The Great Oceana Trip: Looking Back

Great Oceana Trip in Review

 Australia: Adventure Down Under

Day 1 of the adventure

   Four countries in a month and a half with Myles and Jack as my surfing, diving, and adventures buddies through it all. A lot of planning went into where we would go and what we would do but ultimately it would come down to weather, waves, and a little of that famous Gillespie luck to pull off what I had planned. Now that I am back home in Oahu, looking back at all the pictures and remembering all the experiences, I would saw that we accomplished 99% of everything we set out to do, plus a bunch that we stumbled upon on the way.

Exploring inland Oz

  It started for me back on Nov 15th with a long flight from Honolulu to Australia. Ending up in Brisbane, late at night, I was thrown into driving a right side steering wheeled car thru unfamiliar territory to a hostel with no way in. I fought the urge to rubber neck as I drove through downtown Brisbane and managed to unhinge the gate at the hostel and soon found my bed. The adventure begins.

Trying to find Nemo

 The next day things started falling in place. I picked up a surf board, my two traveling companions, and we caught our first waves of many to come. From this point we never slowed down. We ended up surfing some famous spots in Australia: Noosa, Coolum, Snapper Rocks, and Byron Bay. Even though it was the off season we still found surf which was very lucky. We even had time for a little inland waterfall trek adventure before catching a flight up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Epic weather and surf sesh at Snapper Rocks

Great Barrier Reef

  Here we hopped on a liveaboard boat for a diving adventure with my friends company Pro Dive Cairns. The 3 day boat trip motored straight out of Cairns to the outer reef. It was a pretty diving intensive trip with 11 dives over 3 days. Myles got certified as an open water diver and all three of us got checked out on using enriched air. As well as checking off a small part of the ultimate scuba divers' bucket list, the biggest barrier reef in the world! We found Nemo, Crash, and timed it perfectly for the annual coral spawning event on our night dives.

One of our funniest moments. Kangaroo boxing match

  Back on solid land we drove up through the rainforest north of Cairns. We stayed overnight deep in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest which turns out to be one of the oldest forest on Earth, harboring plants left over from prehistoric times. No trip to Australia would be complete without a close brush with some dangerous wildlife which we also experienced when a poisonous red bellied black snake crossed our path while hiking Mossmons Gorge. Although the most dangerous animal encounter may have come earlier at the Australia Zoo when a lounging kangaroo double punched Myles in the head. Still one of the funniest moments from the trip. Next stop Bali.

  Bali Barrels and Biker Gangs

Turtle friend on the wreck of the U.S. Liberty

Exploring underwater Bali

  I had been following the surf forecast for Bali while we traveled thru Australia and had noticed a rise in swell right about the time we arrived. So we were a bit shocked to paddle out to waist high ankle biters during our first session at Padang. The next morning we recouped over Balinese coffee (think grinds and sludge at the bottom of your cup) and Nasi Goreng (the best fried rice you will ever get for $2), and rented motor bikes to check out ultra consistent Uluwatu. It was the best decision ever. The waves were head high and peeling. The lefts went forever if you caught the right wave. The only downside from this was the extremely far paddle back after riding a wave for 30 seconds. Paddling out through the cave at Uluwatu is a right of passage for every surfer who comes to Bali and the boys performed admirably, as they would through the entire trip. Check out more surf stories and pics here.

Pound it

Bali Biker Gang

 More swell followed with many waves caught. Some of the best coming at a spot right in front of our hotel called Impossibles. Again, long lefts were the name of the game but this time they were way overhead. Welcome to the best waves of your life. Bali always has a way of coming through, even when there is no swell...

Lines rolling in at Uluwatu, Bali

  In between these two swells we had a chance to catch a ride up north to the sleepy town of Tulumben. It is here that the famous wreck of the U.S. Liberty sits in shallow water just offshore. It is perfect for scuba diving and we took advantage, staying just up the road and getting 4 dives in while staying just one night. Nudibranchs, frogfish, bumphead parrotfish, and crazy colors reminded me why Indonesia gets my nomination for best diving in the world. And I've seen a lot.

  Next up...New Zealand's fabled South Island.

Campervan Thru Middle Earth, a.k.a. New Zealand

  It was a bit hectic our first day in New Zealand. Our plane was late, customs took forever, we needed to pick up our Escape camper van by 4pm, and check in at our hostel in Kaikoura by 7pm. In theory it should have been possible but after flight delays, airport lines, and getting rear ended when we finally did get in a taxi we were running a bit behind. Fortunately the guy working at the Escape depot said he would stay later, and the hostel left our key on the counter. Phew, our luck holds strong again.

Reflecting back on Mt Cook

Determination in the deep south, NZ

  We figured New Zealand would be strictly land adventures but we soon found out the truth. Greymouth provided excellent waves (and thankfully wetsuits), Wanaka showed the real adventure was 12,000ft above land (while jumping out of an airplane), and the Fjordlands mesmerized us with towering waterfalls and stunning sea cliffs while we glided over the deep sound in our boat. Plenty of land adventures abounded as well from hiking at Gillespies Beach, behind the scenes at Monteith's, and climbing Mt Cook (well a trail that has a Mt Cook overlook).

Sick cliff jump into Blue Pools

About to get very wet

Cruising Milford Sound

It wasn't all tropical

Deep V's across 4 countries

From 12,000 to 0ft in a couple minutes

  Even though I had been to many of these places before some surprises were still in store. Jack and Myles found an epic cliff jump into the bluest water along the Haast pass, puzzle world in Wanaka was a blast, and the mini go karting overlooking Queenstown was a rush. Not to mention timing working its magic to put us in the heart of Middle Earth on the night of the world premier of the Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug. One of the greatest treats was doing all of this with style, in a van painted with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The only way to travel in NZ

                      Fiji: Surfing, Sun, Sharks, and Scuba

Underwater Canyons

  After driving over 2500km in New Zealand we all wanted a little break so I had planned a stay in a nice place on a quiet corner of Fiji's main island. From here we could get boats for surfing, diving, and even the Beqa shark dive. The managers at the Waidroka Resort where we stayed were great. Our surf guide Joel showed us some fun, but shallow local breaks before taking us to one of the best waves I've ever surfed, Frigates. This outer reef passage is miles away from land and took about an hour by boat. I didn't think any wave we saw was going to compare to what we surfed in Indo but this wave may have taken the prize. We scored so big at Frigates that we went back the next day only to find the wind and lack of swell had left only a shadow of the great wave that was the day before. But not to be deterred we strapped on scuba tanks and descended to find one of the best dive sites in Fiji.

The Famous Beqa Shark Dive

 As our grand trip neared its end there was only one big adventure left for us, the Beqa Shark Feeding Dive. Two tanks, an unknown number of sharks (I couldn't count them all), and the photo of the trip sums it up. It blew away my expectations.

Perfect Wave- Frigates Passage

   Some unforgettable moments: Myles being punched by the kangaroo, Jack realizing a bumper and tail light replacements only cost $64 in Bali, watching Myles exit the airplane at 12,000ft, watching the crowd watch us cliff jump Blue Pools, going from having no checked luggage allowed to all of it checked in for free in Brisbane, and seeing the boys faces when paddling back after catching the best wave of their life, again, and having my sunglass snatched from my face by a thieving monkey....all priceless memories.

Searching across Oceana for the fabled 'green room'