian, home in English) were in the village of Tafitoala on the Southern Shore of Upolu in Western Samoa. As you can see in the map below they are right on the beach down a dirt road sitting right in front of a U shaped outer reef that provides great waves.

We’ve been getting a lot of feedback on our blog and overwhelmingly people have been stoked on the pics. Thanks a ton for all the feedback, but in order to keep you interested and reading the blog, I’ve decided to start a new style of blog writing that pretty much entails just writing captions to the pics and video. Less verbal ramblings and more funny stories relating to the pics themselves. Let me know what you think.

Every surfer wonders where the Pigdog comes from. For those non-surfers, a pigdog is when you grab your rail on your backhand while surfing in order to give you better balance usually while in the tube. A lot of pigdogging was happening out in the water and when we were on land one afternoon we found the origin of the name. Enjoy the movie.

Pig Dog

Dawn sessions, getting out before the winds pickup were key. Usually the winds up by 10 am, but its still good after that. You can also get a glass off session towards the end of the day. We got really lucky and scored a whole week and a half with no winds. But then it was hot as shit on land and you’d better have your mosquito repellent. The boat was a bit problematic in the beginning but Peter the boat driver worked on it every day and got it into cherry top shape. It was pretty funny though in the beginning because we’d have to line up in the water for a pick up because he couldn’t put the boat into neutral or it would die. So he’d drive up and we’d have to sling our bodies up and try not to ding our boards.

We took the canoe out to do some fishing. Had they not had food already cooked for dinner, we would have gone hungry. We were much better at fishing from the land.

The Roxy model photoshoot featuring the chocolate starfish twins. Ricky left, Kyle right.

My homies Kyle and Ricky from Nzed were able to get off of work and came with us. This was their first surf trip, first time surfing in warm water, and first time surfing over reef. Needless to say they were pretty tripped out and extremely stoked.

Vailima is the beer of Samoa, and when you could get it cold, it was the best. Cheap too, a small one was about a dollar and a big one was two. It tasted like a really good Steinlager, I’m thirsty just writing about it. Its only 9:20AM here in Hawaii and now I’m gonna go get a beer, never to early, screw that noon rule.

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The food in Samoa was top notch. Very similar to Hawaiian food. I’ve never eaten so much Taro. Every Sunday they prepared an umu (imu in Hawaiian) and cooked up a fat meal for after church. Our favorite dish became the palu sami. It was cocounut cream wrapped in taro leaf with a pinch of sea salt added and then cooked in the umu for about 8 hours. It melted in your mouth.

We invented a new face called the HORSEFACE. Make the Horse impersonation by puffing your lips and then blowing out. Careful because you will get spit on your camera lens if too close.

This is Aska, if you are lucky, maybe the owners of the fales Naitina and Malae, will name a child after you. Aska was named after a Japanese lady that stayed there. Jiri, one of the boys was named after a euro, and William the youngest was named after an Aussie I think. Aska was our favorite and was hanging out with us all the time. She taught us the word pilo, which meant fart because the Samoan food made us pilo and she’d say, “you pilo yo undaweah!”

Almost everyone owns a machete and on some days, the children bring their machetes to school to cut grass and other bushes around the school.

Read this book if you hate working or want to do what we are doing.

Early evening fishing out in front of the fale.

Louise made us a lucky fishing hat, seemed like as soon as you put it on you’d land a good size fish. Kyle and I caught large maka’ele’ele and Ricky caught bait. We were eating the bigger fish within a half hour of catching them and Ricky made up for his meager catch with this Perch.

We made good friends with these Aussies in their cute matching shirts. Chris, Louise, Chris, Me, and Tate (or as we called him Taint). Down below its PJ, Jiri, and Aska. Look at Tates leg, he gashed it hard at the waterfall and after cleaning it up I performed my first super glue surgery. I didn’t tell him it was my first till after. Now look at the Chris in the middles leg. He passed out owlboss (drunk as) with his leg in the fire and burnt a bunch of it. Naitina the owner pulled him from the fire. He didn’t remember the next day but the burnt skin and the pain reminded him.

The To Sua Trench is on the South Side near Salanis Surf Resort. Its a collapsed lava tube that connects to the ocean. You can jump of the ladder and you can swim out to the ocean through a hole.

