Monthly Archives: November 2012

After a quick surf session, we drove over to lucy’s gulch.  Its a park nearby which has trails for easy and strenuous hikes.  We appear to have chosen the strenuous one, but pushed on and made it up to the trig point at the peak.

imported california redwoods in this part of the forest

almost to the top with some rock climbing

success!

trig point at the peak, used for physical reference point for various activities

Surfed with ryan early on thursday morning.  The swell started picking up and i was getting cold and tired so i headed in.  Ryan caught a sweet right to end the session, a great birthday wave for him.
Made a light breakfast while ryan and claire packed up, then we headed into oakura for lunch and some wifi.  Enjoyed a tasty lunch of a venison burger and fried squid, gotta splurge every once in awhile..

Said our goodbyes to ryan and claire after lunch.  Cindy and i then drove over into new plymouth.  Quite a bigger town.  Drove down to a park with a lake and river near the ocean.  Tried some fishing, but still no luck catching.  Wind was cranking in the afternoon.  After fishing we took a nice walk along the beach path.

Drove back to the same beach campsite on aru aru road and made a dinner for 2.

Woke up today to lighter winds and increasing swell, so we r gonna drive back over to oakura to check out that action for some surfing around high tide.

Spent Wednesday morning surfing the beach break where we camped.  Tried the longboard this time, but still not much luck in this cold water.  Limbs dont wanna move properly.  Came back in for some reading and a nap.  After cindy back got back from her session, we made a nice lunch.  Discussed a possible afternoon session, then the girls headed for a walk to town for groceries.  Never did make it back out surfing.  Winds picked up and some mid-day surfers showed up, so we just watched.  Cracked open a bottle of wine while awaiting the women to return.  Planned on trying find paua (abalone) at low tide near the beach we camped earlier in the week.

creative idea for water shoes

Didnt bring any water shoes, so cindy used ryan’s chocos and i made custom shoes with my sandals and duct tape.  Had good success finding about 8 keepers and cooked em up for dinner.  Enjoyed ryan and claires last night with the cool evening over a couple glasses of wine and an amazingly bright full moon.

Up early here on thursday for a final surf sesh with ryan, as they are heading back towards auckland this afternoon.

afternoon lunch and nap time

Drove a bit further north late yesterday based on a recommendation from the surf shop owner. This place would be a bit protected from the west winds and a beach break more suitable for our surfing skills. Surfed a bit before sunset. Tried out a different type of board called a fish. Between the new board, howling winds and bone chilling water temp, i didn’t catch much but a good workout. Cindy was able to pick off a few nice ones on her 8′ 6″ board.

Parked the vans down a bit further on level ground, made a warm, fried rice meal with a glass of vino and went to bed for a good night’s rest. Surfing always leads to intense hunger, a cold beverage and a nap. Woke up this morning to some clouds and more wind, but we headed out to give it a shot around 8am. Definitely finding it difficult to surf in the cold water, limbs don’t seem to work as quickly. Sorta looking forward to warmer surfing in Tahiti…

rental boards in action

Out and about today in the area.  Surfing conditions haven’t been good, but we rented a couple boards this afternoon to try out for a few days.

Took today to explore some fishing and a short hike near the mountain.

friendly cows

tried some fishing, but no luck

view onto mount taranaki for a lunchtime hike

Got into wellington about 10pm last night on the ferry. Drove a bit north and found a place to park for the night in a new subdivision under construction. Quite windy up there all night. Got up just before 6am and moved on out to a beach location for breakfast.

great view over coffee in the campervan

Headed up to the taranaki area today. Plan on spending our last week in that region with surfing and fishing.  Looking forward to minimal daily driving.

Booked our ferry trip to cross back over to the north island at 630pm tonight.  Plan on heading to the taranaki region for some surfing and fishing.  Bought a rod/reel yesterday.  Tried fishing along one river on saturday but had no luck, yet we did see some fish.