ok its time to start considering gathering for the lower north island crew.

i'm thinking himatangi/foxton.

perhaps the ohakia open day which is on fathers day.

we could consider something similar to what is organised for the 90mile trip.

have 3-4 dates set down and move to the next date if the wind is poos.

3-4 months down the line is what i'm thinking.

ps if any of your auckland kiters are reading this. You can come down too. there are beaches south of the bombay's you know. infact i'd say this is the longest smooth patch of sand in nz. only you can't bomb the whole lot as theres several rivers along the way.

thats ME! im in!!

whoot!

Yep I'm in, just coming back off a 6 week injury from playing soccer and I've missed not kiting, Keep us updated
Cheers
Dixie

will do.

i'm pretty tapped for the next couple of months but after that i'll find a window.

ps that teaches you for playing soccer and not kiting.
pss i'm still super keen to try that flysurfer of yours.

Ive been out the last 3 days in a row at me new home at Fokky. Its a sweet place allright.
NW is best for the down winders. I made it to Himitangi and back 2 weekends ago onme board, 12km each way. Too easy though, next NW im headin for Waikanae or paraparam from Foxton....

Youre all welcome anytime...

Butch

Butch are you gona kite surf across the manawatu river when heading to waikanai? or isn't it as deep as it looks? ps thats a LOOONG tack back up wind. or will you get the missis to pic you up?

i'll be heading past foxton either Wed or thursday afternoon next week 1,2 july. hopefully the wind gods will bless us with wind in the right direction.

Hi Butch,
Dixie here, should be fit again in a couple of weeks after a long lay off, looking forward to getting out again. There are a couple of us here in Palmy that go down to the estuary to kite surf and I'm also a keen land boarder, altho it gets pretty lonely out there some times. Would be glad to hook up any time as soon as I'm fit again.

If i go at low tide i should be able to walk over the estuary, and will probly make it a one way mission unless the wind is perfect direction, which i doubt.
TXT or ring me the day or 2 before ya come thru bro.

Gimme a yell when ya coming bro.
I havent had a KS since being here but wouldnt mind checking the estuary out on the right conditions.
My number is 0210632169, txt me sometime

Butch i'm Super keen to hit Foxton to Waikanae. When the weather is right give me a yell and i'll turn up. If you don't want to get so wet then hiting in from Waiterere could be an option. looking on google maps it looks like 60km. Sweet. The beach slowly hooks from almost west to nw by waikanai.

I'll be going past your way Thursday next week. probably hitting foxton 2-3pm from wellington. (low tide 12) IF the wind is playing ball you could haul towards waikanae and we could meet halfway and zip to the car in waikanai and drive back. that would be a very cunning plan.. . . . . i doubt the wind will play ball tho. grrrrr

Hi. Just found this website. Been kite landboarding in the UK for some time - moved back to NZ 2 months ago and thought the scene was dead in the lower NI but relieved to see there is one. Keen to hook up for a mission at Foxton or whatever. Count me in.... Any ideas what dates you are planning to meet??

no dates yet.... the wind is wrong at the mo. predominantly SE which we don't want for foxton.

i'd say for the next couple of months we will fly by the seats of our pants and see what happens. it will be more likley to organise something closer to spring. thats when the westerlies kick in in force!

PS welcome.

I made it from Foxton to Tangimoana and back again last weekend in the SE. Bang offshore and a wee bit messy but still fun.
Nearly dumped me kite in the sea a few times when the lulls came and thought i wasnt gonna make it back when at the tangi end and the wind got real sketchy but battled thru and made it.
Bout 30-35km round trip i reckon.

I wanna make Santoff forest next time i head north from Fokky, or Otaki at least if i head south.

Got inspired by meeting Plummet and seeing the MEGA wheels on his Beast Board! . Gonna strap on my 10 inchers and go for gold.

Any time anyones about foxton for a KGB session let me know.

Butch

Sounds good. I will keep my eyes on this forum... and the weather.

Should be up and going shortly, injury improving by the day now, waiting for my new bar on the Speed 2, I wore it out. give you a call in a week or so.

Cheers
Dixie

plummet wrote:


No worries, shes a bitch in a higher wind tho, be prepared for unexpected flying lessons...lol Best kitesurf kite I have ever had, but a real handfull on the landboard in anything more than 15knots.
Took that 10 m venom of yours to Aus with me, great fun when the wind kicked in at 25 knots plus ( kite surfing )

well let me know when if you guys are doing a land session and i'll jump in the car and burn down. I enjoyed the Blue balls buggy bash with the buggiers. They are a good bunch of dudes. But its obvious that different things are enjoyable on the different equipment. I'm hunkering to see some landboard guys speeding and jumping around.

ps i'll only burn down for onshore winds. 6hrs driving for offshore poo doesn't enthuse me.

PSS i'll try your speed dixie but at your recommended below 15 knots. I'm getting to old for leg snapping spine shattering loftings.

