All along the coastal walkway out of Noosaville, there are different surf breaks. We would grab our boards, walk out our front door, cross the street and stroll along the shore until we found the break that looked the best.
Surfing First Break at sunset.
The bush along the walkway.
Checking out Granite’s.
Big spiders!
Big birds!
Big waves!
There are many world class surf breaks just a boat ride away from Tavarua Island. Restaurants directly in front of the resort is an outstanding fast left. Cloudbreak, five minutes by boat, is almost always good, even when small. This wave only gets better when the swell gets bigger. There are many other incredible waves a quick boat ride away, including Wilkes, the right hand version of Cloudbreak.
Perfect size. 4-6ft. Good size but not too big.
Trying to stall and get get under the lip.
Wylie looking styling, as always.
Wylie has a four hour session at Restaurants. I joined for only 2.5 hours.
Yellow Fin Tuna and Skipjack. After a few photos, these fish go right to the kitchen. Some of the staff bring home the skipjacks to their village and some our cooked that day. The tuna is served a day later as sashimi. They say that waiting a day softens the meat. It all tasted good to me.
Surfing Swimming Pools
Playing on the beach.
Finding amazing shells.
Frigates is a world class surf spot in Fiji. It is about a 45 minute boat ride from Waidroka Bay. This was the boys’ main surfing objective and luckily it was going off the first morning we arrived. The boys headed out early for a great session. It was the first of many great days of surfing in Fiji. 
Greymouth
When we arrived at Greymouth, the only waves to surf were concrete.
National Kiwi Center, Hokitika, West Coast, South Island
Kiwis are New Zealand’s national bird. We had no idea that they are nocturnal and rarely seen by humans. We ended up going to the National Kiwi Center that keeps a couple of Kiwis at a time in captivity. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph them. The center also has a tank of giant eels, like the ones we saw in the rivers of Tahiti. In an attempt to get over our fear of them, we fed them. I’m not sure if it helped or made it worse.
Willie needed a quick surf fix, so he randomly turned down this dirt road called “Beach Street”. We found a gnarly beach break and a beautiful place to camp for the night. A local later told us that he had never seen any one surf this break. Hmmm…I wonder why?
As if the waves weren’t gnarly enough, these large pieces of drift wood were floating in the water.
Aimee surfing the driftwood.
Sunset with driftwood.
We woke in the morning to our first view of Mt. Cook.
We spent a few days at Raglan. It never got that good, but we had a lot of fun.
Heading out.
Willie on a wave.
Wylie on a nice long left.
Looking down on Raglan.
Family surf at Ngarunui beach break near Raglan.
One day we rented a motor boat and circumnavigated the island. What an adventure!
Our little “put-put” packed with surfboards, snorkel gear, and lunch.
Wylie navigating through the reefs like a local.
Shortly after debarking from our house, we spotted a remote island with a white sandy beach and beautiful clear waters – an invitation we couldn’t refuse. There appeared to be no one on the island, but as we approached the sandy beach, a dark skinned gentleman in a bright neon green t-shirt walked out to greet us. It turned out that he was hired by the President to keep watch over the island. He gave us a little jungle tour , cut open a coconut for us and we were off to enjoy the rest of our day.
The perfect picnic spot.
We pulled out our lunch and sat at the table that was placed about ankle deep in the water. Within minutes we had hundreds of little fish swimming around our feet, tickling our toes.
I love this video!!!! I think you will, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6p0Pp7WUmQ&feature=youtu.be
After sadly saying goodbye to the fishies, we continued on to a local surf spot where we found a pack of groms catching waist high waves over a very shallow reef. I was pretty nervous about dinging my new board, but I couldn’t pass up surfing with the pack whose mean age was probably 10 years old. Once I got out into the line up, I asked them how they all were in French – “Comment allez-vous?” and in unison, they all replied “Bien!” From that point on we communicated with the universal language of a smile. I couldn’t believe that these guys surfed at this shallow reef on their broken up surf boards and boogie boards. It kind of freaked me out after riding a wave and looking down at the reef about 6 inches below the water’s surface.
