I am in QUEENSTOWN

hello everyone,

let me start by saying that i miss you all and it is cool to hear from ya whenever you get a chance. let me know if there is anything you were wondering that i might be leaving out

Halloween came and went with nothing real crazy to report. Except that is for the waves. As a matter of fact we were a bit late to the party cuz i was surfing. I am not exaggerating when i say this was the coolest spot i have ever surfed. with a ride that lasted about 100+ yrds i could barely contain myself. the large crowed was well behaved and i got about 5 outside waves. these things were peeling of this left point like a peel off an apple. perfect evertime and holding up so amazing rides were a dime a dozen. at the end of the ride you merely hop out jog up the coast and jump off the point back into the lineup! talk about the ultimate lazyboy of surfing.

We fell so head over heels for this place we spent aout 5 nights there. Although the waves never amounted to the beauty they were the first day i was still able to get some solid surf. i had fun giving all the surf rookies how inhabited this place pointers and actually paddling out with a couple of them. it was fun to think back to a time when i was at the begining of my surf adventure. The people, sunsets and our cookery combined to create a laid back and stellar visit to this removed from the hussle chunk of land.

From Raglan we made our way across the country once again to a place which is home to an artificial reef. how cool is that? when the sweel is right the reeef actually makes a perfect A frame and waves can be enjoyed by all. We stayed here for two nights and the swell hid from sight. Mt. Monganui was the place and there is a cool Mt. at the point of this hustle bustle town which is surrounded by water on three sides. We made our way to the top and enjoyed beautiful panorama views of the countryside. Most of our time was spent hiberanting seeing as though the weather was a bit testy.

The chicken clucked and we struggled outta bed around 9 to get on the road to a famously active place of stinky sulfur. Rotorua. As a matter of fact in the middle of the town sat a park with boiling mud pools and sulfer shooters. We went to a hot springs park and enjoyed the gagging smell of too much sulfer. were talking rotten eggs times 1000. I saw several really cool gysers and sulfer formations. crazy to think were the actual power and heat behind the push is coming from! Back in the car we headed further southeast to Gisborne.

this was a for sure surf spot. although our voyage was not for sure. after spending 1 hr 30 min on a dirt road we were stunned to find our path blocked by a crazy landslide which had taken out the entire road and a big digger which must have been doing work. that night was spent in this interesting little motorcamp. not cool. early rise and off to Gisborne. with scenic drives abound we followed through a gorge and capitalized on a waterfall right on the highway. i jumped out the car and into this hypothermia inspiring water. so neat and different. Gisborne was cool and 3 days stay awarded no surf. Off to Wellington.

Our last stop on the North Island was super neato gang. a cool hip city greeted us with neat trendy shops and an entire pedestrian only street lined with all walks of life and cafe's uncountable. enjoyed the night life for a few nights and kicked around the city doing extensive people watching. i even caught a show featuring some of the neatest band i have seen in a long time. i will provide a list if i can remember the names. after our time it was an early morning a sleepy ferry rided and and eye opening new island to feast on...

New Z Walk(drive)about

Sorry for the long delay everyone it has been a bit of a travelling circus over the past week or so.

Right in Auckland we rented and as my last post suggested we rented a car and drove to piahia. Something like that. It is on the East coast near the bay of islands. We found out where the bus with all the travellers would stop and headed to the pi pi patch. We got there late due to a cool mountainous drive with many twists and turns. Of course the scenery did not let us down. We chilled in the bar connected to hostel and took an early bed. Woke up around 7 for a mission to end all missions. we decided to scour the coastline for surf. With my handy little surf guide in tow we set off around 8. we probably drove for 6 hours dwon small country roads into small sleepy towns only to find small sleepy surf. There seemed to be an alert out that we were coming and the surf ran off to play a practicle joke on us. Dirt roads back roads, whatever we were on them. Pines lined the beach and bays of beauty greeted us at every turn.
Finally at the end of the line we found a spot with beautiful waves that were all of 2 ft. Danny got out there along with me and we both caught some lackluster waves. Stoaked to get any waves at all. The night came and went and we were up and on our way once again.

We were set for a rigorus drive all of about 6 hours up to the west coast just below 90 mile beach to a place called Ahipara. A small sleepy beach town with a point break that was pumped up to have a 250+ yard left. Somehow we arranged our trip around both the outgoing and incoming swell and only had flat waves. Our accomodation and conversations with the owner Trevor and his wife Linda were way cool. two old timers from NZ. He even gave us a bottle of his hommade wine made from a strange fruit that i am not sure how to spell. 3 nights in this secluded beach dorm 50 ft from the ocean was super special. Not to mention our 4 wheel driving excursion up around the point and into the dunes. just wide open beach with no one around pushing 70 km/hr on these cool quads doing some fun stuff and soaking in the seclusion and beautiful oceananic scenery.

Soon we were on to Whitianga. A small sleepy town about 6 hours away and once again on the opposite side of the coast. Rain saturated my surfboard and i have to admit that our spirits were dampend by a drizzle lifeless hostel in the middle of what felt like no where. The host pointed us to another place in town that woudl be full the next night with the bus of kids so we headed over and enjoyed yet another beautiful backpacker's with new facilities all the way around. Friendly staff and cool kids arrived the next day. The owner of the place liked us and offered us a ride in his steel hulled boat we accepted and took off. in 1 foot solid chop we set out at what seemed to be a breakneck or should i say break back pace. i was in the co pilot seat and would feel my body compacting upon itself every time the boat shot up and smacked down on the water. At on point we were actually fully out of the water rudder and all. Maybe 1 foot out to be exact. What a thrilling ride. We took us to see what Cpt. Cook called Shakespeare point cause it apparently used to have the profile of the man back in the day. We also saw the biggest tourist attraction from the boat which saved us a 45 min hike which was Cathedral cove. A huge 25ft tall 35 ft wide and 60ft tunnel through sheer rock . U could actually walk through it and i felt truley in awe at the magnitude and precision of mother nature's hand. Night was fun out in the quite town and we got to bed for yet another journey.

Our whole idea was to be in a cool place for halloween. We made it so and like Scottie pushed our little car to warp speed. about 100 km/hr. due to boards on roof. after about 7 hours in the car we arrived at a cool sweet incredably awesome place...RAGLAN. far and away the best spot yet. We scored a spot at this hostel situated on a bay and filled with happy go lucky travellers from all parts of the globe. Brainstorming with the brits for costume ideas was quite funny and i landed on a ninja idea for myself.

time is up on my comp, but i will continue when i get a chance. hopefully later on tonight!