May 16
Day – Shipwrecks (surf)
Night – Shipwreck Bay
May 17
Day – Shipwrecks (surf)
Night – Shipwreck Bay
May 18
Day – Shipwrecks (Surf huge day – Hiked to top)
Night – Ahipara Holiday Park
Shipwrecks (Ahipara), the famous left point that breaks for several kilometers. It's hard to believe that we spent three days there and only I got a few pictures, none of which were of the surf. That tells you where we were and what we were doing pretty much every minute of each day. Hilary has some photos on her camera that i need to transfer so stay tuned for a photo update to this blog later - posted now!
To understand Shipwrecks requires a quick lesson in Tidal fluctuation. Before coming to this country, I had no idea that the tide swing here during full moon is in excess of 3.5m. To put this into perspective, the ocean rises 11.5ft over 6 hours, and drops 11.5ft during the next 6 hours. That's around 2ft an hour, which makes the surfing lineup one of the most dynamic places I've been. We would wake up to a lake, flat as any body of water uncoupled from the oceans. By breakfast, knee-high lines wrapped around the point into the bay. By lunch the ocean was a frothing, steaming wave machine churning out 12 foot bombs for several miles, sending white water crashing into the same bay serene only a few hours ago. The tides also dictate the surf access. Unless you have a 4WD, parking is limited to the beach in front of Shipwrecks Bay, which really represents the end of the wave. The current wrapping around the point is faster than one could walk, so trying to paddle out, or remain stationary in the lineup is 100% impossible. The result is a constant migration of surfers exiting the water and running back up the point, a flat rocky passage that hugs the cliff face. This path is also a recognized NZ roadway, and is traversed by surf vehicles throughout each mid-low tide period.
The surfing field at Shipwrecks is immense. Those familiar with Bali, the wave availability stretches from the equivalent of Bingin to Uluwatu. Like the famous Bukit stretch, it isn't possible to connect the entire region on a single wave, though you can catch a longer wave here than anywhere in Indo. It is possible to ride a wave the equivalent of Temples at Uluwatu all the way around the corner into Padang. I watched several make it on our third and final day at Shippies.
Our first night we met a couple of Kiwi men camping out in a tiny one person tent. They had driven almost 8 hours North from their home in Taranaki to catch the swell we had arrived around. Their names are escaping me at the moment, but they were good fun to chat with. The older guy was over 60 and fit as any 20 year old. His buddy and employee was in his early 40s and also built like a logger. They put us to shame, surfing from 5am till after we left at 4pm; we never saw them back at camp to eat or rest. They were real troopers, waking up to a soaked sleeping bag from a leaky tent (its in the lower 40s at night), fighting off the resident wild pig population, and eating noodles and mussels they pulled from the rocks - tasty buggahs!
We all got our fill of surfing some smaller stuff on the first two days in preparation for the 6m swell arriving the last day. We heard the swell come in during the night. Kyle and I decided to dawn patrol the furthest point up, called Supertubes. We hiked around the rocky point an hour or two before it dissappeared with the incoming tide. Shipwrecks proper had swell but it wasn't breaking with the swollen ocean levels. We hit the beach at Peaks and started the long haul out to the far point. A good 40 minutes later we were staring at some massive sets rolling into Supertubes. The wind was howling, probably 30 knots plus, leaving massive white rooster tails and sending mist a hundred feet into the air. It was big and gnarly. I was on a 6'2 and Kyle had a fun board. We opted to back track and try surfing Mukies 1, a punchy beach break with an outer reef we had passed along the way. It was much cleaner and we had some good, albeit freezing, rides with a couple of locals. Except for a split lip from Kyle connecting with his board, it was a successful session. After a couple hours we paddled all the way back to the beach, as the aforementioned road had disappeared underwater, and the adjacent cliff side was getting pummeled by the swell. The entire paddle, not a single breaking wave came through, and the current had subsided.