We spent one afternoon up on the Village plantation checking out the Taro fields, eating coconut, and hanging out with Ula. Ula was classic, guy spoke very little english but you don’t need to when you can speak with body language and laughs. He caught this boa in the plantation and brought it back to the fales to scare everyone. His coconut tree climbing was new to us, he’d tie a t-shirt in a loop and then put it around his feet to give him friction as he climbe up the tree like a catepillar. He’d then climb up into the canopy and start tossing the cocounuts down.

Basket weaving lessons with Malae.

This is Fotu, he’s the man down there.

Local Fisherman, everyday they go out and spear tons of fish. At night they go out at low tide and score even bigger catches. Its easy when the fish are sleepin.

Check out the balls and wiener on this thing. What do they feed this thing? I was guessing viagra salt licks.

This is Togitagitoa Waterfalls (I spelt it wrong sorry). You had to jumop out over a couple of feet of rock and then you try to land right near the whitewash from the waterfall. We took some fun shots with the camera in the waterhousing. This nice local girl offered me fruit from a tree up the way. We played water rugby with the kids and hung out there for the whole afternoon. Its a perfect break from the heat.

The boys.

Looks like Kyle is just floating in space in this one.

These pics are from the sliding rocks. Overtime the stream smoothed out the lava rock and created natural slides and pools.

The pigs have the life here,…………… till they get eaten. Malae and Ula kill them by luring them with food, then Malae would throw a coconut at the pigs head. It usually knocked it out, then they would carry it to the water and drown it.

Louise is a legend at peeling coconuts. The village eats a couple hundered a day. The pigs get fed 30 a day. We ate about 4 a day.

SURFING PHOTOS

We surfed three different waves while here. The place where we stayed was at the end of the road and the U created in the reef created the three different waves we surfed. The left (Salas, named after the bartender and owner of Lupes next to Coconuts) is on the far right and the two rights (suckups and Malaes) are across from it. All the pics were from Salas because it was easy to take pics from the channel and the boat. The other spots were more difficult to take photos from. The right out the back called Malaes was my favorite wave. It was extremely strong and gave me whiplash from wiping out. Salas was a powerful left that honed in my pigdog skills. Suckups was a wave that was dry reef on low tide and super sucky on high. It came out of nowhere and just jacked up. You stood up and just got barreled for about 30 yards and then dropped off in the deep channel again.

kahi

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louise

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Thanks for checking out our blog and do us a favor, tell your buddies and family about it. If you’re really ambitious, go ahead and write a comment! We are back in Hawaii now and off to Central America in a few days.
NZ Round 2

May 28, 2009

Raglan was amazing and we scored some of the best waves in our lives but the swell was fading and it was time to move on to our next adventure. Our buddy Sam was heading to a beach clean-up on the Great Barrier Island located right off the eastern coast of the north island and he invited us to tag along. This was the perfect opportunity to do something good for the environment and to explore yet another part of the county. The ferry ride was subsidized by the group running the event, Sustainable Coastlines, which made the trip rather affordable. We weren’t sure what the set up was going to be once we got to the island so we left our tent behind to lighten our load just in case we had to walk a bit.

Great Barrier Island or Aotea

We caught the ferry over early in the morning and after arriving on the island it was non-stop action. We piled onto buses and were taken to the campgrounds to drop off our bags. Then buses and boats dropped us off at different clean up spots throughout the island. Some were taken by boat to remote parts of the island to clean, others got on kayaks to clean up hard to reach areas. Working in small groups we cleaned the coastline pulling out old tires, cans, plastic bags and all sorts of other stuff. After hours of work we bagged up the trash and ended up with a pile of garbage. The islands were beautiful with lush greenery surrounding crystal clear water, it seemed almost tropical, if only it weren’t so cold.

Cleaning up the Aina, check Sam, working hard da buggah.

