Blogs from Raglan, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Geo: -37.8026, 174.873Apparently learning to surf is not an activity you should be leaving to your life of retirement- something about flexible joints and the ability to jump from the prone position to upright without using a sand dial to time the jump. Nonetheless DH sees herself as something of a surfer dudette who has just not had the opportunity to ‘hang ten' (or in our case, 'hang two'), so after our visits with the rel'ees in the Auckland area we drove, in the dark, straight to Raglan- something of a surfing mecca in New Zealand. Driving in the dark gave us new insight into just how crazy Kiwi's can get when behind the wheel. The authorities in New Zealand have decided not to confuse the populace with ever changing speed limits (except when traveling through ... read more

So after 6 months away, experiencing the Latin culture, it is sad to say i have left it all behind and returned to NZ. Though it is really good to see my family and friends again, but it means that i have left others behind. It has been such a fun journey over the past 6 months, and i have meet some great people and seen some amazing things. Whether it was visiting ruins that are older then our country, surfing in the hot hot beaches and releasing turtles out sea, or getting chased by big pick up trucks, all these they have all made my trip the most memorable and enjoyable. Mexico is a great country with so much to offer and can keep you entertained for months. Don't be put off by what is ... read more

Raglan. Went along with Laura and James to watch them surf some pretty hefty swell at Manu Bay. No surfing for me. Ribs seem to be gettin worse each day rather than better. Probably should be the other way around. There was a surf competition on at Manu so they went out a bit further around. The surf got pretty big. Had a pretty relaxing day walking around with Laura and James to help him get his stuff to another hostel. Good relaxing day just chilling out in the sunshine. Have decided for sure that I'm going to buy a campervan of Doug who I've been hanging around with this week in Raglan. So that means saying goodbye to Raglan tomorrow to meet up with him in Auckland before he heads off to crew for a ... read more

30th March Raglan Surfed Ngarunui beach. Massive at Manu Bay and too blown out and messy today for any decent surf at any of the breaks but went in anyway. Realised after about 10 minutes that my ribs weren't in good shape at all and sat on the shore to watch the others fight around in the relentless whitewater. Great weather though and met a lot of cool people in Raglan. Went For a bike ride around Raglan and the surrounding suburban hills with Laura. Raglan is possibly the most chilled out place I've ever been. Everybody's real healthy looking and happy and not a trace of stress. Noone seems to be in a rush and lots of little galleries and craft/art shops. Another guitar jam in the evening. ... read more

Raglan. Up at the crack of dawn to go check out the surf with Doug, Laura, James and Matt in their campervans. A number of good surf breaks close together at Raglan; Ngarunui beach, Manu Bay, Whale Bay and Indicators. Manu Bay is considered to be one of the longest left handers in the world. Consistently seems to break at the point and peel to the left. Too big and messy at Manu Bay so we went to Ngarunui Beach where it was really messy. Waves were coming in relentlessly and breaking way out so was constant fight through the whitewater. But good fun anyway. Guitars lying around in the hostel so in the evening a little jam started up with me and a couple of other backpackers. Turned into a proper sing-song. Best backpackers hostel ... read more