hey guys, im going to be staying on the north shore from the start of the pipe masters until new years. if anybody has any experience they could share about where to go, what to, id be truly grateful!

im particularly looking to buy a secondhand board while im there, so where would the best place be to go that has the biggest range. im probably looking to get a 6'4 or so with a rounded/pin tail, if that helps at all. im also looking to get a bike with a surfboard rack for that period of time, so any helps with that would be great too! im staying about half way between pipe and waimea, so hopefully ill be able to bring back an array of pics and vid to share!

^ Lucky bugger.

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62mac said...

^ Lucky bugger.

+1 very jealous - standing on the beach at pipe watching those fellas go nuts would have to be the best sporting theatre you could ever watch. Enjoy n I look forward to seeing yr pics

Hey mate I stayed there last december like you in a house between waimea and pipe, you'll love it, as was just said, watching 15ft+ waves at Pipe break 50m shore is really something. Rather than getting a bike i'd suggest hiring a car, even though all the breaks you've heard of are between Waimea and Sunset(bout 30 min ride) you'll still want to be able to go to Haleiwa and the likes. Though you'd be mad trying to drive anywhere while the masters is on, its a gridlock along the hwy during the day. There is only one shop the Foodland and a couple of food vans up from Waimea, other restaurants etc are all at Haleiwa. The Foodland is a spinout as it's the only grocery shop up there, so you'll see all the pro's in there, likewise the bakery up at Sunset.
As for second hand boards you can't go wrong. There are 2 shops at Sharks Cove that stock tonnes of em and the prices are awesome, I picked up a brand new 7' for $400 there.
I got pretty lucky while I was there with a huge swell for the masters then an even better(cleaner) one about a week later.
My list of must do's for you would be, go out at Pipe, Sunset etc, bodybash waimea shorey, have a pie with occy at the sunset bakery(saw him there nearly every day!). The crowd isn't as heavy as it's made out either, pay your dues, wait your turn and you won't have a drama.

You will have a ball but be respectful. 6'4 might be a little small for somewhere like Sunset - I was on a 7'4 there when it was solid but I guess it depends where you are surfing. Order your boards from Eric Arawaka before you get there and pick up in Haleiwa once you get there is my suggestion. If not there are plenty of boards you can pick up off a rack. Boards are a lot cheaper but the blanks are not as good as at home. There are so many good waves there! I'm in the process of booking for this winter after going there last winter! Like last winter I will be going once the circus has left town. I can't wait to get back there and away from our white pointers!

so, foodland's a rip-off? i had heard that previously, but wasnt entirely sure. I'm 180cm and about 85kgs; I'm thinking I probably won't ride waves above 6-8ft. Then again, it's hawaii, i could surprise myself. do you still think i'd need to go bigger than 6'4? I just don't want to go that big that I'm struggling to fit the board into the smaller stuff.

i won't have enough money to hire a car. i think im better off hiring a bike the entire time and catch a cab whenever i wanna go somewhere else of significance (but where else would you wanna go when you're on the north shore of oahu?? pfffft). are there any places that hire bikes with board carriers? im very much looking forward to getting some live vid of the pros in action!

long time since i was there and while the waves were good you are never lonely.
Sunset was the best place to pick a few off simply because of the area of the takeoff zone the downside is getting mowed down by rogue west peaks, the consolation being that misery loves company and you won't be alone in that dilema.
You used to be able to pay a buck on the bus and go as far as you like that may have changed but the buses ran all the way around the island and the great thing was that they had bike racks on the front
mark foo had a backpackers right next to waimea and there were quite a few bike hire places as there is a bike track running pretty well along the north shore breaks
load up for night in waikiki ,get a photo with the duke ,whiz off to walmart and you can normally buy a cheap cruiser (bike) for $100 which can work out cheaper than a rental and you can leave to some grommet when you go

There really isn't that much up there mate, certainly no bike hire joints or anything. There arent signs saying this is pipe this is sunset etc either! They've kept the country pretty country up there as all the stickers say. Picture margs 20-30 years ago and that is what it's like. I agree with buying a bike at walmart, they have a 3 month no questions money back policy. Sign up for a customer card at foodland and you get a bit of discount. They have u by the nuts though cos there is nothing up there! I'd go bigger than a 6'4, maybe a 6'8 or 10. A car is about $40 a day at one of the dodgy Waikiki joints and worth it. You'd be spending a few hundred if you cabbed it up there and back. As for cabs up there, I can't remember seeing any!

its $2.50 for the bus now. a tad more expensive, but obviously not even nearly as costly as here. i believe that backpackers place is still around. its one of the places i enquired into. its apparently now terribly maintained and a place that has wild parties every night. they also apparently have one of marks board on premises and the reviews are that they dont deserve to have that board there.

yep, heard about the extensive bike path. it featured in last years hawaii edition of surfing life. that why i wanna get a bike. must be absolutely beautiful just having a ride around and seeing hawaii in its natural state.