Three hours later after lunch and a quick nap, the tide had dropped about 6 feet, the road was high and dry, and carrying heavy traffic, and our calm paddle had reared to life. We suited up, this time with Jason and hiked back up to Peaks. Even during our walk, the sets continued to grow as they felt the changing bottom topography. To make it out at Peaks, a ledgy, sucky left takeoff that screams across a sandbar, you have to paddle out behind it (up the beach about 200m). The current rips you around some submerged rocks and straight into the impact zone. If you're lucky, you take one or two on the head and end up out side with only a short paddle back to the takeoff zone. If you're timing isn't that great, you get drilled repeatedly with sand filling your wetsuit and chaffing your arms and legs, you become royally paranoid that you will be raked across the inside rocky outcroppings, get pulled right through the lineup requiring extra paddle spurts to avoid being filleted by a set of oncoming fins, and look forward to a 10 minute full speed sprint against the current to make it back to the peak (alternatively you give up and start surfing further down, hoping for scraps - or let the current push you into a keyhole, get out and try again - I tried all options that day).
Bottom line is, we got smashed pretty good, but got some amazing rides. Kyle scored the best waves. I watched him connect two of the longest waves of his life, over a kilometer each, with multiple barrel sections, floaters, and as much style as you can get on a fun board. Good times.
Unfortunately, U'i hurt her ankle walking around the points, but still wanted to surf and pushed through the pain. It was further exasperated when she, Hil and JV walked nearly to Supertubes to sandboard one of the massive dunes (video to come). Hilary really got some speed on a couple rides!
The last part to our Shipwrecks saga comes with four legs. An abandoned, mixed breed pup took a liking to our crew and proceeded to hang with us during every minute we were on dry land. We named the little bloke Shippy, and all found a soft spot in our hearts for the guy. The best part is, he was adopted by a surfer on our last day. This guy knew the breed and was looking forward to raising the dog on his farm to help herd sheep. We know he went to a good home.
We celebrated a good three days of camping back at the Ahipara holiday park/lodge with some ping-pong, beers and hot soup. Cheers!
MORE PICS COMING SOON <PROMISE>
To understand Shipwrecks requires a quick lesson in Tidal fluctuation. Before coming to this country, I had no idea that the tide swing here during full moon is in excess of 3.5m. To put this into perspective, the ocean rises 11.5ft over 6 hours, and drops 11.5ft during the next 6 hours. That's around 2ft an hour, which makes the surfing lineup one of the most dynamic places I've been. We would wake up to a lake, flat as any body of water uncoupled from the oceans. By breakfast, knee-high lines wrapped around the point into the bay. By lunch the ocean was a frothing, steaming wave machine churning out 12 foot bombs for several miles, sending white water crashing into the same bay serene only a few hours ago. The tides also dictate the surf access. Unless you have a 4WD, parking is limited to the beach in front of Shipwrecks Bay, which really represents the end of the wave. The current wrapping around the point is faster than one could walk, so trying to paddle out, or remain stationary in the lineup is 100% impossible. The result is a constant migration of surfers exiting the water and running back up the point, a flat rocky passage that hugs the cliff face. This path is also a recognized NZ roadway, and is traversed by surf vehicles throughout each mid-low tide period.
The surfing field at Shipwrecks is immense. Those familiar with Bali, the wave availability stretches from the equivalent of Bingin to Uluwatu. Like the famous Bukit stretch, it isn't possible to connect the entire region on a single wave, though you can catch a longer wave here than anywhere in Indo. It is possible to ride a wave the equivalent of Temples at Uluwatu all the way around the corner into Padang. I watched several make it on our third and final day at Shippies.
Our first night we met a couple of Kiwi men camping out in a tiny one person tent. They had driven almost 8 hours North from their home in Taranaki to catch the swell we had arrived around. Their names are escaping me at the moment, but they were good fun to chat with. The older guy was over 60 and fit as any 20 year old. His buddy and employee was in his early 40s and also built like a logger. They put us to shame, surfing from 5am till after we left at 4pm; we never saw them back at camp to eat or rest. They were real troopers, waking up to a soaked sleeping bag from a leaky tent (its in the lower 40s at night), fighting off the resident wild pig population, and eating noodles and mussels they pulled from the rocks - tasty buggahs!
