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Published: September 18th 2006
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I know its been a while since my last entry but I haven't had any good adventures lately. No good stories and to quote Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia Founder) "Adventure doesn't start until something goes wrong". By that definition, my adventure has definitely started but lately its been a little lackluster.
The day after I got back to Taranaki, Barney and I had a good surf at Kumera Patch. After Barney got back from work that night, we drove down to Wellington for the weekend. Barney's girlfriend's birthday was on Saturday. After being in the middle of nowhere for the past week (Northland), I was ready to go to the city for a bit of partying. For Ari's birthday we went out to a Greek restaurant and then went back to her flat for a party. The rest of the weekend, we just hung out and saw some of the sights in Wellington.
The next week I got in a few good surfs. I almost ripped the fin out of my surfboard when I hit a rock at a place called Rocky Lefts. The name definitely fits the place. At the end of the week I started working at the
motel. We painted the bedrooms and replaced some of the fixtures. That weekend was Barney's birthday. The last All Blacks Rugby game of the Tri Nations Tournament so a bunch of people came to the Wavehaven to watch the game and then party for Barney's birthday. The All Blacks won the tournament. Everyone was stoked. It was a bit mellow after the rugby game and I was starting to think no one was in the mood to party. A couple people that came over to watch the rugby game brought over a bunch of stuff to make pizzas. Once everyone got their fill of pizza, we all started doing keg stands. From there the party took off and went into full swing. It was a good time. Late night, the music changed to some kind of dance music (drum and bass, jungle, I don't know) and it felt like being at a rave in the middle of a farm. It was a little bit strange but that's how they do it in New Zealand.
The next week, I did some work at the motel and surfed a few times. That weekend Mike (the guy I work for) and I
went up to Mount Ruapehu to do some snowboarding. Mike has a friend Brian that owns a backpackers close to the mountain. Mike was going up there to help Brian cook for a big group of high school kids that were going to be staying there and I tagged along. I woke up really early Saturday morning stoked to do some riding and it was raining really hard. I was really bummed. That night Nigle (a guy staying at the backpackers) and I went to a bar in the closest town to see Volcom's new snowboard video called Escramble. It kindof reminded me of being in Southern California because everyone was broing out. Sunday ended up being really good. Mike's friend Paul and his friends Bryce and Mike drove up to go riding for the day. They gave me a ride to the mountain and I rode with them all day which was good because riding alone can get boring. There were a few inches of fresh snow on the mountain and the afternoon sun made the snow nice and soft. We all hucked ourselves off every jump and drop we could find. I was expecting a typical mountain with
mini-Teva Fist-pumping
Teva Fist-pumping excited about Ari's birthday party. a bunch of trees like Mammoth or Big Bear or Vermont. Because the ski field is on an active volcano, there isn't one tree on the whole mountain. It's just really open. Monday wasn't as good as Sunday because there wasn't any fresh snow and it was icy. The view from the top was absolutely amazing. Nigle and I were going to hike to the very top of the mountain, take some pictures and ride all the way back to the car. I went to the car to get my camera so I could take some pictures. By the time we got back to the top of the mountain where the ski lift let us off, clouds had moved in so we bagged the hike and I didn't get any good pictures. The next morning, I heard on the radio that a few people got stuck on the mountain over night and had to be rescued. It is probably a good thing we didn't hike to the top of the mountain because Nigle and I might have gotten stuck up there too.
Since I got back from snowboarding, I haven't left New Plymouth. I've been surfing in the morning
mini-Billy Happy
My mom said there aren't enough pictures of me. Here's me with a big cheeseball smile. and working in the afternoon so it's working out perfect. I got to go wakeboarding with Bryce like 2 weeks ago which was fun. I was sore for about the whole next week. The last week we had some solid surf. I took my camera to the beach on one of the smaller days. I always forget to take it on the really good days. It is just habit not to take anything to the beach. One less thing worry about. At the motel, I have been doing a lot of gardening. I think that is basically all I'll be doing for a while. The gardens haven't been touched in the last 2 or 3 years so there is a lot of weeding and planting to be done. I have about 75% of the orchard and rose garden done. It is a very satisfying feeling taking something ugly and turning it into something very beautiful.
I don't have any trips planned. I'll probably do some more wakeboarding and maybe try to do a few surf trips. I am also trying to find a gym to do jiu jitsu. This week I am going to start applying for a bartending
and restaurant jobs. I want to try to work a few nights a week and save some money. I'm planning on working this spring and the whole summer. When those of you come to visit in the fall, I can stop working and spend the last 2 months or so just touring around. For anyone that wants to come, the best time for me is between March and May which is also really good months for surf.
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Johnny Lane
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Wild Bill
Nice! It looks like you are taking advantage of NewZealand even while you are stationary. How cold is that water now? And how warm will it be at it warmest. Still looks like some fun lil ones rolling through. check out murphy's site for some sick pics from the Boost Moblie at Trestles, we surfed uppers the moring of and it was fun.