I've been there 3 times in the past 8 years, 3 months in total, each time I either stayed at the backpackers or in their units over the road. first time I bought the Walmart bike from Mililani and the last 2 times just hired a couple of bikes from the back packers for the duration.

I rode with board under arm from Waimea to Velzyland ( 15 mins max) and everything in between, such a nice ride. I did ride as far as Laniakea but that side has no paths and was a little wild.The bike ride is Haleiwa is a piece of piss (without board) or you can catch the bus.

The food land is priced about the same as here (Gero) the only exception being CC's are expensive, $10 bottles of rum and bourbon make up for that. The staff are happy to sign you up for a maika'i discound card that gives you discounts that we could only dream about here. Alternatively you can go to Haleiwa to shop.

Board wise, there are loads of boards around, and you could use anything from 6"0 to 8.0 depending on your scene. I took 3 boards and broke 2 in the first 3 surfs which left me with a 6"10. I took only the 6"10 again the next trip and had a 6"8 made for me to be picked up there last trip.

I have had an awesome time each time I have been there, so much to do so little time.

Edit: more info,

The days that I wanted hire car, I used Enterprise Car Rental from the Turtle cove resort or from Wahiawa, they were happy to drop the car to you and drop you back after the hire.

New and used boards from the shark cove shops, Surf & Sea or from the other surf shops at Haleiwa, Waikiki had great range and the best prices. Heaps of boards on craigs list also.

Plenty of places to eat at Haleiwa if you want to eat out, which is only 4 miles from the North Shore (Waimea).

The BUS is great for getting around, you could probably get a 7 or 30 day pass if you are there long enough.

And as mentioned by blueball, body surf the Waimea shore break if it gets some size, that without a doubt was one of the highlights, it will scare the bejesus out of you if you take your eye off the ball.

Car hire is cheap around $50 bucks a day. you will want a car for sure.
Like Cranky I also used Enterprise car rentals. It is a bit of a wait in traffic when the swell is up.
The bus is $2.50 now and takes about 3 hours to get from waikiki to the north shore. You can ride a pushy along the north shore ( sunset to waimea ) but Haleiwa is a bit of a hike.
If you do hire a pushy LOCK IT UP, Both wheels and frame.
Foodland is pricey but what do you do. The shrimp truck at the servo in haleiwa is good grub Also Teds Bakery at Sunset
You could also walk down to the Marina at Haleiwa, someone might sell you some fish??
If you get really hungry there are pineapples everywhere.
Try and hire a moped with a board rack cheap as.
Boards are everywhere The Cove (@ Waimea ), Haleiwa and you can get boards from The Surfboard Wharehouse in Honalulu for around $450 new.
Definitly would go a bit longer and a tad thicker in board.
Go low key and cruz you will have a great time, ( show respect and the locals will give it back )
Can't wait to go back early next year.
Stay safe and have a blast. Lucky Bastard

If I were going I'd be tempted to look into a custom Greg Griffin board if you don't mind his online persona.

good to know about the car hire. i believe its a necessity to see a sunset from kaena point, so i might just have to do that! is it easy enough to get a US licence though? if i dont have a scooter licence there (or a car licence for that matter), would i still be able to get one there? wouldnt mind going down to waikiki, as well as kaena point, so a scooter might come in very handy. are you allowed to ride a scooter on the bike path? how much would per d

yep, iv heard traffic is simply ridiculous while the pro circus is in town. will be cycling for that period of time. any idea where i can find a bike for a reasonable price long term (3 weeks) that has a board rack on the back?

dont tell me board prices like that!! i might end up exporting half a dozen of them back home!

Yeah mate the board prices are all like that!!!
I wouldn't hire a scooter, i hired a 300cc one and rode from Honolulu to the North Shore one day and would never do it again, you'll **** yourself on the Highway(i did anyway) plus its always pissing with rain on the high grounds and the roads have grooves in them for the rain and these grab the wheels. No one is one scooters on the North Shore either, it's all cars and pushies.
If you have a drivers licence for here that will be fine for there(need a motorcycle licence for scooters over 150cc though), no need for a US one or anything so getting a car wouldn't be an issue. I got mine from Chase Car Rentals in Honolulu and he did a pretty good deal for the 3 weeks I had it.
The traffic is only bad during the day while the event is ON, lay days or any other day its fine.
You could easily hitch your way from Haleiwa to Sunset as well, every second car is a monsterous F350 or similar, so someone will throw you in the back!

