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Published: August 2nd 2006
From Raglan, I made the journey to Taranaki. Driving in New Zealand can be so fun. It's totally not stressful and at times you can go for miles before even seeing another car. Also, there might be 2 major 4-6 line highways on the whole island so 95% of the roads are 2 lane mountainous, country roads. Again, on my way to Taranaki, I got to drive through more magnificently scenic reserves. This time I took the time to pull over and snap off a few pictures. When I was still in Raglan, Mike and Rob had already been to Taranaki and were the ones that convinced me to come here next. Mike said that if I came to Taranaki that I should stay at The Wavehaven which is a backpacker's hostel. The Wavehaven is also in my NZ surf guide so I figured it would be a good jumping off point. It's owned by 2 guys Jono and Al. Jono owns the local surfshop in town called Vertigo and Al is the local mechanic which becomes a huge help later on. Both are super nice, easy-going guys. Jono has 2 huge Newfoundland dogs. Phebe is old and doesn't move around
so good anymore so she mostly just hangs out in front of the fire. Ralphy is still a puppy, he's one year old and weighs over 100 pounds but doesn't realize how big he really is. Staying at The Wavehaven long-term are Tom, Barney and Belinda. Tom is from Southen England and is working as a carpenter in town. Barney is from Scotland. He has a Ph.D in chemisty and got a job tutoring kids in science and math. He works in the afternoon so he has plenty of time to surf before work. Belinda is from here but is moving to Australia in a couple weeks and working as a physical therapist at a hospital in town. Everyone is really friendly and nice.
On Tuesday, I wake up early excited to surf. I started driving south from The Wavehaven and checked every spot for the next 80 kms. I drove around for almost 3 hours before I gave up. Everywhere that had waves was blown out and everywhere that the wind was ok was really small. The nice thing about Taranaki is that its a peninsula so if it's blown out on one side you can drive to
the other side. If you look on a map, it's on the west coast 2/3 of the way down and sticks out pretty far. The other good things about Taranaki is that it is rarely lacking in swell but sometimes you have to wait for the winds to be right. The good breaks are far enough away from any major towns that a lot of the time it can be head high with no one out. Sometimes I will be checking the surf and it's pumping with no one out. I start thinking is there something everyone else knows that I don't know? Why isn't there anyone surfing here? There just aren't enough people or some of the spots take some time to walk to so they're empty. I'm stoked because I'm totally reaping the benefits of being a surf bum.
So on my way back to The Wavehaven I saw a sign for Dawson Falls and decided to try to make my day somewhat productive. Dawson Falls is in Egmont National Park which is the main attraction in Taranaki for non-surfers. Dawson Falls was just like Bridal Veil Falls in the fact that it was a very short
walk to the overlook. It wasn't as tall as Bridal Veil Falls and was less impressive, but was nice and worth the drive to see it.
Wednesday, Barney and I went to check the surf. It's small and blown out so we drive back to The Wavehaven. When I get out of the van, I smelled antifreeze. I looked under my van and there is a huge puddle of water and a small oil stain. Barney informed me that Al was a mechanic and that I should have him look at it. I drove my van to the garage where Al works and dropped it off. When Al got home, he told me he had bad news which made my heart sink. He said that I have a hole in my radiator and I might have blown the head gasket causing the oil leak. He said he would have to take the head gasket off to see if it was cracked or not. If you don't know, you basically have to rip the engine apart to get to the head gasket. If the head gasket is blown, it would cost more to fix it than the van is worth.
I was going to be without transportation for at least the next 4 or 5 days so I figured I might as well get comfortable.
Thursday, I get good news that I haven't blown my head gasket but it's going to cost me a bit of money to fix. Al said he would do the work this weekend here which would save me a couple hundred dollars. I felt so lucky not that my van broke down but to be staying here when this happened and there's a mechanic that lives here.
Friday is my first surf in Taranaki and turns out to be my best session of the trip so far (even now). Barney and I walk 15-20 minutes down the beach to a left point break called Kumera Patch. The beach reminds me of a beach you might see in Canada. The weather is cold, the sky is grey, the wind is howling out of the southeast which is sideshore/offshore, the beach has black sand, there's heaps of drift wood littering the beach, you can see big rocks poking up in the surf and there's no one around. It has to be one of the most
scenic places I've ever surfed. Looking out from the surf are just rolling, green pastures with the majestic snow covered Mount Taranaki in the background. As a side note...in the film The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise they filmed it in Taranaki and used Mount Taranaki for Mount Fiji. Anyways back to the surf, Barney and I get to the point and it pumping. It's 5-8' and no one out. I can see the current is ripping down the beach so I walked a little further up the point to paddle out. I wasn't expecting it to be that big so I'm riding my 5'10". When I start paddling out, I feel like I'm on a treadmill. I'm not getting out but I'm being swept down the beach. I start thinking, is it possible that I'm going to get denied for a second time this trip? It is way too good out there to get denied again. I get out of the water, walk back up the beach, paddle out again and make it out this time. I sit on the peak by myself for about an hour before 2 more guys paddle out. With the wind blowing so hard
and with my board being so short, I had to drop in late so I wouldn't get blown off the wave. Once up and riding the wave went forever. It must have been a 200+ yard left. I was getting at least 4+ turns on every wave. Think Trestles but a left and empty. Absolute perfection. The 2 guys that paddles out sat on the shoulder and let me catch every and any set wave I wanted. Barney is learning how to surf so he was sitting on the shoulder too. I felt like I was in a dream because it was too good to be true.
Saturday, Barney and I wake up super early and do the predawn patrol at Kumera Patch. It was raining and the wind was howling out of the south so it was way more disorganized. It was a little bit bigger than the day before and stormy. I brought my bigger board which was a good call. It felt a little sketchy paddling out in the dark with no one else out and how stormy the surf was. I caught a few waves and decided to get out after a couple good one.
