More surfing! Relaxing in Ahipara, living the surf life, making a good friend, traveling to Raglan, sunset surfing and passing the time with strangers in the water, camping! Cooking under the stars, the Milky Way, surfing road trip!! Getting the hang, hanging with French girls in the water, starting to carve up waves, sleeping cramped in the backseat, dancing in Raglan, short skirts, learning the ways of the wave

Me

Funny scene. Board shorts, tank tops, bare feet, flip flops. Girls with no pants, guys with beach blond surfer locks. Andy and I just got back to the campsite from the Yot Club. Worst DJ I have ever heard in my life, but the vibe was fun. Manon was there too. We were invited to the after party at "the stables" by the most prototypical surfer dude I can imagine, but the surf forecast is excellent for the morning, so the alarm is set for 7:15. Bedtime for me. It's another short night.

My friend Andy (from Switzerland), who I met on the surf tour in Ahipara, invited me on a surfing road trip. He's rented a station wagon that is outfitted for surfers apparently, and we're gonna sleep in the back--I think crash in some campsites or something. We leave tomorrow morning and are heading to Raglan, the Tofino of New Zealand, a world famous surf spot. There isn't much of a plan, although we are going to go to Waitomo caves as well! He leaves back home on Thursday so it's only 5 days. It's gonna be funnn. Spending the night in a new hostel here in Auckland. It kinda sucks. Oh well. Have to wake up at 6:30. It would be nice to sleep in one of these days here in New Zealand...

Good fun. Light wind and nice forming waves. Got washing machined by one wave. Was pretty fun. My last wave of the day was just awesome. Clean breaking about shoulder high. You have to know when to call it a day ;)

The sun set a majestic gold this evening over the ocean. Just beautiful. The spray of the waves a bubbling metallic. The water a rich yellow. Storm clouds in the sky. Unreal. Perhaps the most spectacular sunset I've ever seen. And I got to surf in it!

Approached this evening's surf as a bit of a joke. Not gonna lie, despite some fun waves this morning, I was so tired and it really felt like one of those cases of 2 steps forward and one step back. But not this evening. I was rested, had the strength back in my arms, and was ready to just play. Amazing what happens when you have low expectations. Caught the first wave that came my way and pulled off a headstand! The waves were bigger than I expected, and the wind direction was better than I expected. And it just happened to be one of those moments where all the pieces that I've been learning and practicing just came together finally and I just found it out on the water. How often does that happen after you stumble, eh? It was just awesome. I kept finding myself right in the pocket and effortlessly catching waves. What a feeling! Sometimes, hardly even paddling. Turning, cutting across the wave. Dipping my hand in. Switching my stance. More headstands. So fun. It just clicked this evening. I struggled so much this morning, and it just felt so slow and easy in the second surf. Loved it.

It’s a nice feeling to laze around in the afternoon after a morning surf.