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blueball said...

Yeah mate the board prices are all like that!!!
I wouldn't hire a scooter, i hired a 300cc one and rode from Honolulu to the North Shore one day and would never do it again, you'll **** yourself on the Highway(i did anyway) plus its always pissing with rain on the high grounds and the roads have grooves in them for the rain and these grab the wheels. No one is one scooters on the North Shore either, it's all cars and pushies.
If you have a drivers licence for here that will be fine for there(need a motorcycle licence for scooters over 150cc though), no need for a US one or anything so getting a car wouldn't be an issue. I got mine from Chase Car Rentals in Honolulu and he did a pretty good deal for the 3 weeks I had it.
The traffic is only bad during the day while the event is ON, lay days or any other day its fine.
You could easily hitch your way from Haleiwa to Sunset as well, every second car is a monsterous F350 or similar, so someone will throw you in the back!

Spot on blueball
I did get an International licence here in OZ from RACQ for $34 bucks, but they didn't even want to see it. Not even when I hired a Convertible Comaro [}:)]
You should be able to get the same licence from RACWA? or who ever does car insurance in WA. For $30 something bucks you may or may-not need it. But it would suck to go all that way, don't get one and then have the guy at the car rental ask for it
Driving on the wrong side of the ??? Don't sweat, the first hour is a bit of a stress but after that its all good.
Monster trucks everywhere all jacked up 6 foot off the ground
We were driving along the H1 with a big F250 beside us 3 brudha's in the cab and another 4 in the back tray having lunch.
If your really keen, have your wits about you and a bike licence a Harley Davidson can be hired anywhere in waikiki for $99 per day, and no helmet laws on the island so you can cruze the island on a fat-boy Arnie Scwartznigger style
As for the pushie hire, from memory the best I could find was $20 a day. Better off to just buy one for the 3 weeks for about $150. When your done just leave it where you stayed. I am sure some grom will froth over it, can't stress enough but whether you hire one or buy one LOCK IT UP!!!
One day earlier this year I walked from Waikiki to Ala Moana beach park and saw a crap load of bike frames locked to bike racks and and most of them had everything that wasn't locked up stollen Most of the local kids are pretty quick with a shifter in there hands.[}:)]

One last thing make sure you get your ESTA visa thing, I had no idea of this and nearly got stuck in Sydney, they won't let you on the plane without it and they make you sweat bullets that your application won't get instant approval, luckily for me and for a few other panicking travellers it was instant!

thanks so much for all this advice guys! some priceless stuff here that i doubt even the books would have. buying a bike definitely makes sense - just have to find one with a rack on the back. love it though - it sounds like bali except 1st world!

one other thing - at some of the perth reef breaks that are predominately lefts, with the occasional (sketchy) right, i like to paddle through the lineup and sit quite deep so i can get as many of the rights as possible. purely for the sake of having a more challenging rights to ride - nothing to do with claiming all the lefts i want (yes, iv been surfing long enough to know exactly what surf etiquette entails). would i be frowned upon doing that at pipe? coz id like nothing better than a cheeky little right barrel while everyone's chasing the lefts.

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blueball said...

One last thing make sure you get your ESTA visa thing, I had no idea of this and nearly got stuck in Sydney, they won't let you on the plane without it and they make you sweat bullets that your application won't get instant approval, luckily for me and for a few other panicking travellers it was instant!

got the esta! easily done. only stupid thing is that i didnt see it until someone pointed it out to me... and that was after i paid the $160 for the b-2 visa.

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sparki said...

one other thing - at some of the perth reef breaks that are predominately lefts, with the occasional (sketchy) right, i like to paddle through the lineup and sit quite deep so i can get as many of the rights as possible. purely for the sake of having a more challenging rights to ride - nothing to do with claiming all the lefts i want (yes, iv been surfing long enough to know exactly what surf etiquette entails). would i be frowned upon doing that at pipe? coz id like nothing better than a cheeky little right barrel while everyone's chasing the lefts.

Probably the fastest route to a smack in the mouth from a 300 pound man that you can find...........

