I sat overlooking Raglans majestic point breaks practicing on my Ukulele reflecting on an awesome week so far and things were about to get better although I was unaware of this at the time, I was simply taking in the beauty of our land.

The time came and I went to pick my sister from another mister up and set off on our mission to Whangamata for the Longboard National Surfing Championships in a weeks time. We decided we would stop off in Ohope to pick up a surfboard from her Whanau who have a beautiful home and Motel a stones throw from the ocean. We stayed in a beautiful unit which overlooked Ohope beach and if any of you are looking for accommodation around the Whakatane area I would definitely recommend Sea View Motel, you are guaranteed a sea view and to have yourself a friendly, comfy, relaxing stay. Four days later we thought we had best be on our way after soaking up the sun, surfing super fun Ohope waves, hula hooping and searching for Moko the bodyboard thieving resident dolphin.

The weekend kicked off on Friday for most of New Zealands top competitive surfers. The weather forecast was near perfect and the waves on the rise. I flew on into the big city of Auckland and picked up my ride…a Hybrid Spaceship to be precise. The ins and outs of the spaceship were explained to me, like how the petrol goes further and is friendly on mother earth because the car is also powered by a battery hence the name Hybrid.

Unfortunately when we got into Rags the surf had not yet picked up but we hit the point anyway in hope for a freak set or two to come through, but we were definitely a little too optimistic. Lucky for us there were waves the next day, still pretty darn small but I had cancelled my subscription to expectations and went out. There ended up being some super fun wee waves and the swell was picking up fast.

Competition time and there were little waves lingering when the women hit the water. We were up nice and early in the morning and the wind was nice and light with the sun shining, being the first heat in the water I was able to sneak a few pearlers in. That heat went well and I moved through to the finals. They decided to hold all of the womens heats up until the final on Saturday, the morning was fun but as the day progressed the wave quality diminished. My semi final was an absolute nightmare with half a foot (knee high) onshore waves breaking onto dry rocks at Manu Bay, definately the most challenging conditions I have had to surf but the age old saying “we are all in the same boat” springs to mind and if you lucked onto a set wave and surfed it well you were safe and sound.

Cups of tea on the jetty in the sunshine with good friends,walking up into the amazing Bridal Veil Falls and lots of surfing is what went down also.

A big huge thank you to the Poulter family for having me over the week, your awesome!!

Off to Whanga in a few days for the Longboarding Nationals, good times.

I hope everyone on the east coast are safe and sound after the Tsunami and thoughts are going out to those in Chile. xx

Kia Ora Guys, Hope your all loving the winter olympics, the chicks in the mogel ski division were throwing some huge airs and going so dam fast last night…epic!

My first block of contests and fun times around NZ has come to a close…well almost, there’s still a 5 hour drive to Dunnas to go.

Sandy Bay was the last contest on the agenda and I came out with the gold. We had such a good time hanging out under the Pohutukawa Trees, hula hooping in the sunshine and heading out for two or three surfs a day.

Tom and I headed to the far north straight from Whangamata and got some solid waves but unfortunately the winds were onshore most of the week throughout the weekend.

Sunny from Raglan Longboards doing the dew.

After a macking drive south from Sandy bay (far north) to Kuatunu (Coro), Raglan ($40 fine), Wellington and almost finally Christchurch, Dunedin is the next stop on the Longboarding Circuit so fingers crossed we get some friendly waves

The coolest Family on the beach I reckon!

I would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful people who I met along the way of my travels and who opened their homes. You are all amazing!

Heya, The first contest of the season for me and it went pretty well. The Whangamata Pro happens every year apart from last year where it was postponed because the ocean replicated a mil pond. This year we were much luckier and Hughey dished up some good 3ft waves consistently throughout the weekend.

Currently I lye flat on my bed with a tired body, the paddle was a pretty solid one today and I felt like I had put a bit of energy into both heats today so it was a good intense morning.

The female surfers in NZ have risen the bar quiet considerably and it is amazing to watch, especially seeing grommies who were once mini groms, grow up and shred! Keep shrowwping!

Cheers Mountain Dew!!

Well I might head off and have a Nana nap now.

Ka Kite

Aotearoa offers so much, we have a lot of wonderful native bush, birds, insects and breathe taking coastlines. The amount of freedom we have to live in nooks with barely a sole in sight or a city with busy people hustling past is incredible. It is up to us, we can choose what ever suits our lifestyle.

The reason for such deep thoughts about New Zealand and its’ beauty is because at this minute I am being inspired by the bird songs, the cicadas’ tuuurp and the cool breeze which is floating through the ferns and Punga trees with the coast not far for a dip to cool the limbs.

Eleven days of being on the road has been awesome, we have so far covered spots which have been experienced before but every time has something different going on. The west coast offered us some beautiful waves with a huge crowd but surprisingly mellow vibes. We then made our way over east where they have been starved for waves all summer but I can say now that we are in for a pumping surprise, nevertheless the water is beautiful, after have three swims and a classic kiwi BBQ under the Pohutukawa trees I had had my ocean fix. It is such a novelty coming from the South where yes it stays light for ages at night but the cool air tends to drive us back inside, here it is generally only the mozzies that will do that.

The summer adventures have kicked off and I am on my way with my lad Tom tripping from spot to spot until we reach Whangamata for the Billagbong Pro at the end of this month and then Sandy Bays Longboard Tour Event the following weekend. So far we have brought the sunshine with us most of the way, scoring some super fun waves in Kaiks on the way through to the ferry. Setting up camp was made to be a breeze with our new Beta Spaceship complete with side awning to shelter us and give us some extra room.

Wellington was a family affair, catching up with whanau who I hadn’t seen for about 10 years! Lots of good laughs and yummy Kai went down and we were off to our next destination on the west coast of Aotearoa to get amongst some WWOOFING. No not barking like a dog…Willing Workers On Organic Farms is what WWOOF stands for. It’s something new to me and so far interesting. We are nestled up in the hills surrounded by native bush and a close view of the ocean through the haze of rain drops. Off to get some surf this afternoon.

Hey guys, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope it’s rocking along quite nicely for you all with the summer sun beaming.

I’m getting amped to start the mission north to get some warm wave time and adventures going. The first event of the longboard circuit was posponed as the waves were tiny…I had decided not to go to the comp before hand because my Dad was turning over the big six zero! So no loss inplanes tickets there but for some travelling north from the south would have been extreemly dissapointed.

Today my legs are on fire after a days sailing in the Lyttleton Harbour, it was amazing seeing the land from a different perspective. The hectors even came out for a play.

Good times at sea but please people…slip slop slap and wrap!

P.S this pic is from earlier in the year supporting 350.org

Morena!  Last night was my last night as a 20 year old, and I wondered to myself…Have I done or achieved everything that I wanted in this year?  I possibly left it a little bit late if I hadn’t but lucky I pondered and found that yes, I was rather satisfied. It triggered another thought though and that thought was to really truely live life up and take as many opportunities as you can having as much fun as you can because your never going to get another year like the one that has just been.

On a less deep note…here is a pic of my flat mate (Yes he is dressed in a Mountain Dew outfit) His girl Mal and him let the creative juices flow when he came home and said he needed to dress in green or red at work tomorrow to show real christmas spirt. Big ups to that! Geoff will be providing many smiles today, awesome!  Have a wicked Christmas guys!!!