We all got our fill of surfing some smaller stuff on the first two days in preparation for the 6m swell arriving the last day. We heard the swell come in during the night. Kyle and I decided to dawn patrol the furthest point up, called Supertubes. We hiked around the rocky point an hour or two before it dissappeared with the incoming tide. Shipwrecks proper had swell but it wasn't breaking with the swollen ocean levels. We hit the beach at Peaks and started the long haul out to the far point. A good 40 minutes later we were staring at some massive sets rolling into Supertubes. The wind was howling, probably 30 knots plus, leaving massive white rooster tails and sending mist a hundred feet into the air. It was big and gnarly. I was on a 6'2 and Kyle had a fun board. We opted to back track and try surfing Mukies 1, a punchy beach break with an outer reef we had passed along the way. It was much cleaner and we had some good, albeit freezing, rides with a couple of locals. Except for a split lip from Kyle connecting with his board, it was a successful session. After a couple hours we paddled all the way back to the beach, as the aforementioned road had disappeared underwater, and the adjacent cliff side was getting pummeled by the swell. The entire paddle, not a single breaking wave came through, and the current had subsided.
Three hours later after lunch and a quick nap, the tide had dropped about 6 feet, the road was high and dry, and carrying heavy traffic, and our calm paddle had reared to life. We suited up, this time with Jason and hiked back up to Peaks. Even during our walk, the sets continued to grow as they felt the changing bottom topography. To make it out at Peaks, a ledgy, sucky left takeoff that screams across a sandbar, you have to paddle out behind it (up the beach about 200m). The current rips you around some submerged rocks and straight into the impact zone. If you're lucky, you take one or two on the head and end up out side with only a short paddle back to the takeoff zone. If you're timing isn't that great, you get drilled repeatedly with sand filling your wetsuit and chaffing your arms and legs, you become royally paranoid that you will be raked across the inside rocky outcroppings, get pulled right through the lineup requiring extra paddle spurts to avoid being filleted by a set of oncoming fins, and look forward to a 10 minute full speed sprint against the current to make it back to the peak (alternatively you give up and start surfing further down, hoping for scraps - or let the current push you into a keyhole, get out and try again - I tried all options that day).
Bottom line is, we got smashed pretty good, but got some amazing rides. Kyle scored the best waves. I watched him connect two of the longest waves of his life, over a kilometer each, with multiple barrel sections, floaters, and as much style as you can get on a fun board. Good times.
Unfortunately, U'i hurt her ankle walking around the points, but still wanted to surf and pushed through the pain. It was further exasperated when she, Hil and JV walked nearly to Supertubes to sandboard one of the massive dunes (video to come). Hilary really got some speed on a couple rides!
The last part to our Shipwrecks saga comes with four legs. An abandoned, mixed breed pup took a liking to our crew and proceeded to hang with us during every minute we were on dry land. We named the little bloke Shippy, and all found a soft spot in our hearts for the guy. The best part is, he was adopted by a surfer on our last day. This guy knew the breed and was looking forward to raising the dog on his farm to help herd sheep. We know he went to a good home.
We celebrated a good three days of camping back at the Ahipara holiday park/lodge with some ping-pong, beers and hot soup. Cheers!
The view of Ahipara Bay from the top, end of Shipwrecks wrapping in.
Here's a mid-tide shot, you can see the 4wd path on the upper left.
Our neighbors camping had a few standoffs
Hiking around the points midtide on the Shipwreck Highway
About 1.5 km hike from Ahipara Bay, "Peaks" where you jump in
Looking towards Mukies and the point by Supertubes. The Sand Dunes are visible in the distance.
Hilary dropping into a 200ft monster (photo was not tilted).
U'i nearing the bottom of her run, injured foot and all.
Random surfer
Start of the wave at Peaks
View from the walk up the point
Are your legs cramping yet?
Further down the line, still going
What to do today........
U'i with Shippy
JV with Shippy
And yes me with Shippy
Surf fuel - Avocado, cheese, mandarins, eggs, ham and toast!
Moonrise over Ahipara
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