Why bother. Plenty of less crowded waves in cheaper locations that are better quality and won't hand you a second arse if you stuff up....

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Tux said...

sparki said...

one other thing - at some of the perth reef breaks that are predominately lefts, with the occasional (sketchy) right, i like to paddle through the lineup and sit quite deep so i can get as many of the rights as possible. purely for the sake of having a more challenging rights to ride - nothing to do with claiming all the lefts i want (yes, iv been surfing long enough to know exactly what surf etiquette entails). would i be frowned upon doing that at pipe? coz id like nothing better than a cheeky little right barrel while everyone's chasing the lefts.

Probably the fastest route to a smack in the mouth from a 300 pound man that you can find...........

haha! true that! good point. i just find it strange that you'd have to wait your turn from the right of the peak, to catch a right hander. might try the immediately surrounding breaks for a slightly less crowded attempt at some tricky rights. but i will be trying all the breaks in that general vicinity while im there.

do you think ill struggle to catch bigger stuff on say a 6'7? im initially going to be going for the smaller stuff, but once i get the confidence up, i dont want to be undergunned but still have a good length to be able to set my line and do maneuvers with relative ease. im ~180cm tall and weigh ~85kgs and am quite fit. i will definitely be going a board with more volume, but the length is the big concern - especially for taking steeper drops (not sure i wanna go for 7' or above, but very open to advice).

Looking out at Pipe from the beach plenty of the surfers sit left of the peak to go left to get the money shot especially on a swell with West in it, those going Backdoor are generally amongst that lot. Though there are times where Backdoor is far more enticing than Pipe and the opposite occurs(when the swell has North in it), all depends on the current swell direction. Both don't really start breaking until it's head high plus either. Hole in the wall is about 50m south of Backdoor/Pipe which is another nice barreling right for you. All the guys in Hawaii ride big long boards. I went out at in big Sunset on a 7' and felt seriously under gunned and would of loved another foot of board under me, I also surfed Pipe about 6' on a 6'4 and felt 'okish!'. For the most part under 6' your 6'4 will be ok, any bigger and you'll want more. It's all about speed and paddling power out there.

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Tux said...

sparki said...

one other thing - at some of the perth reef breaks that are predominately lefts, with the occasional (sketchy) right, i like to paddle through the lineup and sit quite deep so i can get as many of the rights as possible. purely for the sake of having a more challenging rights to ride - nothing to do with claiming all the lefts i want (yes, iv been surfing long enough to know exactly what surf etiquette entails). would i be frowned upon doing that at pipe? coz id like nothing better than a cheeky little right barrel while everyone's chasing the lefts.

Probably the fastest route to a smack in the mouth from a 300 pound man that you can find...........

haha true as. One day I was out at the duke statue surfing this little right. It was 3 foot with the odd 4 footer coming through. I had one of those surfs where you've got your mojo goin and having a good sesh and being Jonny on the spot every set. Cool I thought this is fun Then this Older local looked at me and just said "You to many waves" I knew what he men't by it. So I slowed down and only started paddling for waves every second set.
Then about 15 mins later he paddled over said Aloha and welcome to the Islands.

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Locky24 said...

Tux said...

sparki said...

one other thing - at some of the perth reef breaks that are predominately lefts, with the occasional (sketchy) right, i like to paddle through the lineup and sit quite deep so i can get as many of the rights as possible. purely for the sake of having a more challenging rights to ride - nothing to do with claiming all the lefts i want (yes, iv been surfing long enough to know exactly what surf etiquette entails). would i be frowned upon doing that at pipe? coz id like nothing better than a cheeky little right barrel while everyone's chasing the lefts.

Probably the fastest route to a smack in the mouth from a 300 pound man that you can find...........

haha true as. One day I was out at the duke statue surfing this little right. It was 3 foot with the odd 4 footer coming through. I had one of those surfs where you've got your mojo goin and having a good sesh and being Jonny on the spot every set. Cool I thought this is fun Then this Older local looked at me and just said "You to many waves" I knew what he men't by it. So I slowed down and only started paddling for waves every second set.
Then about 15 mins later he paddled over said Aloha and welcome to the Islands.

haha! 'you have too much fun'. he was jealous as. but at least he said something rather than just smashing you. thats the issue im thinking of - why have a 7' for 3-4' waves? maybe i should just bite the bullet and get something for the small and then something else for the bigger stuff. decisions, decisions!

also, does anybody know about the 'wavefinder surf guide US & hawaii' by larry blair and buzzy kerbox and where to find it? or another good book for surf in those areas?