Costa Rica? Australia? somewhere!!!

[Hang11]

^^that is very cool.
I will have to look into that.

How hard is it to get the working holiday visa?

I've done it for NZ - it was very easy, fill in a form, send it off with a small fee, and it's done.

A lot of countries use working holiday visas to help fill seasonal employment shortages for things like fruit picking, hospitality jobs etc, and have reciprocal agreements.

Have a look here for Oz visas http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working ... /index.htm

[RJD]

Think so long as you meet the age requirements fairly easy.

NZ Working holiday scheme for US:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/ ... scheme.htm

not sure of the staus of WHV for Aus for US citisens...

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/index.htm

[greg@hoodatsurfco]

thanks for the information, I will certainly look into this!

[cwell27]

Hey bro, your best bet is to fly into brisbane (Australia), buy a cheap van and drive the coast down to Melbourne. Your guranteed pumping waves. The east coast is littered with sick points and beachies. If you aim to go in January that is the start of the cyclone season so the Sunshine coast down to the Gold coast is unreal. Crowded but unreal!! Then try to get over to NZ for a bit after that!! Flights are cheap

[ANZAC]

Loads of work in the Sydney papers for backpackers. Also our wages arn't too bad compared to US figures. Especially in hospitality/wait staff etc. Our tips just arnt like urs.
The Byron backpackers are up there with the best. Also there is Manly Lodge in Sydney and if you head up to Surfers, there's a million up there.
Best way to travel Australia is get a cheap Van. You can eat sleep, shag and travel in your own mobile land based surf charter.

[cwell27]

Yeah your right byron has unbeliveble backpackers!! The Aquarius is the best. There are heaps of good places to stay in NZ also. Really easy to park a van somewhere and not get a ticket or asked to move on. Loads of uncrowded waves to

[ANZAC]

How cold is NZ? Seriously.....

[greg@hoodatsurfco]

^^is the water warm there? like trunk-able in the summer?

[Hang11]

How cold is NZ? Seriously.....

Depends where you are - bottom of the S Island is freezing, winter anywhere in the S Island is cold, the further up the N Island you are, it gets warmer - trunkable around Gisborne in the summer, but winter in the S Island is a 5/4, boots, gloves and hood for a couple of months, water temps get down to about 8 degrees.

[cwell27]

The North Island in summer is sweet. Trunkable from January through to April. Surfing the South island in winter is like surfing Tasmania in winter. You gotta be nuts!! Worth it though if you want uncrowded waves! There are so many sick places in the North Island! To many to choose from for such a small place.

[greg@hoodatsurfco]

As I understood.. and maybe I am crazy.. but I heard NZ surf isn't that great? Maybe the person was talking about where they were in NZ.. but how is it there?

[Hang11]

As I understood.. and maybe I am crazy.. but I heard NZ surf isn't that great? Maybe the person was talking about where they were in NZ.. but how is it there?

It's bloody good, if you go looking - so not much quality near big towns and cities, with the exceptions of Dunedin, Gisborne, and New Plymouth. Most of the good spots are out the way, so you need some transport to get to them. Same as anywhere, it's best to stick around a spot for a while to score it good.

Crowds aren't usually an issue, ony really at spots near the cities, or well known breaks like Raglan. The scenery, especially on the South Island is insane. I just flew to Dunedin from Christchurch this morning, along the East Coast, there were so many spots looking real good from the air, blue water, clear sky, and the southern alps covered in snow just inland from the coast. Can't wait for my wife to turn up at the weekend with a board for me.

Have a look at www.surf2surf.com - they sell a guide book for NZ, it's really good, and some of the pictures in there will give you an idea of the sort of waves there are.

But the south does get fooking cold during the winter. I usually snowboard unless it's really going off, for a couple of months.

[cwell27]

Also the top of the North Island is sick. Shippies is easily one of NZs best waves. There are also so many little secret bays on the east coast with no one around. Obviously the person that told you the waves wernt any good didnt really look around. If your not going to search your never going to find good waves.

[Hang11]

Here's a google earth image of a well known spot on the north east coast of the South Island. It's beside the main state highway that runs down the South Island, so completely visible from the road. Epic point, never gets too busy.



I've never surfed shippies. Heard so many good things about it, I have a friend who lives up there, he loves it. There's loads of other good spots up there too from what he says.

[ANZAC]

And yopu can surf here in summer in boardies no worries?

[Hang11]

And yopu can surf here in summer in boardies no worries?

No. You'd need a 3/2 full suit there, maybe a springie in the middle of summer. That bit of coast gets cold, because it comes out of really deep water - about 2km deep only 1km offshore. Makes for some grunty waves though.

You couldn't regularly surf in boardies on the South Island, but the North Island gets a fair bit warmer.