After a hard days work it was time to relax and have a little fun. The buses took us back to the camping grounds and we noticed they had begun setting up for the after party they were throwing at the bar up on the hill. Our original plan was to find some type of cheap accommodation but it was starting to get late and the campgrounds were right next to the bar so we decided we’d sleep right there on the nice big wooden porch surrounding the building with the bathrooms. Sounds gross, I know, but it was actually a pretty nice set up and a good distance from the bathrooms. Well that night these Sustainable Coastline people threw an all out rager, complete with NZ$3 (so like $1.5) beers and a DJ. By the end of the night the place was packed and people were beginning to really cut loose.

Sam and Louise dual shake-face with the bar on the hill in the background.

Kahi invented a new shake-face, the reverse shake-face. You shake your head up and down instead of side to side. Pretty amazing!

The party was winding down and people began stumbling to their tents to pass out. We made our way to our sleeping zone on the porch and pulled our surfboards out of our boardbag. Yep that’s right we slept in our boardbag. It was cold but other than that it was surprisingly comfortable. This drunk dude passed out right next to us in the middle of the night, he didn’t wake me up (thank god for ear plugs!) but woke Kahi up. He told me the guy was right by our heads and he had to whack him with our surfboard leash to wake him up to get him to move. The next morning we found him passed out around the corner face down on the ground nose smashed into the wood planks. It couldn’t have been very comfortable.

Our boardbag nest

The next morning was a little rough but nothing cures a hangover better than taking a lovely stroll through the forest and soaking in a natural hot spring. We hopped in a van and they dropped us off at the entrance to the hot springs. It was only a 20 minute walk to the hot spring, but it felt like forever. The hot spring was more like a hot stream which wound through the forest, there were a couple of different pools to relax in and the water temperature was nice and hot.

The path leading to the springs

A view of the main pool for soaking.

It was time to head back to Auckland but it was a hard to leave the island. There was still a lot to see and the locals spoke of some good surf too. We’ll be back some time again (hopefully in their summer) to check it all out.

Back at the camp we invented a game while waiting for a ride back to the ferry. You walk on a log and try to knock the other person off first. Highly entertaining!

Back in Auckland we said good bye to Sam as he was headed to Fiji and then on to Tavarua (check him out at www.gosambo.com). We wished him the best and thanked him for meeting up with us. Its always a pleasure to see a familiar face and cruise with a good friend. Plus we wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to go to the beach clean up with out him, thank Sam!

Our next stop was the adventure capital of New Zealand, Rotorua. If you want to bungee jump, mountain bike, zorb, sky dive, or do one of the many other attractions, Rotorua is where you want to be. Rotorua is also known for its geothermal activity, with numerous geysers, bubbling mud pools, and many hot mineral springs. Most of the activities were rather expensive so we decided to choose one and save the rest for another time. It was an easy choice, we were going Zorbing!

Zorbing is where they put you in the middle of a big bouncy ball and roll you down a big hill. There were two different ways you could Zorb either the original dry Zorb or the new hydro Zorb. I chose to go with the dry Zorb because it was cold and I didn’t really feel like freezing my butt off. In the dry Zorb you’re strapped in by a chest and ankle harnesses. Its a little strange. Then they roll you down a straight hill. I went upside down a ton of times and got really dizzy. You definitely don’t want to do this if you’re hung over, you’ll puke for sure. Kahi was next, at first he was going to do the same but everyone else was hydro Zorbing so he changed at the last minute. In the hydro Zorb you’re not strapped in and they throw in a bucket of hot water so you slosh around every where.

Here’s the dry Zorb. I’m in there flipping around and getting dizzier by the second.

Here comes Kahi in the hydro Zorb going down the zig-zag path. In the hydro Zorb you’re not strapped in and can freely move around but you don’t really get flipped upside down.

It was really cold in Rotorua and we wanted to take advantage of the geothermal activity by soaking it up in the hot springs for the rest of the day. We scored and found this place where if you camped there you could use their thermal pools for free. This place was amazing! There were about 6 different pools ranging in temperature and size. The area was beautifully landscaped and made for a truly relaxing retreat.

Our camp site at the Waikite Thermal Wonderland

The thermal pools

Right down the street were a few mud pools. They were extremely hot and you couldn’t go in them but they were pretty cool to watch.

We fell in love with the thermal pools and found it hard to leave. There’s nothing like waking up in the freezing cold and jumping in a nice hot spring. I think we could have spent more time there but our surfing bug was starting to itch. So we met up with Ricky and Marcia to go on a little road trip down to Taranaki or as they call it “Taradise” to get a few waves.