PSSS Butch you wait till you try my monster wheels. yourl be in the market for some yourself...... I could use almost all of the width of foxton beach with those bad boys,,,, quite and advantage in a crossshore.

Count me in...got a couple of spare rooms at the house too if anyone needs a place to crash out..and by all accounts, within a short staggering distance of Butch's place

ok the next mid day low tide is Aug 1,2.
weather permitting i'll be keen to jaunt down on the sunday.
Butch i'll be super keen to hit any distance yourve got in mind. i'm hunkering to let it all out for some speed. i'm feeling abit stiffled with my small beaches and crossshore winds...

2009/08/02 07:46 0.38
2009/08/02 14:01 -0.42

plummet wrote:


Thats typical, I will be snow kiting in Wanaka that week
Dixie

hey how good is the foxton estury for learning to kitesurf? and can you do it at low tide? or is it better at high tide?

i have a mate thats learning to kitesurf but is having troubles learning in the winter naki surf. was thinking of bringing him down when we do some land stuff so he can potter in the estury.

Hi Dave'
We go there all the time in the summer, hi tide is very good for learners as the water is not deep, low tide is also ok, but your out in the main flow of the river pretty quickly, about 5-10m. Does not work in an Easterly or Southerly.
Sometimes after a storm or a flood it can be pretty messy with all the debris washed down, but on the whole its not a bad place to learn and you can park your car where you can see it. Water is all ways flat in the shallows and never gets above a foot of chop out in the middle. Only real problem is dont piss the fishermen off.
Another good thing is that if the wind drops off you can drive round the corner and there is a perfect beach for landboarding.
If you bring your mate down let me know and I'll come down and give him a hand and show him the ropes
Cheers
Dixie

I'll throw my $0.02 worth in here..even though I'm a land kiter..

The sea is good due to the very shallow slope of the beach. You can walk out for 30m or so and still only be waist deep. I've found that, as you get closer to the river mouth, the wind (in anything but a westerly) gets a bit messy cos of the dunes. I've been snapped out of the buggy down that end...but then..I'm just a relative noob at this activity

ShaneNZ wrote:


Problem with the sea there is if its windy, its messy, not good for learners, once your out past the break its fine, but newbies will struggle in anything but a cross shore wind D. If you start by the campsite you can get out to the sea thro the river mouth we have been out that way many times in the past.

ok what i get from this is that high tide is the go for learning. low tide might be dodgy.

Now he's my next dates i'll be down

Wednesday 19th August 4pm low tide.

Friday 21st August.
5pm low tide. Now for this one it will most likley turn out to be a night kiting session. Can anyone handle kiting at night? I have super bright lights for mountain biking so i can strap these to my head and carry on at night. tho i'm not keen for nigel no mates kiting at night.

ps this weekend is looking like a blow out for me....

plummet wrote:


No worries, I'm down in Wanaka anyway, any of the above dates is good for me, catch you then. See if you can round some of the other guys up!!

I havent been out in the water yet in the Estuary but have checked it out loads. Looks like a sweet spo allright.
So Dixie...... Its better at high tide you say? Looks pretty shallow at Low tide i must say and the current doesnt look so strong although i may be wrong?? Im hoping to get out for a Kitesurf in the next couple of weeks and would appreciate some good local knowledge of the estuary, cheers.
Planning a run south down the coast this weekend to paraparaumu. Was gonna start at foxton but dunno how deep the river mouth is at low tide yet. Anyone know if its walkable without a swim? May have to start at Waiterere Beach instead although this knocks a bit off the distance which sux. Anyone know an easy way to get to the south side of the Manawatu river mouth without driving the road all the way to waiterere then driving the beach back??
Also im not sure how deep or wide the otaki river mouth is either. This may be a problem but will find out when i get there.
Gotta pick some firewood up from me brother there so seems like a sweet opportunity to try the mission with my mrs driving the road, she can rescue me if need be.

ill let yas know how i get on

Butch

Agggggh! i want to do it too!

Saturday looks your best option as the wind is turning direct northerly for Sunday.

Bummer i'm screwed saturday.

If so some magical reason the wind prediction changes and yourl be doing it sunday i'll risk rage factor 8.6 from the missis and haul down and tag along.

Why don't you slap a wet suit on and walk accross and find out?

ps middle of winter i'd just take off from waitareri. that way you wont be too wet until you hit otaki which is most the way there.

Hey Butch
Low tide is good if your intermiediate and above, your straight out into the deeper flow that runs pretty much down the centre of the river. The flow varies with the tide and wether its rained hard up in the catchment areas. sometimes there can be a mean current running out in the middle.
It can be a real help getting up wind in a westerly and we have often managed to get out into the open sea from the launch site by the camp ground, makes a fun downwinder coming back to.
High tide is sweet for learners as its so shallow, just got to watch out for submerged tree parts that can get stuck in the sand.
At low tide you have about 5 to 10 meters before you hit the main channel and its deep, I have had to swim it a couple of times in the past when the wind has died on me or on one occasion I dumped my Flexi Blade (Stop laughing)
Dont go too near the boat club either when they are racing, they get very crabby!!
The wind up by the camp site can get a bit knarly off the dunes, but once you out in the middle and further down towards the river mouth it usually smooths out and I have had some epic days down there.
Not sure if you can cross the river mouth at low tide, we have all ways skimmed over the top and I did not take much notice.
Cheers
Dixie

Butch. did you punch foxton to paraparaumu?
if so howd it go?

