REVIEW OF 2025
Our Story
Another year is coming to an end. Time to look back and remember all the good times and adventures we had during 2025!
Once again we are house and cat sitting. I know, it sounds like a recurring theme, but I guess that’s because it is: During the busy time over the Christmas period we like to get off the road for a few weeks. This time we found a gorgeous cat to look after in the Nelson area. The stunning views across Tasman Bay make for a good office. It’s nice to sit down with a cup of coffee and to look back at what we have been up to during the last 12 months. So, grab yourself a beverage as well and enjoy the read!
Early January 2025, after finishing our house sit in Christchurch, we went to Lake Clearwater for a few days. We still had to organise the catering for our Lake Clearwater Camping Surfari later in summer, so this was a good excuse for dropping in there. Despite a bit of a cold blast, I did get the opportunity to try my new ART V2 879 foil and immediately fell in love with it.
Our next stop was the Mackenzie Country to treat ourselves to a bit of lake-time before we get busy. With a solid Easterly flow, Lake Aviemore delivered day after day after day. Some of the days we just kept on rigging down, starting out with a 5m wing, ending with a 3.3m windsurf sail!
We also had the honour of welcoming pro windsurfer Sol Degriek (if you don’t know who she is, look her up!) in Taranaki and helping her out with our premium rental equipment – it’s fit for a world champion!
End of January and early February we had our two sold out Canterbury Lakes Discovery Trips. Both groups were a fantastic bunch of keen watersports people with about 50% being from New Zealand, and the other half from all over the world. Read our Tripreport here if you want to know what you missed out on.
For end of February we returned to Lake Clearwater. First, to join the CWA (Canterbury Windsports Association) Womens Weekend, then for our own inaugural Lake Clearwater Camping Surfari. Both events were fantastic, wind every day and nice atmosphere. You can find more about them here.
After 10 days, we eventually run out of food and water and had to leave this happy place. I personally hadn’t spent much time north of Westport, so we were keen to explore the area. Those who know us, know that we don’t travel fast and we wouldn’t miss an opportunity to get on the water neither. Lake Brunner was just what we were looking for!
We spent most of March south of Westport, travelling up the coast and enjoying stunning sunsets at Cape Fouldwind (see title picture). With a nice sunny forecast for a few days, we headed eventually up the Denniston Plateau, an old coal mining area and fantastic area to explore! Though you don’t want to be there when some bad weather is coming in: It’s a 600m high plateau right off the coast – it can get pretty cold and miserable sitting in the clouds! We then carried on further north along the coast towards Karamea and the end of the Heaphy Track for the month of April. Yes, we spent over 4 weeks in that area! Most of the time on the mountainbike or just walking, though we had a few crazy windy days too!
May saw us starting our migration North again, in time for our Northland Surfaris at the end of the month. But not without a quick stop in Wellington, where we had a couple of nice (not crazy) days on the water with friends in Eastbourne and Plimmerton. This was a great opportunity as well to try my new Seventhwave wetsuit for the first time! It didn’t disappoint.
In June on our way North we stopped for a few days at the beautiful Kai Iwi Lakes. With a hauling Westerly wind at the coast, the Kai Iwi Lakes did get just the right amount of wind for some epic winging on crystal clear (and surprisingly warm) water. No photos, sorry, we were too busy having fun!
The majority of winter from June through to August we spent in Northland, as every year. The weather has been very unsettled the second half of the year, which resulted in lots and lots of windy days – yay! Though sunny days without rain were also precious to charge the van battery with our solar panel and dry everything out – only to get it wet again the next day 😉
Our inaugural Northland XL Surfari Trip was a great success and we definitely are offering more of those for the 2026 season (check out our dates here).
After a short stint of house sitting in Waipu in early September, we spent the next 6 weeks cruising around the Auckland area. A few jobs and appointments in town that were spread out over several weeks kept us there. Despite having lived in Auckland for nearly 10 years, we were surprised of how much we hadn’t explored previously with all the stunning Regional Parks (you can camp in most of them).
By late October we finally managed to get to Taranaki. Just in time for the Taranaki Wave Classic, that didn’t happen this year. Though that didn’t deter people from flocking to “The Naki” and having a good time on the water over Labour Weekend! As always a great opportunity to catch up with friends from all over the country.
We spent the month of November in Taranaki, sailing, winging, mountainbiking and doing a bit of work here and there. And, of course, hanging out with our friends there….
December leads us back to the South Island. While we love spending winter in the North, it always feels like coming home when driving off the ferry in Picton. Before we settled into our house sit in the Nelson area, we made the most of the remaining time and drove over Takaka Hill into Golden Bay and the far side of Able Tasman National Park. Totaranui Campsite is a favourite of ours, although the conditions for winging are usually not very good. But the conditions for kayaking and exploring prestine beaches are premium!
We now have 2 more weeks in Nelson before we head to the lakes, first Lake Clearwater for our Camping Surfari, then our Canterbury Lakes Discovery Trips end of January and early February – I’m already looking forward to them!
Looking to travel New Zealand? Check out Water Nomads for Watersports Rental and Surfari Trips!
