New Zealand Part 1 - North Island

We kicked off our travels this year with a New Zealand and Tahiti trip. Since both New Zealand Islands are completely different and with Tahiti being a whole other beauty, this post is just on New Zealand's North Island where we kicked off the trip. We arrived in a time zone 23 hours ahead of PST. The slang is different and we had to get used to driving on the left side of the road. Along the way, we saw some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever seen and that probably exists as well. We rented a camper van with a bed and kitchenette and spent the night in holiday parks or at the beach, depending on where we were. One thing that we didn't realize about New Zealand was how much driving there was to do. We spent the majority of our time driving from point to point but enjoyed the beautiful views that the country had to offer along the way.

We surfed a few times on all sides of the island. Raglan, having been featured in the movie Endless Summer and the known surfing mecca of NZ, was of course something we really wanted to explore and we had one of the most exciting adventures of our lives there. Our second day in Raglan greeted us with high winds and blown out surf. We took a narrow and windy dirt road around an isolated coastal mountain just south of Raglan to get to a surf break that was more isolated from the howling wind. We finally arrived at Ruapuke to overhead sets and insane rip currents. The conditions weren't great but it was beautiful there and the water was warm which was nice since we had just come from wearing wetsuits being winter time back home in California.

The Kiwis are really nice. They are always willing to lend a helping hand and give you directions, food, whatever it is that you need. The country is very clean too. There was no trash or litter anywhere. It was really impressive how thoughtful and respectful they were to their land. There definitely was a much more communitive effort and shared responsibility to take care of their land.

Here are a few highlights from the North Island:

Bay of Islands

Cooking brawts for dinner by the lake

Spent the night in our van at Red Beach

Surfing Ruapuke in Raglan

Raglan Harbor

It's so pretty everywhere!

We stayed the night at a funky little ski lodge up in the mountains

At the top of Red Crater during the steep Mt. Tongariro hike

Emerald lakes of the Mt. Tongariro hike

Every twist and turn in the road led to another gorgeous lake

Hot springs in Rotorua

Hiking in the rain down to Cathedral Cove beach

Cathedral Cove Beach

Digging the hole for our natural spa at Hot Water Beach

The natural hot springs under the sand made for a nice hot spa at the beach

Heading out to surf in Whangamata

Mike surfing in Whangamata

Vacationing in a campervan was awesome!

A night out in Auckland

Hiking in the Hollywood Hills + El Porto Surf

While Mike was working a conference in LA this weekend, we decided to take advantage of being in the area  to do some new exploring in LA.

We did the hike to the Hollywood sign via the Hollyridge trail which is the trail that is the closest you can get to the actual Hollywood sign. A big fence and security cameras stop you from actually touching the Hollywood sign but it was still very cool to be on the same mountain as the sign. The very confusing and not so well marked trail made this not a very touristy trail. We came across the blog, hollywoodsigntrip.com which was very helpful with turn by turn directions in the non-marked trail.
 

The trail head is at the end of Beechwood Dr. through the Hollywood Hills.There are tons of really beautiful, large old homes in this neighboorhood. 

 

These letters are 45ft. tall!

Had to take a pic of the sign in two parts because it is over 300 ft. wide!

Standing above the smog of LA

While in LA we naturally wanted to check out some new surf breaks. We went to El Porto which is known as one of the best breaks in LA. Sadly although there were 3-4 ft. waves and absolutely no shape to the waves. Dumping, closed out really dirty beach break (it's right in front of a Cheveron power plant) is what we found and apparently the norm for this break. The El Porto area itself however was pretty cool.

El Porto Neighborhood

One of the many close outs

The reason El Porto has some of the worst water quality - power  plant right on the beach...the surf break in front of it is called Shit Pipes to give you an even better idea what you're surfing in.