Mt. Taranaki, yup it was cold!

The conditions weren’t really working with us and Taradise wasn’t really doing her thing. We did get some fun surf but man was it cold. I kept looking back at Mt. Taranaki, seeing its snowy cap and thinking “this is just wrong”

We spent the evenings cooking yummy meals

Uno! We played that the winner got to make up something for the losers to do. Either get the next round of drinks or something like that. Kahi won a round and had us do this silly pump thing with the 6 minute ab machine. It was hilarious!

The weekend flew by and Marcia and Ricky needed to head back to Auckland. Originally we were going to head towards Gisborne in search of surf but the drive would have taken too long and we didn’t have much time left. Instead we headed back north stopping in the small town of Kawhia. Earlier in our Trip we met some travelers who told us about the hot springs of Kawhia and said we had to check it out if got the chance. These hot springs were right on the beach and around low tide you could dig a hole in the sand and create your own private hot spring pool. We borrowed a shovel from the local mechanic and made our way to the beach. The spring was a little harder to find than we thought. I figured it’d be a large area of hot water but instead they were smaller hot springs in a few areas. In order to find them you had to dig your foot into the sand and feel around for the hot spots. At first we couldn’t find them and it was a little discouraging. We finally found them and began digging. The water was really hot! Just about the same temperature as the thermal pools back in Rotorua. The nice thing about this town and the hot springs is that not too many tourist know about them. We had the place to our self besides a couple of local families.

Hot springs of Kawhia. Digging the hole was the hardest part but its well worth it.

Kiwi fruit trees or vines or whatever you want to call them.

The drive back to Auckland was only another couple hours and we were back in the comfort of Nat and Kyle’s nice cozy home. It was really nice to sleep in a bed and to be warm. I love being warm! A couple weeks back when we were freezing our booties off we decided to cut our New Zealand trip a little short and spend some time in Samoa. One of Kyle’s friends had just gone and scored some sick waves and told us all about it. The tickets were cheap and just like that we were going to Samoa. We had a couple days before we were leaving and we spent most of the time packing and getting ready but we did go for a couple last surf sessions right out side of Auckland. We scored! As we got closer to the beach we saw a reeling left and the best part about it there were only three guys out. By the time we paddled out there the waves went to crap and the three guys paddled in. It was just us. Then she turned back on and the waves were better than ever.

Beach right out of Auckland

Sick left!

And another

This guy and his friends were kite fishing. They use a kite to pull the line out past the shore break. They had just reeled in a bunch of big snappers.

New Zealand was treating us really well and giving us lots of sick waves but getting motivated to surf is more difficult when the water is cold and you need to put on a freezing wet wetsuit. We were very much so looking forward to Samoa especially because Ricky and Kyle got time off and were coming with us. It would be their first surf trip out of the country and their first time surfing in warm tropical water wearing nothing but boardies. Yoohooo! No more wetsuits!
Raglan

May 11, 2009

Buoyweather, some of the best money I’ve ever spent, was displaying 8-10 feet at 15 seconds with offshore winds in about a day, (means its going to be really good). Raglan faces North so the Southwest swells wrap in almost 180 degrees and would reveal perfectly groomed six footers by the time we got there. The stories of minute long perfect lefts were ringing in our heads and being from the EA25ID any wave longer than 5 seconds is a wave of the day. It took us about two minutes to drive through downtown Raglan to realize that the point break was a bit out of town and that the kite boarders we saw were surfing beach break, thank goodness. With hope flowing through our veins our hearts began beating faster as we got out of town towards the point. Our first view was the pic below and what we saw was corduroy (swell lines) stacked to the horizon.

We couldn’t see the break, just the corduroy and the kite boarders back in town. The next turn revealed Manu Bay. We stopped and watched for a few minutes. The tide was full, it looked fun, but not the epic Raglan we had heard about.

Manu Bay from up above

Manu Bay from down below

This is how you add the polarized filter to the camera, just snap it with your glasses in front. Cherry boo.