One of their Dads was in a motorboat anchored nearby as their support crew. They would surf a little and then paddle over to the boat for snacks of papaya and other tropical treats. My favorite thing was when they were all out in the water and broke out into spontaneous singing that lead to giggles and smiles from ear to ear. Now that is my kind of surfing!
Aimee surfing the local break with the groms.
The locals support crew.
Swimming back to the boat after some fun surfing.
Excerpt from my journal, March 9.
After leaving Moorea, we returned to our house in Teahupoo, Tahiti. Despite the bugs, we really liked Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. Although it doesn’t have the white sandy beaches you see in all the postcards, its black sandy beaches, low lying coastal roads that seem to float on the lagoons, and steep, jagged mountains covered in dense green leafy forests give it a rustic beauty of its own. It also is home to one of the most well-known surf breaks in Tahiti – Teahupoo. Our house was within a 10-minute walk and 20-minute paddle to this world-class surf break. Although it wasn’t really “going off” during our stay, Willie and Wylie got a chance to ride “small” Teahupoo. Even when it’s small, it is a fast left, that breaks over a shallow reef. The potential for reef rash is high and screwing up your take off can prove painful for days to come. I wasn’t ready for Teahupoo, even when it was “small”. For Willie and Wylie, who had looked at endless videos of the pros riding this wave, it was a dream come true.
Walking to the surf.
The shark in the water we spotted before Wylie paddled out to Teahupoo.
Willie, apres surf at Teahupoo.
After spending a week on the island, we had driven on every main road exploring the sites, the sounds and people of Tahiti. We were told before traveling here that the people on the island of Tahiti still have “Aloha”. The natives here, more so than the other Tahitian islands we traveled to, were super friendly and welcoming. Unlike the surf in Hawaii where you can get “bad vibed” out of the water, it is customary to shake hands with everyone in the line up. People are always smiling and the sound of laughter is as common as the smell of Taire in the air.
Black sand beaches.
Lush jungles and waterfalls.
The smell of Tiare in the air.
Locals gathering at the river mouths.
Why we didn’t go in the rivers. Actually, the locals told us this fish is completely harmless and good to eat. We didn’t believe them.
Although Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, I was still surprised at how the French influence permeates through every part of their culture, from language to cuisine. Most people speak French, even if they know how to speak Tahitian. Their currency is the Pacific Franc and the baguette is a staple in their diet. Every day from morning until noon, people are walking home with their arms full of baguettes. They even have long cylindrical “mail” boxes for daily baguette deliveries. You can even buy baguettes at the Shell gas station! The supermarkets shelves are filled with French wines, the coolers with Brie and Camembert and the freezers with escargot. Stores close from noon until 2 daily and sometime never open again in the afternoon.
Aimee with her new found love….baguettes.
Baguettes were delivered daily to people in Tahiti Iti. They were put into a long cylinder outside peoples home or these fancy boxes. I want to bring this tradition back to Boulder!
Ok God. I admit it. I’m too chicken to paddle out in such big surf. But is this really necessary ….?
The original plan was to leave Kauai for a ten-day stay on the Big Island or Maui and then return to Kauai before heading to Tahiti. Unfortunately we had no luck finding accommodations on either island, so we decided to stay on Kauai. Not a bad idea, considering this is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
We left our house in Hanalei and are now in Princeville. We have always tried to avoid Princeville – the land of condos and Hoalies – and instead stay in or near the town of Hanalei, where there is more of a local flavor. We ended up finding a place on the cliffs overlooking “Hide Aways” surf spot. We were not disappointed.
These pictures were taken sitting on the lanai, eating a breakfast of pancakes with kiwi, mango, apple bananas (yes they do taste like apples), topped with coconut syrup, 300 ft above the waters edge, looking out over an endless sea to the horizon. Down below, Willie is the only one out in the water catching perfect glassy, head high waves, there is a rainbow framing the view and a pod of whales breaching directly in front of me. Somebody pinch me. Is this for real?
Willie Surfing Hideaways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMwt-KN2MQQ
More whales.
Yummy breakfast.
