2 1/2 hr bus ride later we arrived. Now I don't know how to explain the north shore. There are houses about 3 rows deep from the beach in this very red volcanic soil. Most of them are run down with the occasional newer house. If you didn't know better you would say you were in Thailand. Its certainly a laid back non developed place.
We got off the bus and walked along the beach, as we headed down we saw some huge waves in a massive shore dump. Its like they come from no where, there is no huge swell and then it just starts standing up into this massive wave which breaks very heavily on the reef below.
As we walked we saw lots of heads in the water and kept going until we reached a break known as "Off The Wall".
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| Big north shore waves |
There were 50 guys in the water a crowd on the beach as well as video cameras and photographers with big lenses.
The waves were 3 stories high in some sets with a big tube which was hard to make, only one or two would paddle for each wave with the inside guy pulling off early, so surprisingly it was very ordered. I guess you cant muck around when the potential wipe out is big. We saw one snapped board and were only there 30min.
We saw a few guys wipe out but not many. There was even this mad body surfer we caught on video.
We spent a lot of the day walking, there is nothing but ramshackle houses all the way along the shore, no shops or any sign of tourism at all. It was hard to find any where to eat or buy anything. It is very surprising that some where that is so well known for surfing has resisted the urge to over develop. Its good news for those of us who want to get out there and watch or even game enough to participate.
We plan on heading out there on Monday to find a suitable wave for us and some other Australians we met in Waikiki. Hope it goes well.
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