A Kitesurfer's Travels in Fiji

The Wind Arrives

2006-06-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the day we were going to head to Nananui the wind picked up. We decided to stay and went with some of the locals to the Naveua River mouth. This place is a kitesurfers dream. Reefs break all the big waves so its pretty much flat water and at low tide the water is less then 1ft deep most places. We abandoned buying the GK Sonic and picked up a 15m 2005 Slingshot Fuel instead. Additionally, Rob brought along his 2006 Slingshot Turbo Diesel which I was lucky enough to ride for 3 hours.

On our first day here about 10 of us came in two boats and walked all our gear out to the tide flats. There was maybe 2 sq. miles of shallow tide flats for us to play in so no one ran out of space. Corey and Jon unpacked our brand new Fuel while I setup Robs Turbo Diesel. Within 10 minutes a few kiters were out making lines. After 20 we were all setup and riding.

Corey and Jon seemed to be having fun on our new kite but I was too preoccupied with the kite I was borrowing from Rob. The 2006 Slingshot Turbo Diesel is widely regarded as one of the best bow kites. Some say the best kite on the market today. Bow kites allow you to depower the kite 100% anytime you want whereas traditional "C-Kites" can only achieve about 30% depower. They also have about 30% more power then a C Kite of the same size. Riding this thing was a blast, I had more then enough power but never felt out of control like I often do with C Kites. The kite also has an excellent ability to get up wind.

Anyways, after 4 hours or so at the beach it started getting dark so we packed up all the gear and headed back. Tired and sore from riding all day we all passed out early and slept like rocks that night. The next day we all went back out to the same spot only this time we drove. This day the wind wasn't quite as strong so we were struggling to stay up wind. Also, Rob didn't bring his Turbo Diesel so the three of us had to share the new 15m Fuel (I tried my 12m M80 but was way underpowered).

We kited back and fourth for maybe another 4 hours and had a good light wind session before packing it in. Toby and Dave were doing some good jumps with their 20m kites well we were tryin our best with our 15m. At the end of the day we again headed home sore and tired but finally felt satisfied after 2 full days of kitesurfing.

Eager for more we awoke to try to ride but were dissapointed we another lightwind day. That was yesterday and today was another dissapointment. Absolutely no wind whatsoever. We can't do this waiting thing again so tommorow if its not blowing early we're heading up to Nananui.

Today I also made the decision to take Robs Turbo Diesel off his hands. This one kite has the range of an 18m C-Kite down to a 9m C-Kite and is much safer. Now I'm going nuts because I have it and can't fly it. Anyways, will write again from Nananui. Ciao!

Heading norh to Nananui Ra

2006-06-23T00:28:00.000-07:00

We are going stir crazy down here. We've had 3 more windless days and can't handle the waiting anymore. I called some lodges on Nananui today and they've been kiting on 12m's all week long so tommorow we pack up and head north. We'll be staying at Safari lodge . Not sure if they have internet or not but will do my best to get a post out from there. With luck will have some good kite pics up in the next week or so. Peace out

Waiting for the Wind

2006-06-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

While we've been here for 12 days now and the wind has been blowing but hasn't been strong enough to kite alot of the time. We've got 3 good days where we've been properly powered up and have waited for wind maybe 5 or 6 days. Not the best odds. We've ordered a new bladder for Corey's kite so we're gonna stay here for 3 or 4 days until that gets here and then head north to Nananui Ra. There is supposed to be more wind up there.

We also met a guy whose selling a 14m GK Sonic Bow Kite for a quite reasonable price. Bow kites came out in 2005 so they're all still quite expensive but you get about 40% more power in the same size kite. The 12m kites we're using need 15 knots of wind minimum to kitesurf. With the 14m bow kite we could kitesurf in as little as 8 knots probably doubling our riding days. If we can work a deal we'll split it and be riding a bow shortly :D. (Read about Bow Kites Here)

Anyways, if you're sitting at home and bored maybe you could get up a do a little wind dance for us. We want it to BLOW!

Spooky Poker Experience

2006-06-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

So we were sitting around a few days ago and one of the locals told us how this place is cursed. Apparently the local villages used some black magic against this resort and there are all sorts of restless spirits that inhabit this place. He went on to tell us about some pretty spooky things that have happened such as hundreds of sea urchins washing up on the sand beach across the street (theres no reef here so there shouldn't be sea urchins around).