We thought that Manu Bay was it for a bit, but I remembered all the photos that I had posted in my old office back in Hawaii and this looked nothing like it. A few months before I left Intracorp I posted up a large photo of Raglan over a painting that was situated on the wall behind my desk. I then posted it on the desktop of my computer as a reminder of my goals. It was a continual reminder of why I was doing what I was doing. With that pic in my head I told Sam and Louise that there had to be more around the next point. With the remainder of Raglan still calling us we got back in the car to heed her call. Down the hill towards Manu Bay and then back up we went. As we turned the corner we pulled into the next lookout. There it happened, as if walking into our own personal surf video, the vista we saw was even better than the photo back in my old office. There were waves peeling through the bay giving us a site beyond compare. The corduroy was groomed from a thousand miles of traveling on the open sea and their abrupt meeting with the coast was causing salivation, or should I say our salvation

As we watched the waves we threw it out there, “hey, lets find the house with a Hawaiian flag flying and stay there!” With the way our day was going it was apparent that our chi was aligned and that anything we wanted was ours if we could find it. We pulled into the parking area suitedup and dashed for the ocean. That first surf still remains one of the best any of us have ever had. But Sam’s in Tavarua now so with his luck a session there has topped ours by now.

My first wave at Whale Bay was a screamer. Probably a four footer, ran down the line, had to do a huge floater to make the first section as the pack was causing people to take off deep. I miraculously landed the floater with the tail first and then proceeded to wack the lip about 7 times before it dropped me off in the boneyard, (the end of the line). As the corner of my lips proceeded to tickle my earloabs (try it) I let out a hoot! Raglan was off the HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK. The place was allowing us to all surf beyond our abilities.

Me screaming through Whale Bay, check the donkeys trying fo drop in, can you hear me? “Ho! Ho!, Ho!” Not like Santa though.

Louise was throwing buckets out the back on her frontside surfing bigger and better than the guys and then Sam would follow her up, catch a bomb, and proceed to annihilate the lip for 200 meters. Everyone was pretty chill in the water and the stoke was spreading. We were talking to complete strangers, and that’s when we met Leon one of the singers for Katchafire. He was telling us how the guy on the inside was Francis Kora and that Shapeshifter was in town holed up in a house recording a new album. Three of the most famous musicians in New Zealand were in Raglan and two of them were out surfing with us sharing the stoke. We finished the session in the dark that evening and tried snapping a pic of our stoke, had their been a full moon we probably would have stayed out even longer.

Leon!

The next day the surf had picked up two more feet and we went back out to Whale Bay as Indicators wasn’t looking very good yet. I filmed Louise and Sam for a bit but with the surf pumping I soon got anxious and within the hour was out there with them. Sam and I sat out the back and traded off on the bombs. Leon paddled back out and joined us. I kind of felt bad for us taking over pole position out there but it seemed like 95% of the people out there were from Auckland. Leon didn’t seem to mind either. A few waves later an older guy rolled into Whale Bay from Indicators and straight up killed it. This guy had to be a pro back in the day and he surfed like he was from Hawaii. You can just tell. Sam rolled up to him and said “Wassup Buzzy.” Slightly startled but happy to hear a bit of pidgin in Nzed Buzzy responded with a, “good, how you?” What followed was the realization that Buzzy Kerbox (legend), Titus Kinimaka (legend), and Ekolu Kalama (I’ll put it out there, future legend) were being put up in the house at the point by an extremely wealthy Kiwi in return for a few promotional appearances showing off their skills on their stand up paddle boards. Buzzy invited us all up to take a hot shower and have a couple of beers at their house after the surf. As if all our karma was somehow being repaid all at once by Raglan we all took the moment to really take it in. Something we continued to do for the rest of our time in Raglan.

To be appreciative of a situation in the moment makes the situation itself appreciative, its weird but that’s what we did and things just seemed to get better.

Sam/Holomua with style through Whale Bay

Sam and Louise had surfed long enough but I wasn’t tired yet since I was filming earlier. They both went up to the Hawaiian house and met everyone. As I continued to surf, the crowd emptied out and Ekolu paddled out on his SUP. The tide was getting fat and you had to dodge boulders on the inside. Ekolu was killing it on the SUP doing lay back turns fully leaning on his paddle showing da Hawaiian mana.