Sadly no.
was raining like hell on Saturday.
I drove the reccy mission on Friday. Its a pretty rugged and Barren coastline down there Felt a bit like deliverance counrty in places..... checked out the Ohau river mouth at Kuku beach and the Otaki Mouth at Otaki. Both would have been ok to cross at Low low tide but with all the rain on sat they would have been super swolen as was the manawatu mouth at Foxton. Plus the wind was nuking on sunday and a bit too much to try the mission, Gutted. Will have to reschedule till another weekend with daytime low tide and no rain for a week or so. Am still gonna do it though.

I instead had a wee ride with ShaneNZ at foxton on sat and then an epic session on the stealth buggy in the dunes on Sunday. Thats an awesome playground in there allright!! Wind was howling and was fully sheeted in on the 6 access. Was like a sandstorm in there, Wicked!!

well i'm sorta please you didn't go becuase i want to do it too! and this weekend was just too hard. yes it does get fairly remote down there. i've boarded at waitarere, waikawa, waikanae. waitarere and waikawa are sweet spots.

Hi all
Back after my not so epic week in Wanaka. Wind was pretty lame most of the week and I only managed two days up at Snow Farm. Realized after about half an hour that I had taken the wrong gear with me, I left my Blades out at the last minute due to too much stuff, big mistake, the Speed 12 was not maneuverable enough in the light winds, you really have to work your kite on the snow and the high AR of the Speed does not cut it.
The other guys that were there were on 12m Manta's and struggling a little to. When I did manage to get some wind in the kite it was fairly easy to pick up, but everything about snow is a hassle for me, getting dressed up, driving up the side of mountains, putting on chains, trudging through knee deep snow and freezing your butt off. Hardest thing I found was not being able to release the board when you crash or lose an edge. Being stuck face down in the snow and not being able to roll out as you can in the water or on a landboard was a very strange feeling for me.
In conclusion, I can see why the guys enjoy it so much and with the right gear I may have enjoyed it more, but for now I will not be rushing up another freezing mountain any time soon. Which is probably a good thing for the guys that are up there as they don,t have to put up with idiots like me ruining their day.
Cheers
Dixie

bummer. Sad to see you had a downer of a time. but thats kiting isn't it. when its bad its not worthy. . it would have been interesting to see you stoke had you actually got decent wind.

the reasons you list are the reasons why i haven't been yet. i will go at some point. this year is looking less and less likley.

ps wind must have been less than a knats fart for the speed not to work? sub 5 knots?

plummet wrote:


No, had a bit more wind than that its just that to get you up the hills in light wind you need a kite that turns fast so you can loop it around, going down and across the slope was no problem, the major problem I had was going uphill in the lighter winds.
The Speed does not turn fast enough in light wind due to its high AR, would probably have been ok on the flat. A few more knots and it would have been fine, get enough wind in her and she will pull you through a brick wall.
You will be fine with your Manta, I was impressed watching the other guys down there with theirs.
Cheers
Dixie

poo wind is looking crapola for this week.

I'll still be hitting foxton around 4 Wednesday (10knot cross shore)
and 4-5 friday (depending on the weather.

txt me when ya gettin close bro, hopefully we get some more wind this time than last

see ya wed

well we all live and hope.

the extended forecast doesn't look that good.
cross for wednesday maybe onshore 10knots for friday. but i'll be coming through late on firday. do you have any lights Butch? i've got super powerfull lights i made for mtbing. i'm keen to do some night kiting if the wind magically appears.


www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/FoxtonBeach...casts/latest/six_day
www.windfinder.com/forecast/paraparaumu

i have a 4wd with spotlights ......

www.windfinder.com/forecast/foxton_river_mouth

bizzar foxton doesn't appear on my normal wind finder nz page...? is it something yourve set up specially>?

ps.... wind is even looking worse.... oh the wind gods curse me.

This weekend is looking pretty good...so far. Tides are early-ish in the morning, but WNW wind 20/30km/hr (if I'm reading it right)

www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/FoxtonBeach...casts/latest/six_day

www.waitarerebeach.net.nz/tidetable.htm

Your right, Sunday looking favorite. May see you down there

i'll be in auckland ripping it up... hopefully.
have a good time boys. hopefully theres more than the 4knots like what i had on fri just been..... grrrr.

one of these days we'll all meet up... perhaps the ohakea day.

Ill be there, jus let me know when ya rocking up.
Sat looks better at this stage as 30 knotts forecast for sunday.
If its an early tide ill be on the beach pretty early.

See ya tomorrow