Mountain Dew New Zealand

Diary of PNG Trip – Stiches, cracked ribs, new surf breaks, barrels!

angie.koops — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:15:24 +0000

Day 2 and we were off to the slab again as it was such a good place to shoot. The boat would sit in the channel only a few feet away from where the wave would actually finish. It made it pretty good for Sheildsy ASL photographer to pick up a few good shots.

In the arvo we went to catch up with some of the local kids give them some broken boards as they were the perfect size for them and teach them how to surf. Dru was pushing them into waves, lots of the kids they were floating around on little blocks of polystyrene and planks of wood. Dru and I gave our boards for a couple of the kids to try and they were amazing! Standing up and even doing little top turns.

After that we went to Millies a really nice left hander point break, it was so good to ride back hand and rack up a few turns.

In the evening after dinner we were surprised by a visit of PNG musical group they were all dressed up in traditional outfits they had a lot of homemade instruments also bangos and guitars. They sung us heaps of songs they had made up themselves. It was really nice to meet them and experience a bit of their culture.

PNG Band

Day 3 – Surfer Girl

When I woke up we were still travelling to our next destination, Ryan one of the surfers was reeling in this great big yellow fin tuna. It took us another two hours to get to this other beautiful island I had no idea where we were. This time we took two of the boats loaded with surfboards water and beers and went exploring for waves it took us another 20 mins searching the coastline before we reached this sweet left hander. It was fun and there were lots of PNG kids lining the beach all watching our every move. It was really funny because I don’t think they had ever seen a surfer girl before when I finished riding my waves they would all scream and cheer so loud, much louder than for all the boys haha. On board our boat we had PNG’s best surfer Titimah he was a great guy and a great surfer. It was really sad because the day before he got a fin chop on his ankle and it started to get really infected to the point where he could not stand on it. It was so swollen and I was really worried for him. It was so bad.

Day 4 – The Day of Carnage!

We all went back to the left we had surfed the previous day. All the boys and I were getting a few good waves and then Lincoln got this bomb it was really big and he was super deep. He took off and the wave chandeliered on him a big bit of water collapsed the opening of the wave and he got slammed to the reef his board hit him on the head. When he popped up I saw all this blood and a hole in his head. Dardy one of the surf guides rushed him back on the small boat. Thankfully we were moored next to this mining site and they actually had a great hospital. If it had happened anywhere else he would have been in a bit of trouble. He got 14 stiches in his head a peice of coral punctured his elbow and bursed his bursa sack also a puncture hole a few inches deep around his hip region. So sad because he was charging and so good to watch and he had to just hang on the boat for the next three days and not surf. The carnage didn’t stop there though, Howard a knee boarder who was on the trip got smashed onto the reef, lost his flippers, sprained his ankle really bad and cracked a rib. The day of carnage!!

Wave that caused the carnage

Day 5 – Big Barrels!

In the morning the wind was up so we decided to just gas it all the way to a new location about 4hours away. It was so beautiful and there were tonnes of set ups everywhere. We moored in another beautiful bay where the locals would paddle there tree carved canoes over to see us on the boat. Again we took the 24footer out to explore the area and found a really challenging right hander you had to paddle in super fast and then pretty much just drop into the barrel. I got a few beet downs and I pulled into the biggest barrel ever. I was really deep and the thing closed out on me but I really didn’t care! I was just stoked to be inside that crazy thing

Day 6 – First Girl to EVER Surf this spot!

We decided to go and explore few different areas this time and found a couple of waves that nobody has ever surfed. There were two lefts we found and one of them was a winner. For about two hours the place was so good!! I paddled out and caught a couple of waves. I was the first girl to have ever surf this place along with the boys who were the first to ever surf it. Pretty crazy! You had a moment of how the early surfing travellers must have felt surfing new locations nobody has ever surfed before. I was a little intimidating not knowing what the coral reef was like etc but it was pretty special finding a new surf spot nobody has ever surfed. The boys spent the rest of the day trying to think up good names to call the new surf spots a few goodens were fired around but it was still in debate.

New wave in PNG that NOBODY had ever surfer!

Day 7 – Waves Dropped

The next day we went back to the new surfing spots but the waves had dropped in size and it wasn’t quite as good as the previous day. We did a bit of chilling out on the boat eating and watching some vids.

Day 8 – Last Day

The last day had a little surf out at the new spot but again the swell wasn’t quite big enough by the arvo we were steaming back to Keviang by the morning we reached Keviang and everybody was packing up for their flight out of there back to their homes. It was an amazing experience with carnage and adventure. Something I will never forget.