Now I'm a skeptic and like to take everything with a grain of salt, but I also keep an open mind. This last week we've had a couple games of Texas Hold'em. Playing a few days ago I pulled out a straight-flush (A-5h). By itself not that special, just extreamly unlikely. Then we played the next hand, I had 4 of a kind kings. Now this is getting crazy. Unfortunately no more crazy luck that game (though I still won hehe) but then, the very next day we played again. I pulled out another straight flush (9-Kh) hearts again.

Now I know this could easily just be luck but I've played alot of poker and I'm quite certain I've never gotten 4 of a kind or a striaght flush. So to get the above 2 games in a row is spooky to me. Guess I'll have to keep playing and see if it happens some more. Maybe this place is haunted after all.

Shark Diving, Pacific Harbour, Fiji

2006-06-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a shark dive on one of the nearby reefs and I have to say it was one of the most intense things I've ever experienced. As we started descending on our first dive we noticed Remorae swimming all around us. These 1-2 ft long fish are the sucker fish you always see attaching themselves to sharks and whales. They're really funny looking with their flat grippy heads and they swim right up to you.

We then got to the reef at about 25m deep and they got us to sit against a rock wall behind a rope railing. Big schools of Trevellie as well as some groupers and other reef fish were frantically swarming around. They then proceded to take chopped fish out of their bags and spread it around in front of us. Very shortly some massive Bull Sharks showed up for the meal. These were about 3-4m long and quite fat. I'm sure they would have had no problem finishing off a person in one sitting. Some lemon sharks and silvertips about the same size were right behind them with two big nurse sharks feeding on the bottom. Altogether there were about 10 large sharks having dinner about 6 feet away from us. A pretty amazing experience.

After the dive we came back to the boat for a 1 hour surface interval before our second dive. Your blood absorbs nitrogen when you breath compressed air and this break is to give it time to dissipate. The sun was shining though so we didn't mind.

The time came for the second dive and we were lucky. All the same sharks were there but we hardly noticed them. The star of the show was a 5m (16ft) tiger shark which was over 1m in diameter. Picture 3 cows end to end with no legs and the size is about right. This thing was HUGE and watching it quench its equally huge appetite was pretty amazing. One time it grabbed a whole food bag from the feeder (maybe 30 gallons in volume) and ate the whole bag in 2 chomps. Several times this behemoth came within 2 ft from us including one time when it swam straight towards us and went up over our heads at the last minute. We could have grabbed its belly if we had the guts to stick our arms out. Apparently these are the 2nd most dangerous shark after great whites but these ones have practically been domesitcated by being fed every day. They say theres never been an accident but we didn't want to take any chances.

Anyways, all in all one of the most intense and memorable experiences of my life and by far the best dive I've done. They say we were quite lucky as only about 1 in 5 of the trips see tiger sharks. We may go again before we leave but those aren't very good odds so we'll probably just keep the memories we have. I bought a DVD of that dive (not our dive but same place and sharks) so I'll try to take some screenshots and get them uploaded. Well its looking windy so time to unpack the kites. Ciao.

Tsulu, Pacific Harbour, Fiji

2006-06-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

We arrived today at Erics resort and its quite impressive. They bought an old apartment complex that was built in the 70's and are converting it to a modern backpacker resort. Tsulu is the name and its inside a complex called Arts Village which has a number of small shops, retaurants, etc. Most importantly, the kite beach Eric spoke of is definately real. Across the street we have about 5 kilometers of sand beach with cross/onshore winds and no coral or rocks in site. The beach is a little narrow at low tide but we can work around it, this place will do just fine.

We're now planning on staying here for a couple weeks. We got setup in a room with an adjoining kitchen and living room so we can buy our own food and cook meals which is pretty nice. Also a balcony to hang wet clothes and kite gear. Aparently the very wide Naveoua River is a few miles away and one of the best kite spots in the area. Will have to check that out sometime.

The owners seem very nice and should be able to get us deals on some of the tours and dives around here. Anyways, will post more shortly. Cheers.

