Between Swells: East to West

Semi unplanned trips have its positives for sure. We have switched and mixed-n-matched our plans quite a bit recently. Waves, wine, wind and winding roads have been or planning tools for the last little while as we have finished off the east coast for now and are currently in Taranaki in the west. The weather has made us shift our plans and new ideas keep popping up which keeps us moving around. Our palates have enjoyed the journey as well as our boards.

During our last couple days in Gisborne the waves became non existent so we had to switch our game plan around. We did an afternoon at a restaurant/winery called 'The Works' where we tasted local cheese, beers and wine. Before we knew it a day had past. Another day, which was bloody cold, was spent doing laundry where we set up camp by the dyers. That easily kills the day. With nothing left to do in Gisborne we left Tuesday morning down the coast to attempt a morning surf at Blacks in the Mahia peninsula which failed. Next stop, Napier.

We arrived in Napier in the early afternoon but ended up going a bit further to stay in Hastings. Here we found another Top 10 campground with all the perks and good location to the waves and wineries. We left the infamous art deco in Napier to disappoint us at a later date. With waves still not to be seen, we organized a wine tour with Odyssey for our first full day. We did a hike/jog up Te Mata (which I later realized means 'it kills you' in Spanish). It was an amazing hike to an amazing view and both times we did the hike we did it sans camera.

Our wine tour began around noon where we made out way to a surfers vineyard first called Clearview. Nice wines but no winners for us. From there we went to this overly expensive vineyard called Elephant Hill. This place cost about 36 million to build. The reason it is so expensive is because the entire outside of the building is made from aged imported copper from Germany. It is probably worth double now but the intention of the architect was to make the building blend into the colour of the ocean. For me it looks like a big turquoise box. From there we did three more wineries. The last one, Mission Estate, we had a cheese, bread and meat platter to wrap up the day. On the drive home our guide took us to see the Art Deco of Napier which attracts people from all over the world. He told us what to look at and I can see why it is neat but it looks like Back to the Future when they are in the 50's.

Hawk's Bay (primarily - Hastings/Napier and North Havelock) turned out to be where most money is in New Zealand. A lot of big beautiful houses in the valleys really added to the charm in the area. We really liked being there but all that was missing were the waves. The day after the wine tours we toured some the of the open beaches south of Hastings to see if anything was forming. We managed to find a couple ankle biters and made an afternoon of it in Wiamarama. On the way down we went to a honey factory, did a little tour and tasted about 12 honeys. Surprising honey is a lot like wines meaning they have many different tastes and characteristics.

The next morning we ventured back to the same beach to find it absolutely massive and out of control. Smile on my face because the swell arrived we headed to better areas. We arrived at Te Awanga point which is meant to be a mellow longboarding point break. This day though it was a firing a Wave of Beauty. I power-jumped into my suit and into the water to begin my Te Awanga assult. First wave was a couple hundred meters long. I would finish the ride and catch one more wave down the point then run back to the tip of the point. I did laps for an hour and was in absolute bliss. Laura was in the opposite. Unfamiliar with the spot and feeling a bit uncomfortable, it took her time to get into it. But it all came to a quick end when a girl came slamming into her and put a fin through her board. She attempted one more time on my Proton and then called it a day. I on the other hand surfed 8 hours and probably would still be in the water today if the wave stayed around. It changed characteristics as the tide change and I loved every second. Probably the funnest day of surf I have ever had. Truly epic.

Surf stoke in full effect, we crashed early, meaning it was still light out. The next day we checked out of our campsite and made our way to some other waves after stopping at the Saturday market in Napier. It was not much to say the least but we ate a killer steak, egg and onion sandwich and possibly I also had a sausage on a bun. We ended up surfing City Reef in Napier. Laura, back on point, had a great session and I followed suit. Fun A-frame wave and when speaking to one of the local guys, told me that it was a good day for the wave. It is nice to know you are scoring a wave when it is in proper form. We did a few hours there before making our way back to Te Awanga for an afternoon session. The swell was on its way out in a hurry but managed to score some more epic rides and pulled off another 8 hour day.

Next day we decided to check out the Sunday Market in Hastings. This market had it all. We ended up buying a full picnic of pork/olive/pistachio pate, smoked venison, hummus, focaccia bread and some cheeses. Plus another steak sandwich and sausage from the same Saturday market stall. We surfed a bit of the outgoing swell at Te Awanga where we were camping and in the water heard about a wine festival down the street. We ventured over to find our bottle of wine to accompany our picnic for dinner. Worked out to be one of those perfect days.

The following day we drove the 400km to Wellington in the south end of the north island. We really liked the city and think it has a lot more character than Auckland but the wind is a bit annoying. We checked into our campground in the heart of the city that was slightly awkward but actually worked out really well because we were walking distance to everything. We did a hike to the top of Victora peak to check out the views and then with hungry stomachs, made our way to an Indian restuarant downtown. Pretty good Indian too. The goat was a winner.

Our full day in Wellington was spent in the Te Papa museum. A few hours in there and we felt satisfied with the city. We were meant to go to the Tongariro Crossing but the weather has been a bit cloudy and rainy in that region so we made our way to some west coast waves in Taranaki.

Taranaki is a region that has many waves and hikes. Today was spent hiking at Egmont Mountain where we did two hikes, Dawson Falls and something plateau. The mountain is a dormant volcano and it definitely makes up the scenery in and around the Taranaki region. After the hike and checking out the town of Opunake, I made it in for an evening session at the local beach break. Tomorrow we are off to another town around here to find some more of the same.

The nicer side of the copper structure