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	Thursday, 29 September 2005

Muriwai Moose Madness 2005 It's that time of year again. Time for the Muriwai Moose Meet. At the start of summer, early October, is the annual gathering of kite buggy pilots from around New Zealand (and the world) at 'Mooseland'.  Mooseland is actually South Head, at the North end of Muriwai Beach, near Auckland. The event is two days of Moose madness. 50km of fast beach to buggy (each way) and acres of huge sand dunes to play in (and camp in). I went to my first meet there in 1998, and thats what really got me hooked on the sport. I've been to two others since then so this years meet with be my fourth. Its on this weekend! I can't believe its snuck up on me and I haven't even mentioned it here yet. No countdown... nothing. This year I am ride sharing with two buggy pilots coming from Ashburton, Craig and Sam. I will be meeting them in Picton tomorrow morning where we will board the inter-island ferry to Wellington and driving to Muriwai. We will camp in Muriwai Friday night and be the first on the beach, when the tide has retreated enough, on Saturday. Everyone meets at the South end of Muriwai beach mid-morning on Saturday and we drive, or buggy, about 50km up the beach to Mooseland. There we play, and camp in the dunes Saturday night (always a good night around the campfire). Sunday its more kite flying then back down the beach before the tide cuts us off. Some of us will then continue North for a whirlwind tour of the incredible beaches of the far north. We will have to be back in Wellington to catch the ferry home the following Friday (the 7th) so we will have a few days to explore. We missed Baylys Beach last year, and the wind was wrong when we were at 90-mile Beach so those two are a priority, but there are literally hundreds of smaller sand beaches in the area too. Here are some photos from last years trip. I am in the process of packing the van now. Kites and buggies are in, next is the food and beer. I won't be bothering trying to blog on the road like I did last year. There are no internet connections where I'm going, so see you in a week and a day, when I get back. I promise lots of photos and maybe even some video. 1:19:50 PM    Comment []

	Saturday, 24 September 2005

Feels Like Summer This afternoon was luminous. Bright clear skies, with a gentle and smooth nor-west wind sliding in from the bay. After a morning in the garden (planting flax and transplanting lavendar bushes), I took the afternoon to play down at Wakapuaka Sand Flat. The toys. Devon was passing and saw the kites so stopped to give his dog Sasha some exercise. Rather I gave his dog the exercise while he took these shots with my camera... A steerable kite is a great way to exhaust a dog :D 6:41:59 PM    Comment []

	Monday, 5 September 2005

NKC Club Day at Rabbit Island It was a Nelson Kite Club meet day at Rabbit Island beach yesterday afternoon. I was to tired to write about it when I got home. I showered, ate, and went to bed. It was a great afternoon. Ted and I shared a ride out there and were pleased to be met with the first decent Northerly of the season. Unlike last club day, when it was raining, a few other club members dusted of the kites and joined us. Roy was there with his buggy, board, and kite catamaran. Bill and Marty were making the most of it too. Although the wind was strong, for a change, it was also a little gusty and unpredictable. The kind of conditions that makes it hard to choose the right kite. I started out with a nice run in the 5-wheel buggy, to the West end of the beach (about 4 kilometres away) and back again,  with the Snot-rag (an old, green 6.3m2 Arc kite). Just as I returned from that run the wind began to die a little so I got out the 8.5m2 C-Quad for a spin. After about ten minutes of fun with that kite, the wind began to gust strongly from the west and the 8.5 was threatening to lift the 5-wheel buggy and me right off the ground. So I stopped and dragged my 6.3m2 c-quad, but as I was unpacking it Ted suggested I try his 19m2 Venom... ...that's right, 19 square meters of terror, in a gusty wind. How could I say no? The venom is a monster of a kite with incredible power on demand. Unlike the C-Quads, the Venom has the ability to de-power when you need to; a feature that comes in very handy indeed. I was having no problems popping huge jumps with ease. Just pull back on the bar and hang on baby! This beast will just rocket you skyward like a bungy cord. When required altitude is reached just ease the bar forward and it will place you back on the beach like an elevator. I still haven't flown the second hand 15m2 F-Arc I bought at the end of summer yet. Ted tells me it will be a lot like the Venom... but with out the brakes, and good manners. Real reassuring. By the time we packed up and left the wind had turned Easterly and cold, and it was threatening to rain. I took this shot right before we left. I love this place... (click for 1024x768 desktop wallpaper) 12:59:10 PM    Comment []

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