Robinson Crusoe Island, Fiji

2006-06-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

So we're now back on the mainland and we just spent the last 3 days on Robinson Crusoe Island. Its known as one of the louder islands in Fiji. We got a 3 day package with food and had quite a good time. The island attempts to let its guests experience traditional Fijian culture and does a decent job of it. Theres a Kava drinking ceremony every night and every second night they put on a Fijian dance show which includes some pretty amazing firespinning.

Ah yes Kava. Kava is to Fijians as coffee or beer is to us westerners. The drink closely resembles muddy water, both in look and taste. It is mixed in a large bowl and then handed out in ritualistic fashion to the ceremony participants. The drink produces a narcotic effect which is only noticible after 5 or 6 coconut bowls. After 8 or 10 bowls a person gets quite intoxicated as many of the locals demonstrated. Unfortunately we couldn't get more then 3 bowls of it so we'll have to find some of our own later on.

The fire show was quite amazing. Just about everyone spun staff and there was one girl who spun poi. I would have to say about they were about the same ability as the ones at Koh Phangan though there were more participants here. The traditional Fijian dances were also quite interesting to watch.

And how was the kitesurfing... SWEET. We had enough wind to kite 2 of our 3 days at Robinson and took full advantage of it. We used my 12m M-80 as Corey's Spectrum II still has a hole in it. I am loving this new kite. Its handling and power are excellent and if you do manage to crash it, relaunching is dead easy with the 5th line. Looks amazing in the air too (Thanks for the hook up Scott).

I am looking forward to many more days of kiting with it. I sold my seat harness with my old kite and am now using a waist harness which is a bit of a weird transition. Seat harnesses are easier as you can ride sitting down but you can't move your hips as well. With a waist you free your hips for better riding ability but the adjustment takes some getting used to.

On the third day the wind didn't blow so we tried unsucessfully to patch the Spec-II 3 times. The hole was at the very end of the air bladder though so we then tried tying the bladder in a knot and it held for a full hour. Hopefully it keeps going until we can get a new one shipped.

Anyways, that about sums up our time at Robinson. We met a resort owner who's got a place near Suva with an apparently awesome kite beach. Will probably head there for our next stop as he will hook us up with a deal. Until then...

( See All Robinson Crusoe Island Photos )

Arrived in Fiji

2006-06-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

So I finally arrived in Nadi after a 16 hours of flying and 7 hours of layover in the Sydney Airport. I have to say I like this place already. The temperature is just right (like 20-25 degrees) and not too sticky like Thailand. After getting my pack and kite gear I headed to Beach Escape Villas and met up with Corey, Laura and Jon. This place is pretty nice, its got a pool and Jon and I got a 7 bed dorm to ourselves. Looks like tommorow we're gonna book a tour to one of the nearby islands. Can worry about that tommorow though, time to relax.

The kite gear is all here. We got 2 kites, 2 boards, and all the supporting gear. It was a pain getting it here but it will be well worth it. Unfortunately Corey's underwater camera case leaked in Australia and his camera didn't get along with the salt water. We still have mine but looks like underwater photos and movies are out of the trip for now.

Fiji Adventure Plans - Nananui Ra

2006-01-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is an island in Fiji we will be heading to in June for the start of our month long Fiji kitesurfing tour. After a week or so at the kiting resort on this island we will set out for more remote locations, likely on the Mamanuca group.

With us we will have a Canon Powershot SD500 with a waterproof case good to 120ft, a laptop to download photos and movies, and a solar panel to charge everything. Stay tuned for some good pictures and videos in July.

Kiteboarding in Nanaimo

2005-09-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend Jon, Corey, and I went up to Corey's parents place in Nanaimo, BC. Just a block from their house is an amazing kiting beach. The first day wasn't so strong and we mostly powered jumped on the shore but the next day was alright getting up to about 18 knots. We should have brought our 16m Wipika as we were underpowered on our 2 12m's. Props to Coreys parents for the awesome Salmon dinner Sunday. Check out all the photos here.

Maui, Hawaii - Windsurfing at Kanaha

2005-02-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

During our 2 week vacation in Maui this February we had the opportunity to spend 3 days windsurfing at Kanaha. The wind was strong blowing 20-25 knots most of the time. Check out the pics below...