Ekolu ripping through Whale Bay, hawaiian borrowed da pics from this place.

After surfing that evening we walked up to the Hawaiian House and met everyone. They were going to BBQ in a bit and they wanted us to join but we didn’t feel comfortable as we had nothing to bring. Had it been all Hawaiians it would have been ok but there were a couple of Kiwis with them and so we headed into town to get some beer and chicken to cook on the grill at the campground. The grill ended up being busted that night so we cooked the BBQ on a stove and oven Hawaiian Style, work with what you got.

The next day we got up early and surfed all fricken day long. The cool thing was that we got to change at the house the boys were staying at and got hot showers. But the best thing was to be cruising in New Zealand with the feeling of Ohana cause Buzzy, Titus, and Ekolu accepted us into their temporary hale, (house in Hawaiian). The surf was amazing as you can see.

The view from the deck down on Whale Bay.

Titus and Ekolu

A quick break, Steini, doobie, and then we’re back out there!

Tita

Check it out, firing even into the night!

We got back just in time. The fire had just been lit and so had other things. The music was non-stop and Buzzy kept requesting classic Kalapana. Titus, not one to dissapoint cranked out at least a full album of Kalapana. Not a word missed with back up singing being added in by all those that knew the words, we had the point at Whale Bay sounding like a kanakapila on the bench at Makaha. Francis Kora showed up with some friends and it became his turn. His voice is absolutely stunning and mixed with his honed skills on the guitar, one has to wonder why Kora has not yet been to Hawaii to play. Ekolu also is an extremely gifted musician, his renditions of Hawaiian classics and newer songs had everyone singing along. As the guitar passed from Ekolu, to Titus, to Francis, those in attendance were treated to an unforgettable night. In between his turns on the guitar, Ekolu manned the grill and soon it was time to eat. A feast fit for kings, steak and beer, we wolfed down our meal and then went back to the impromptu concerto. Buzzy had hit the wall from surfing all day and headed downstairs to bed as we continued to rock. The sound of the swell building hummed in the background and roared inbetween songs.

We continued this gift to and from the gods until Buzzy came up and threatened to punch out whoever was pounding on the floor. Although we kinda felt sorry for Buzzy, it was pretty damn funny. Buzzy came up in his undies, squinting from the bright light and was yelling at us like we were teenagers. Ekolu and Titus being like teenagers gave a sarcastic “Sorry Buzzy” then proceeded to jump up and down on the floor. When Titus plays guitar he often uses his foot to keep rythm or maybe to provide the bass line as was the case that night. Not trying to rat Titus out or anything but it was just funny that it was Titus all along that was keeping Buzzy up. With only 3 steinies left in the fridge it was time to go. The boys were getting flowed free everything. The 5 cases of Steinlager pure had been exhausted and the only beer left were original Steinlagers. It was a good thing that Sam, Louise and I had brought two 15 packs of Steinlager and a bunch of steaks. Otherwise the boys would be going to sleep without a night cap. We departed that evening feeling as though we had just flown back to Hawaii for a Luau and it was time to leave. It was a magical evening that will not soon, and perhaps ever be forgotten. We got back to the campsite late and the boom gate was locked so Sam slept in the parking lot while we walked back to our tent.

The next morning we woke to the sound of our car pulling up, it was Sam, he had just been lectured by the Campground staff about sleeping in our car but he didn’t care. It was time to go surf and it was firing, again. Indicators became my favorite spot (The top point) and Louise and I both caught the longest waves of our lives this day. When we got back to the house we timed someone else on a wave similar to the ones we caught and it came to a minute and a half. We even saw a guy catch one from Indicators all the way through Whale Bay which comes to over 3 minutes. That only happens maybe once a year. We truly scored on this trip as Raglan continued to deliver. But swells eventually dissapate so it was time to head on to our next adventure. We had a great time with the Hawaiians and look forward to meeting up with them again sometime in the future.

Titus, Sam/Holo, Ekolu, Kahi, Buzzy, Louise, Campbell

Some more pics of the goodness below.

Raglan pulses, here is a lull, but in a few minutes it would light up again and be full of waves. You can see the whitewash from the last pulse. But during the height of the swell it was non stop pulsing.

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