Wakeboarding the Waikoto River

Waikoto River sunset, unedited

A few shots from a fun day of boating with Damian, Aaron, and friends - about one hour from Morrinsville on the Waikoto River. Wakeboarding, tubing, local beer and cider sampling, more wakeboarding, and I tried riding a surfboard behind a boat ("wake surfing") for the first time! THANKS Damian Brown for an awesome time!

 

 

Raglan, New Zealand

A funky little surf town a short drive from Hamilton, I spent a few days in Raglan and loved every minute! In fact, if I were to do it again I would have given myself at least 4 days here. Had fun navigating the windy roads - my first left side driving experience - with borrowed car and surfboard in tow!  Town itself had great eating options and good coffee, surf spots were varied across all ability levels and plenty of beautiful beach and farm roads to run on too, and some nearby hiking :) I surfed at Ngarunui beach and Manu Bay (long lefts featured in 1966 "Endless Summer") but didn't make it out at Whale Bay, which I heard was pretty epic. I camped at Solscape Eco Retreat (http://www.solscape.co.nz/) which was a great little spot up on the hill overlooking the coast, where I met plenty of other backpackers (mostly Europeans). I was so enthralled by this surfing town that I looked at real estate and PT job listings on my way out - and let myself fantasize about moving to Raglan for the entire drive home :)

in town - Raglan, New Zealand

tent sites at Solscape, which also rents out railway carriages and cabins

looking toward Whale Bay

Ngarunui Beach

sunset from campsite, no filter

   

sunset on the drive back, near Morrinsville

So..... I'm about 6 weeks behind on my trip blog posts! Stay tuned for many more to come :)