Papua New Guinea Explorer Day 1

angie.koops — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:07:21 +0000

Day 1 on the PNG explorer.

The plane touched down on a little island called Kavieng. There we met the captain Andrew and all of the boys and I piled into the back of a ute and headed for the boat called the PNG explorer. Jude our awesome chef prepared us an amazing dinner whilst we were moored in the harbour when we all went to bed the skipper left Kavieng and headed about 6 hours south.

Our boat - the PNG Explorer

We woke up to find we were moored in-between these two amazing little islands full of nothing but palm trees, bush and a few traditional PNG huts. The day started with the most amazing breakfast spread, pancakes tropical fruit freshly baked bread, cereal and an espresso coffee to kick start the morning. We loaded the surf boards and piled into the 24 footer boat and went searching for the best breaking waves. The Slab was the first wave we surfed and it was pretty challenging as the tide was super low so there wasn’t much water over the coral reef. The boys were taking off on some super shallow narly waves that just closed out. Dru took off on one of the biggest sets and got smashed onto the reef he came up with blood seeping through his shirt so I made sure I took off on the ones that were actually going to have a bit of a wall and not kill me on the first surf. After a few hours we all went back to the PNG explorer got the lime juice out and squeezed it into all the fresh cuts to kill all the bacteria and live organisms that are on the coral reef and then gorged ourselves on lunch while we waited for the wind to drop and the tide to fill up.

The next arvo sesh was so much better it was actually a bit bigger but not that same dry reef I took off on a few bigger ones and started to get the feel for that wave. We all had a good session but my last wave I took off really late got caught in the lip and smashed to the reef hit my hip really hard but was lucky not to get all scrapped up – I think I got away pretty lightly really. In all it was a awesome challenging first day in PNG.

NEWS FLASH!!! Wolf Song is completed

shelly.gotlieb — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:07:17 +0000

No words are needed, this is pure art!

Now my work here is done, I can get back to snowboarding

1000 pieces of animals inside animals…that’s not square, no big deal

Scored some waves at The Mount

kirk.beyer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:32:27 +0000

Still a bit dissapointed from the bad loss at Whangamata, we stopped into the Mount on the way home and I finally found the sweet spot on my new board! This board is so mean! Just didn’t have enough time to suss it out before the contest!

Stoked though, looking forward to practicing the next two weeks before the Port Waikato comp at the end of the month!

Chur chur. Mount Main beach super fun, check out the pics below:

Photo credit: My lovely wife on her little camera

A manky weekend

kirk.beyer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:30:13 +0000

Usually at surf comps I go to the problem is that the waves are too small . . . at Whangamata on the weekend for the Hyundai Pro Longboard tour it was the opposite – the waves were too big. Well, not too big but just ugly and too much water.

Join that with the fact that I’m unfit and you get me in my heat paddling for 20mins trying to get out the back. Caught one wave scoring a 4.5 but couldn’t get out the back again to catch another. I even came in and ran up the beach but just ran out of time!

So round 3 was as far as I made it in this comp which was very dissapointing, but it was good to watch the other competitors ripping. On Sunday the wind went offshore and the waves dropped for the finals. A good mate of mine Dylan Barnfield was on fire the whole comp and managed to take it out, it was a great final to watch.

Big ups to fellow MD Ambassador Daisy Thomas for winning the national title again! What a legend. Daisy and I gave out some Mountain Dew to a bunch of people along the Whangamata beach before her final, everyone was super stoked to meet her and then watch her win! Check out some of the pics below…

The journey to the Nationals…

daisy.thomas — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:17:26 +0000

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.

Next stop was onto Whangamata, the surf was looking good but we had faith the evening sesh was going to be the bees knees so we killed time on the hula hoops having a laugh. Mischa Mermaid and Sophie Stingray arrived later that evening and we had an awesome surf in 2-3ft glassy waves, the water was so beautifully warm!

Talk about town was that the waves were picking up quiet considerably along with the wind, I decided you never really know until the time comes. Sure enough we are greeted with hmmm a solid 4-6ft of chucky swell rolling through Whanga beach and onshore winds…not exactly ideal for Longboards, well not really an ideal day to be in the ocean full stop but thats cool as everyone is in the same boat and you just have to get out there and do it. The ladies had to surf twice that day, first heat of the morning and last heat of the day. There was a heap of paddling going on and plenty on hold downs. Towards the end of the day it looked as though the waves had picked up even more and it was the first time in a while that I had felt a little uneasy about heading out in those conditions. The Open Men were even talking about how heavy it felt out there!