Unfortunately after all this fun, we lost our car keys on the beach at El Porto so we were locked out and stranded there with no real clothes and a surfboard and wetsuit. Some nice locals felt bad for us and brought us sweaters and a sheet to keep warm and Mike found a "Team USA" t-shirt wadded up in the sand for a shirt. We also had to walk around town at night with a surfboard including to our dinner at Pancho's. Our El Porto stay was extended longer than planned but we were stoked on discovering this new part of LA we had never been to.

Mike in his awesome attire stranded outside a liquor store in LA.

Riviera Maya - Enjoying Luxury and Adventures in the Caribbean

To be able to fund all of our adventures, having full-time jobs is a must. This isn't so bad, however, when our jobs provide an amazing trip, like this past week in Mexico. Mike was number 3 nationwide in his company for a contest and won us an all expense paid trip to the Riviera Maya!! This was our second time to this region of Mexico, however this time we did all new activities and stayed in the most amazing resort either of us have ever seen!

Day1:

Upon check-in at the Rosewood Mayakoba, we were picked up by boat and then dropped off at our private dock, that is part of our suite. There, our butler greeted us with fresh fruit and drinks before giving us a tour of our suite.

Loved the giant bathtub in our suite!

We had our own private jacuzzi overlooking a beautiful natural lagoon. The lagoon was full of turtles, crocodiles, and exotic fish and birds!

Enjoying pina coladas at the beach

Meeting up with some friends

Day2:

Our first adventure was taking a ferry over to the island of Cozumel to go snorkeling. Although a bit touristy, Cozumel was gorgeous and we were able to have some great snorkeling. We snorkeled at our own private beach and enjoyed this beautiful island. 

At night back at our resort in Playa Del Carmen we had a mexican version of a luau and watched an awesome fire show.

Day 3:
We went to Xplor, a theme park down the road from our hotel that offered zip lines, swimming and rafting under caves and ATV riding. It was awesome and is recommended for anyone who travels to the Cancun area. 

That night we had the nicest dinner ever. We went on a double date with our friends, Kristin and Sean DeWitt, and had a 4 course meal including lobster and filet mignon that was one of the best we had both ever had. It was also the first time we had ever tried caviar. It was fun to try fancy stuff since we are used to low maintenance and simplicity.

Day4:
Before heading back home, we just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Swimming, Stand Up Paddling and hanging out at the pool. Adios!!

 

http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/mayakoba/

Beautiful Lighthouses to Explore

We like light houses. They are typically surrounded and overlooking beautiful scenery and beaches. Even better is when they are the end point of an amazing hike! Here are some of our favorite lighthouses we've explored.

1. Dunedin Lighthouse, New Zealand

This lighthouse is also on the same point as the Albatross reserve and where tons of penguins come on shore daily! It was the first time we had ever seen penguins. They are the cutest little guys.

2. Makapuu Lighthouse, Oahu

The hike to this lighthouse is both a beautiful and uncrowded hike on the southeast coast of Oahu.

3. Anacapa Island Lighthouse, California

Anacapa Island is one of the small channel islands off of the Ventura Coast. It is part of the Channel Islands National Park.

4. Montauk Lighthouse, New York
This lighthouse overlooks New York's best point break, Montauk

5. Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego CA

Part of the Cabrillo National Monument, here you can have great views of the San Diego Bay, Downtown San Diego and Mexico.

6. Point Venus Lighthouse, Tahiti

The beauty of Tahiti basically makes anything look good but either way the Point Venus lighthouse is a cool sight to see. It was constructed in the 1880s. It is a very bitchen' lighthouse.

7. Oceanside Lighthouse, CA
The Oceanside Lighthouse is a sight we are fortunate to see almost everyday. Its at the Oceanside Harbor next to our favorite surf break in Oceanside.

October Rocks

September and October are in our opinion the best months in Southern California. The water and air are still warm with consistent swell and the crowds are gone. Here is a little glimpse of what we've been up to lately!

Music by Best Coast, "The Only Place"