on my own

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yesterday i dropped michelle off at the auckland airport. a family emergency required that she return home for a little while. so, i am on my own for a bit. after i dropped her off at the airport i continued north until the sun started to set. i spent the night in a very small town. not a credit card machine or atm in sight. it was a nice place to be though. i ran this morning on a beach all alone before i started to drive again.

i drove today all day. it's funny how quiet the car is. the radio works almost nowhere and eventually i just gave up and listened to chippy's little engine. it wasn't bad. the scenery is amazing in this country. i drove through a neverending tapastry of green and often next to turquiose oceans. i ended up in ahipara, where i am now. the road here was indirect and i actually ended up on a dirt road for a little bit. i honked chippy's horn around each corner to ensure the logging trucks would know i was coming. heh. right.

i made it here though. ahipara is where the famous 90 mile beach begins. here i will learn to surf. i made my appointment for my first surf lesson despite the wind and rain that was pelting us. my lesson was at 4pm so i spent most of the day reading and anxiously awaiting my lesson. 4pm rolled around and the wind hadn't died down and the rain had strengthened. oh well. my lesson was a private one by default. we started on the beach, then quickly moved into the water. i've never been in big surf before, it was scary stuff, but so fun. i managed getting the board out beyond the break easily and riding it in on my belly wasn't hard either. standing up....challenge. i actaully got my feet on the board, but i got so excited everytime that i stood all the way up and immediately get thrashed by the waves as i fall off. surfing may well be the most difficult sport i've ever tried....in terms of skill at least. usually my playing field is static. this one is anything but. one has to learn to read the waves and catch them at the perfect point and then deal with the changes as it moves toward the beach. tomorrow i'm getting up early with some other people from the hostel to get out on the water!! sweet as (my new personal favorite saying from new zealand).

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Photos

on my way to ahipara
a stopping point to stretch my legs.

me and my surfboard
wetsuits are so flattering.