I made it through both of my heats onto the final, thankfully day two offered some much more manageable yet still challenging conditions. I managed to get onto a few quick waves and sneaky gaps out the back until I caught one most of the way in and ended up paddling for what felt as though a solid 10minutes through white wash after white wash. Tangaroa let me free and I was back out the back and in the lead, stoked!

So again this stint is coming to an end and I will be off back to the cold cold South in a few days to catch up with friends and family with a National title under my belt…yay!!

CHRISTY PRIOR BRAKES HERSELF OFF!!….

christy.prior — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:17:19 +0000

Let me rephrase that….. EXPLODED COLLAR BONE!! oh, o…. check these out!!

This is what eventuates when you don’t make the right call dropping into a jump… after getting put off by a skier coming across my side of the drop in causing me to swerve and take a different line then I’m used too off the take off I decided to continue and hit it anyway…. bad move… heels slip out in front of me and after not being able to bring my super corked maneuver back to my feet, instead I land on my neck/shoulders on the knuckle…. not fun… Check out the rest of the pics below…

thank god for landing on my head a bit as don’t have the best recollection of what went down-when i saw the x rays i was like.. daaaammmm-that must of hurt!! hahaa,

Thanks to all my buddies for taking me under there wings-your the best!! -this is my Dr. Rose… hahaa, highly recomended!!

The ladies and the flowers with a singing card-so good!!

After the ladies taking such good care of me -even washing my hair, i felt like i was in a spa.. not recovery!!!

yay flowers and tall tee’s…. making life that little bit easier!!

-could think of worse views to look at while in hospital- yay to a speedy recovery!!

My entertainment- thanks Ellen and Logan hahahaa…

Global Burton Womens Shoot at Bear Mt California

shelly.gotlieb — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:14:29 +0000

‘going going, back back to Cali Cali’ in the words of The Notorious B I G that’s were I was going….. minus the guns and gangstas. The whole Burton women’s team from all around the world all got together for a shoot on a bunch of fun features at the awesome Bear Mt for a week shoot. Check it. Susie the Burton Women’s team manager posted up some pics also http://burton.kontain.com/susiefloros/entries/70893/burton-wms-team-shoot—bear-mountain/ and check out the Bear Mt website its got all the info http://www.bearmountain.com/snowboard/page/2/http://www.bearmountain.com/snowboard/page/3/

Big thanks to the park crew at Bear, they are the best park crew ever, thanks for all the sled rides.

Burton Girls on the shred

Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter left there medals at home but definitely still brought there skills. Check out Kelly on the Quarter pipe boosting

Kelly Clark killing it on the quarter

Lunch time at Bear

Hannah cooking us dinner

Yum dinner in the pimp pa hot tub next

So stoked to be here with all the Burton girls from USA, Canada, Norway, Japan and little old NZ. Who knows where the awesome shots will turn up, no doubt somewhere radical with Blotto taking the shots so keep an eye out.

Blotto - get the shot

tree jib

More to come

Slide and Glide this Sunday

brad.smeele — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:53:39 +0000

Hey All, If you are in the Auckland area this Sunday the 7th of March, make sure you come along to the Epic Slide and Glide at the Waipuna Wakeboard Club in the Pamnure Basin. It should be a great day of action so make sure you dont miss it. Chur

Whangamata this weekend

kirk.beyer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:15:45 +0000

Whangamata is looking good for this weekends leg of the Hyundai Pro longboard tour!

Spent all day today (friday) driving up, and absolute stunner of a day which bought out all the older drivers that like to look at the scenery and it made the roadworkers think “lets have roadworks on all of SH1 and SH2″. Yip thats right, good old 30km/h signs the whole way! You gotta love it ay

But when we finally rocked up to the beach the drive up became a distant memory as we saw mean surf and checked out this sweet bach some friends of ours lent us!

After snapping my board in Sandy Bay, my shaper Roger Titcombe has been working hard to get me another one by this comp. Last night I picked it up and gave it a bit of a colour spray and slapped some Mountain Dew stickers on it! Surfed it for the first time as the sun went down tonight, so stoked with the board it is lighter and faster than all my others.. now i just gotta get used to it before my heat. Gona try get up for the dawny so off to bed I go.

Will let you fullas know how the comp goes! Chur chur