Oxbow Artworks Artist

French surf company Oxbow (Laird Hamilton is their big rider) had me do some graphics for their upcoming Spring, Summer and Fall lines as one of the artists for the Oxbow Artworks line. Each artist gets a hang tag with a short bio and website plug, pretty cool. The site has a few graphics from the spring and summer line on it right now... check it out HERE.

NZ: Life's Toughest Decisions...

Should I go get some of these long Rights? Or...... should I get my fill on this macking reef? Or...... what about this A-Frame just on the other side? Or...
... this looks like so much fun too! Or...
... back to the long pumping Right? Yes Please!
Turned out to be an excellent decision. I got a quite a few healthy doses of adrenaline and more waves than should be allowed in a session.
Call me Noodle Arms.I love New Zealand!!!

Words of Wisdom

"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth." - Bonnie Friedman

NZ: 55 Km Trek on the Northern Tip

Click for larger view. Pics by Dan and I.

I'll try to keep this short and sweet and in a format that keeps all the ADD folks happy...

Pick up English Dan at random backpackers in woods where he's been spearfishing and living in tent. Dan talks me into buying Hawaiian sling, mask, snorkel and fins with him.

Drive up to the Northland, leave The Van, Hitchhike to Spirits Bay with German kid who blows our first photo with finger over the lense.

Start the 55 Km hike along long beautiful empty beach. Sun out. Water blue. Backpack full of food for first night feast. Sand flies in full force... bastards. Lose sweatshirt somewhere along hike. Stupid.

Set up tent on beach. Get scared of high tide drenching us in our sleep. Move tent. Dig pointless trench. Hang all gear from overhanging tree. Treat creek water with disgusting chlorine tablets. Turn into 2 baboons trying to light fire. Finally start fire. Cook Balsamic Vinaigrette marinated steak, corn on the cob, giant potato and beans. Enjoy king sized meal. Sip Whiskey from newly purchased flask. High tide passes without incident, move tent back under tree.

See giant red and orange flaming ball of fire shoot across sky and break into smaller flaming pieces. Freak out for a while. Talk about it for next 4 days... possibly rest of life.

Insane Sunrise from tent. Coffee. Wish I had surfboard. Hike to Tapotupotu Bay. Take detour down possum trappers trail. Talk Dan out of "Just keep going and find out where we end up." Curse DOC for lack of good trail signage. Fix sign with sharpie. Make camp. Boil water for drinking. Ocean is warm. Spearfish my first fish. Dinner is served. Deliciousness! Question reasons why I have missed out on newly beloved sport for last 28 years. Sleep on sand again.

Coffee. Hike straight up. Hike straight down. Repeat for several hours. Laugh at the fact Kiwis don't believe in switch-back trails. Experience jaw-dropping vistas. Take pictures. Make it to Cape Rienga lighthouse. See Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. Hot. Dry. Sunny. Sweaty. Meet couple from Ojai, CA of all places who throw us apple from pocket. Marvel at fact that 2 hours prior was telling Dan I would giving anything for juicy apple. Admire strange ways of universe.

Cross long empty beaches. Wish I had surfboard. Cross dunes. Find white snail fossils. Cross Twilight Bay Beach barefoot. Discover backpacking barefoot is moderately painful. Not a soul for miles. Set up camp. Dan tries to spear dinner at sunset. Too dark. Dan fails, almost gets swept out to sea, almost dies. Noodles and Miso Soup with mushrooms. Good fire. Finish last of whiskey. Dan dreams of babies peeing on him, I dream of fixing pavement around manhole covers. WTF?

Coffee. Hike to top of 90 Mile Beach. Long beach hike to Te Paki Stream. Hike up stream in mud and water. Admire giant sand dunes. Make it to civilization. Resist urge to pop giant blisters on feet. Eat giant ostrich burger and fries. Drink giant Steinlager. End of trek.

Drive to Taupo Bay. Have extreme paranoia about testing waterproofness of Olympus camera while spearfishing. Spearfish with camera. Dan gets 2. I get 1. Watch Dan pet and molest his ugly, gutted, pet Leatherjacket fish for too long. BBQ catch. Eat like kings. Drink whiskey. Absolutely destroy Dan in Dominos! Sleep like rocks.

Drive back to Auckland. Party until drop Dan off at airport at 3:00 AM. Drive 20km back to downtown to sleep. Get call from Dan: "Dude I left my sea shells in your car!" Call Dan a f-ing hippie. Agree to drive back to airport. Dan flies away to drink tea in Bahrain. The End.

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NZ: New Plymouth

I've got a home that doesn't have wheels now! Got a room with some cool flatmates and the place has amazing views... the Tasman Sea, Sugar Loaf Islands, port and downtown off the back deck and Mt Taranaki off the front porch... and can walk to downtown, or stumble home from downtown, depends on the time of day I guess.

Just got barreled off my ass for several hours the other day here in town... definitely in the running for the most tubes in one session... what a day! The grin will be on my face for a while...

We had our first dump on the mountain 2 days ago. This was the view off the front porch last night. Beautiful place!

Traveling = Time to Read

Here's what I've had my nose into over the past few months. I recommend all of these...

1. Kon Tiki - Thor Heyerdahl: Thor's true 1950's adventure across the Pacific on a Balsa wood raft to prove his theory that Pacific islanders migrated from South Am. A Classic. Quick read.

2. Mr. Nice - Howard Marks: Wow! This guy did some serious pot smuggling. Found this at a campground, entertaining read.

3. Endurance - Alfred Lansing: Amazing story! The true story of Ernest Shackleton's voyage to the antarctic gone wrong.

Currently reading:

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson: Not sure why I haven't read this already, I like this kind of stuff. Lots of good info that I'll never need to know.

NZ: Raglan Round 3 - Oh Snap!... goes another board.

Pulled into the Manu Bay lot at about 1:00 am to crash out after a spur of the moment drive from the City of Sails. There were about 10 other cars parked, something was definitely brewing. Woke up to find some great barrels rolling in but they were starting a contest so I surfed up at Indies... along with the rest of the circus. The crowds here are a complete joke. I think this is my last Raglan session for a while.
Indies had some bombs. I bagged some keepers. Ended up snapping my new 6'5". Guess that's what happens when you try to pull out of a big one last second because there are a dozen people on the inside paddling right toward you with deer-in-the-headlight stares... without a clue. Arrrrgggghhhhhhh! On the bright side, my board bag just got lighter!
Here's the theory on the increasing crowds in the water:
I'm blaming the recession, nobody has jobs anymore so they just decide to swarm the line-up. Mr. Obama please do something about this!