Holy Freaking Termite Mound Batman!

These bad boys dot the desert out in Exmouth.

Stunning Sunset

Courtesy of Exmouth, WA.

Exmouth

The drive from Perth to Exmouth was LONG, and mostly through the desert. Comprehending the vast nothingness that makes up the majority of Western Australia is boggling to the mind.

After driving 7 hours on Saturday we stopped in Kalbarri to break up the trek. Had a great seafood dinner, then the next morning went for a surf at Jake’s Point, one of the premier waves in Western Oz. Didn’t get it all that good as the wind was up, which created nice mogul sized bumps in the wave face. Got one fun wave, but nothing spectacular.

Sunday was another long drive to Coral Bay, a little town next to the Ningaloo Reef that is about 150 kilometers South of Exmouth. Camped out and then the next morning had a snorkel before making the drive to Exmouth.

But the drive was completely worth it the next day when we got on a boat to go swim with the whale sharks. Words truly do not do justice to those giants of the sea. Such a magical day, and we were fortunate to get a plethora of time in the water with the biggest fish in the ocean. Unfortunately the disposable camera we bought to take pictures underwater does no justice to our experience on the reef. You can’t have it all, right? The good quality photo is courtesy of Tyler, back when he used to work in Exmouth.

Raglan Redux

Yep, we came back to Raglan. How could we not? It’s my birthday and I will do what I want to do!

Drove all day Sunday and made it back right before sunset. The swell looked all right, but nothing special. We woke up early in the parking lot of the Retired Services Club to some thick fog. On the drive to Whale Bay Veronica told me that my birthday present would be her services as my personal surf photographer. Needless to say I was stoked!

The fog had lifted by the time we made it to the parking lot and the day was gorgeous. No wind, slightly chilly, but no clouds, and a 3 to 4 foot southwest swell wrapping into the point. Waxed up my board and put my wetsuit on. Felt a little strange after having two weeks off, and I secretly hoped that I wouldn’t be too big of a kook out there in the water since my baby would be watching me.

Some days you just get lucky. My timing seemed to be perfect as I was paddling out to Indicators. A lot of guys were coming in, presumably heading off to work, leaving about 15 guys out in the lineup. Even though it was a high tide, the lack of wind saw the waves reel down the point extremely fast. My first few waves I took off too deep and couldn’t even make it around the first section. After an hour there were only 8 of us in the lineup, and with the tide lowering the waves were getting better and better. Over the next hour and a half I scored some of the sweetest waves ever!

Of course, all good things must come to an end. By 11 am there were about 40 surfers out, all frothing over the great waves. I sat out there for the next hour just trying to get one last wave in, as I was exhausted.

Such great surf, by far the best waves I have scored on my birthday as it’s usually flat. And the fact that my beautiful wife suffered 4 hours of sand flies and a long hike over boulders to take some photos for me to remember it was the absolute icing on the cake.

That night we enjoyed a great steak dinner at the Harbour View Hotel. Truly a perfect ending to a damn fine day.

Wellington

I am a big fan of Wellington. It’s a city that reminds me a bit of Austin; vibrant culture (film & music), big university, seat of government, eclectic mix of people, and some really good restaurants. The major differences between Austin and Wellington were the traffic and weather. Traffic didn’t seem nearly as bad in Wellington, however, the weather is MUCH warmer in Austin.

Anywho, we arrived back in Wellington on Friday afternoon via ferry. We were quite excited because we had found a restaurant that we were anxious to try, Viva Mexico. Can you believe it, another Mexican joint?! I make no apologies, we love Mexican food and we miss the heck out of it! And Viva Mexico turned out to be the culinary score of a lifetime. We feasted on the most delicious cheese enchiladas imaginable, at a fraction of the cost of our Flying Burrito Brothers meal. Granted, Viva Mexico was devoid of an extensive bar, and of swank décor and lighting, but silly aesthetics be damned, Viva Mexico’s food was utterly muy delicisio! A mother and daughter from Mexico City own (and run) the restaurant, and besides being extremely talented in the kitchen they are such nice people.

We were so impressed that we went back for lunch the next day. Let me just say that it was even better the second time around! The meal kept us energized for our day of exploring the Te Papa Museum, which is dubbed the ‘Museum of New Zealand’. It was an impressive place; filled with some great art and an even better historical exhibit. Perhaps the coolest thing we saw was a colossal squid, a gigantic beast that lives literally in the oceans deepest and darkest reaches.

The East Coast of the South Island

We left a very wet Milford Sound and drove east to the city of Dunedin. Arriving in this Scottish college town (Dunedin is the Gaelic name of Edinburgh) we were surprised to find a warm sunny day. It was as if we had arrived in a different country. Walked around the city all afternoon and came back to our campervan to find a parking ticket. The initial disappointment was replaced with laughter when we saw the amount, $15! Highlight of Dunedin had to be their Public Art Gallery, which was impressive and best of all, FREE.

Only spent a day in Dunedin, then we drove North to Christchurch. Honestly, we were not all that impressed with Christchurch. The most fascinating thing I found was the fluorescent lighting underneath the New Brighton pier, which I took a few photos of. The surrounding landscape wasn’t all that dramatic (flat) and for all intensive purposes it looked as if it could have been an uninteresting city located in the Mid West of America. Plus, we had another crappy coffee in a café (I shall not name) that Lonely Planet had deemed ‘doles out seriously good coffee to loyal locals’. Poppycock I say! Such a pathetic cup of coffee!! I vehemently swore to Veronica that we would never take another culinary recommendation from those Lonely Wankers, who are apparently devoid of taste buds. To add insult to injury, the day was miserable, complete with a freezing rain that made walking around not too desirable. We found refuge in the City Library, which was quite nice and warm, and which offered free wifi. So, despite the terrible, overpriced java and the crap weather, the day wasn’t a complete waste.

The last stop of our South Island odyssey was the small town of Kaikoura, about a two-hour drive North of Christchurch. I had such high hopes for Kaikoura, a beautiful little town on the sea that is shadowed by a gorgeous mountain range. The town, known for the plethora of whales and dolphins that routinely swim close to it’s shores, is also known for two epic point breaks that deliver world-class surf. Unfortunately, a lack of swell and a perpetual, unabating cold rain dashed all hope of doing anything fun. The entire time we were relegated to finding a dry, warm place to kill time. Not even our good old standby of the library was an option as Kaikoura had a broom closet for space, which was made worse since it was devoid of any interesting material (or Wifi). It wasn’t all boring as we did get to see some seals up close, and we did go see a movie at the old fashioned movie theater in town that had no heating (burr).

If it sounds like these last 3 places were a bit boring, well, you would be correct. If we had good weather in Kaikoura it would have been completely different, but it wasn’t. Highlights of the South Island for us were certainly Franz Joseph and Milford Sound. Traveling, as with life, is all about taking the good with the bad.