I didn't see Barney and thought that maybe he was waiting for me back at the car. I got half way back to the car and saw Barney walking 30-40 yards behind me. He was surfing the inside and somehow I didn't see him when I got out.
Barney has 2 friends from Scotland living in Wellington and was getting a ride from Rose (Jono's wife) to go there for a party. He invited me to come to the party and as most people know I have trouble saying no to a good party especially when the surf is stormy. Rose was going to Wellington the same day for a party too. Wellington is about a 4-5 hour drive from Oakura so it worked out really well that we could all carpool together. It was mostly sunny the whole way to Wellington but as soon as we got close it started raining. Wellington is the Seattle of New Zealand. It's a really cool city with a good music scene but it's cold and rainy a lot of the time. It would be a cool place to live if there were waves there. Wellington is on the southern tip of
mini-Front of Totem Pole
Totem Pole at the Visitor's Center next to Dawson Fallsthe island so most of the swell is blocked by the South Island. Rose dropped us off once we got into Wellington and we met up with Barney's Scottish friends Chris and Teva. We went to their flat to drop off our stuff before we went to the party. We got to the party and it was a reggae party. The girls having the party had a box full of clothes to help people dress up. As soon as we got there, they put dresses on Barney and Teva. I don't know what is rasta about a guy wearing a dress but better them than me. I luckily had a Bob Marley t-shirt on so at least I was somewhat dressed appropriately. They tied somekind of skirt-like thing around my waist so I wasn't completely off the hook. We had a great time. Everyone got drunk and danced. Barney made people dance that didn't even want to dance (HA HA Barney). The next day was a beautiful, rare sunny day. We went out for breakfast and walked around the city until we met up with Rose to go home.
We got back from Wellington and my van was out
of the garage and in the driveway so I knew it was fixed. I was so stoked but that didn't last more than a week. About a week later my alternator broke and I was stranded again. I don't know what I would have done besides sitting around being miserable if it wasn't for Barney. He has been driving me all over Taranaki surfing. Cheers Barney, I intend on returning the favor once my van is up and running.
The week after Wellington, Barney and I had some good surfs at Kumera Patch. I also had a good session at a place called Rocky Rights. It's a right point that was just freight training with a bunch of rocks on the inside. You can see all these boils and rocks popping up on the inside so it can be a little sketchy if you find yourself there. It was about head high with some overhead sets. The bigger set waves were closing out. It was a hard to figure out which ones were makeable and which ones weren't. It was my most crowded session in Taranaki which consisted of maybe 6 people. Still blows my mind how uncrowded it
mini-More Cows on the Road
While checking surf, there were heaps of cows being moved to another field. I thought they were going to walk right into my van but at the last second they would go on the right or left side of me. is here. I was able to catch a few goods so I was stoked. I met with a guy Mike that owns The Timandra Motel in New Plymouth. He had an add on helpx.net which is a website for backpackers looking to work 20 hrs/wk in exchange for accommodation and food. I will be doing some painting, gardening/landscaping, office work and whatever else he needs me to do. Mike and his wife Sheryl bought the motel last year. He seems really nice and he's willing to be flexible with my hours so I can surf in the morning when the surf is good. I'm really hoping it will work out because it seems like it would be an ideal situation.
Al, Barney, Tom and I went into New Plymouth for a big night on the town. New Plymouth is considered the big city in Taranaki and it's about 15 minutes north of Oakura. We bar hopped around. We heard that Friday isn't a big night to go out around here so most of the bars only had a few people in them. In addition to the fact that it was Friday another factor was I think a lot of
mini-Kitesurfer @ Fitzroy Beach
Fitzroy Beach is the best wave in New Plymouth. I don't ever check it nor have I surfed up there yet. people were saving up for the All Blacks game the next night. My favorite place that we went to was a small bar with less than 15 people in it that had a 2-piece punk band playing called Punk Mother. They had a song called Punk Mother and I think those were the only lyrics. They just kept repeating Punk Mother. It was really funny. The 2 guys in the band were completely wasted but it was very entertaining. I woke up the next morning with Punk Mother playing over and over in my head.
The last week and a half has been mostly uneventful because of my lack of transportation more than anything. I've had some more good, empty sessions at Kumera Patch. I also surfed a place just down the street from The Wavehaven called Weld Rd. It's a mellow right point that's more of a longboarder wave. I also surfed another mellow right point called Mangahumes. It is a really good wave once it gets overhead. It's in Opunake which is approx 45 km south of Oakura and is considered the surf town in Taranaki. I like the surf around Oakura better. On a windy, small
mini-South End of Fitzroy Beach
South end of Fitzroy Beach and New Plymouth day Barney and I threw down a skate session on the mini-ramp at Vertigo. It was really fun and I was stoked there was a mini-ramp to skate out here.
Tomorrow (as long as there aren't any problems with my van) I'm heading to the northern tip to surf a place called Shipwrecks. It's a well known left point break that is supposed to be epic and one of the best waves on the North Island. When I leave there, I'm planning on coming back to Taranaki and start working at the motel. Sorry this blog was so long winded but I've been here for a while. Also, sorry about the lack of surf pictures, I'll take a bunch when I get back.
A big shout out and cheers to Jono and Al for being so nice and taking care of me.
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Johnny
non-member comment
Hey ho lets go
Oye man, sounds like a blast, hope the van is up and running smoothly. U got some Skating in on those windy days and solid surf when its on. Murph and I went to trestles to battle for some good ones last weekend, fun surf but the polar opposite (and actually location) of what you're doing. More pics of the line up please...so i can dream from my desk in san diego...