New Zealand

I am now in New Zealand, and having a blast. i am traveling with my Ecuadorian friend Stefan and my roommate Chad. i am now 6 days into my journey and enjoying every bit of it. after staying the night in a little dive motel in Auckland i picked up Stefan at the airport and headed to Raglin a small surf town on the west coast of the north island. the poor weather and late arrival of Stefan's flight forced us to stop and pick up a hotel in hamilton. all hotel except one were fully booked when we arrived, thus we were forced to stay at what was by far the worst hotel i have ever seen much less slept in. in a short description the room cost only $15 US and the mattress were so old and slept in that you could nearly feel the box spring, the bathroom was down the hall and it smelled of formaldehyde, and stale urine, the only other people that we say that night appeared to be either prostitutes or crack heads, it was a bit dilapidated to say the least. but the good news is from the next morning on things have only gotten better. we arrived in Raglan at around eight, and headed directly for the surf. the waves were okay, and it was a little windy, but we managed too have a good time. after the morning session we headed into town the grab a bite and check into the campground. while in town we stopped by the local surf shop to see what the locals had to say about the swell in the next couple of days. the shop owner only had positive things, stoked from the local swell forecast, we set up camp and headed out for an evening surf. the conditions were still a bit ruff and windy but the swell was building, which kept our hopes up. while out in the water i met a two guys one from hermosa and one from San Diego. Paul the guy from San Diego is a lifeguard has done a lifegaurd exchange program and will be working as a guard in NZ for about 6 months, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. he ended up to be a really nice guy and invited Stefan and I to the local surf club to have a few beers with him and the other guards. they were all very nice, and most of them ended up being from the states. one of then went to uc santa cruz, and new and hung out with mike fran and all the manhattan guys that go school up there, small world. the next day we awoke early to find the wind had died over night and the swell had kept building, producing some great surfing conditions. we surfed for nearly three hours with a relatively small crowd, i didn't think it was going to get much better than that. i was wrong. after a protein shake sandwich, and a little nap for Stefan we headed back out for the second surf of the day. as i hopped off the rocks into the surf i did not know what i was about to experience. in the next three hours i would surf some of the best waves of my life in a nearly empty lineup. over three hours i sat in the water with a guy from carlsbad, his girls friend who did not catch any waves. Boden (the guy from carlsbad) and i sat at the peak and traded 6-11 ft waves for almost two hours. i don't know which was more tired my arms from paddling for so many waves or my cheeks from the smile that was glued to my face because i was so stoked. it was nearly surreal, as i looked around in the water i could hardly imagine a more beautiful image. the sun was shining, the landscape was pristine, and the sets just kept rolling in. unfortunately the swell died off the next day, but that was okay with us, it gave us a reason to head south, and see more of the island. we spent the next night just south of New Plymouth in a truly beach front camp site, the only thing that separated use from the sand was a wood fence, and it only cost $14 Kiwi, i don't know how but i didn't ask. being thanksgiving we treated ourselves to a nice dinner and a few drinks at the local tavern, for god sakes my $40 meal cost more than my accommodation for the night, what a deal. in the morning we rose early and drove south, making a pit stop at Stent Road, known for being one of  the most consistent breaks in the area, we figured we would at least give it a look. when we arrived we were surprised to find rather good  surf, and although the water was a little chillier than i would have like, Stent Road provided us with very enjoyable 3 hour session. the past 24 hours has been relatively uneventful filled mostly with driving and a nights stay in wanganue. we have just arrived in wellington and have plans to meet up with chad and take the ferry over to the south island at 9 PM.