October 30, Bad Surf. Instead 南澳/Nanao 爬山 Mountain climb

The surf was totally washed out around Suao yesterday, so one has to improvise in order not to waste the trip. This region, only about 70 minutes drive from Taipei during the week to me is one of such beauty. We went to Nanao to see what had happened to the river post the large major typhoon(name slips my mind) which occured about 2 months ago. The last time I was here was last year and this river and climb is totally un spoilt area with hot springs next to the river. There are few visitors and nobody really knows about it.

The website I like best to look at if the surf is bad and you want to remind yourself of how good the waves are in Taiwan MOST OF THE TIME is http://www.surftaiwan.com/. Surftaiwan is run by Neil (never met the bloke) but I suggest you just drool over the sight of the pics and you can easily tell what a great place Taiwan is to surf. Anyway enough of that, Nanao (see location) is a small town and the surrounding area has approximately 4k population of mainly local aborigines.

The whole riverbed (Pic 1) had being nearly doubled by the water flow from the Typhoon and the original road was totally washed out. We had to ditch the car and start the walk into the mountain much earlier that thought.

Huge boulders are a feature of this walk, similar to scenes from the Harry Potter movie series filmed in New Zealand, except here the film extra's if used would be Asian looking. The surrounding hills were covered in mist and low hanging clouds, that seemed to be stationary and waiting to reveal another landslide.

After walking for another half an hour in which we only ran into two local aborigines who passed us. Thy had informed us that the road would be rebuild alongside the riverbank, now that it has being widened. They were going to checkout a net that they had put upstream to catch local fresh prawns 3 days ago. Since it had started to rain, it was crucial they got there today as further rain forecast would wash it away. Those guys scooted ahead, leaving us white guys plodding along at a snails pace. It seemed they just bounced from rock to rock, chewing binglang(local delicacy) which you could say give you a little high.



The pic above shows a telegraph pole that once stood 5 metres to the right but had landed in the river bed. Several more were strewn along the river and yes, there were no live wires to zap us to death. Now that we were really heading into the river, with the rain lifting a few large snails had appeared, lounging on the road and trees.


These creatures just slid across the road and pathway, no obstacle could stop them. The weather by now was clearing and the seemed to be more birds coming out (sorry no pics. The rocks that had being unearthed after the rain had great textures on them and were smooth as silk.


The rain then started again and it was becoming very slippery climbing over the rocks and one wrong move and you would hit a rock and injure your back or hip. There are endless ways to describe this area and again the best reference would the Harry Potter scenes that all of the world has seen over the years.

For those of you wanting to know the facts and interesting trivia about Taiwan, I would recommend http://ozsoapbox.com/. Started about 4 years ago by Michael Thurton (never met him) it is a great treasure trove of information on all aspects of Taiwan.

Qingshui 清水Wushigan吴石竿i/Shuangxi. October 27

Qingshui was messy at 520am when the photo was taken and not that much better at 745am when I passed it again but no photo taken. Shuangxi was ok at 525am see above pic but the waves did sometimes crash on the shoreline so you had to be very quick to get on the wave to the side and cutback before it dumped. I ONLY managed to do this about 5x over a 2 hour period and most of the time ended up going down the front of the wave and just managed to climb up on the board just as the wave came crashing down. Not to be a downer but this was the condition the whole time I WAS THERE and no other surfers joined. I PICKED THE WRONG SPOT. Wushi (see pic above 7.50am) was the best but crowded, about 50 + surfers and the best position was near the wire fence that goes out along the wall. You would have to queue there but can get a good wave in at least 50m and get some turns in. I SAW one surfer carve the wave up nicely. The rest of the waves further down the beach were weak 2-3ft and you would be lucky to stand up at all. Wushi definitely the winner today. Plus no breeze which is always great, water temperature 22-23 deg, wetsuit not needed.

Waiao/Dashi/Qingshui October 20, 2012. 外奥，大溪，请水

Driving past Waiao at 5.55am it was flat with 2ft messy swell at best (pic 1 above) and Wushi Port was actually worse but I didnt check out Shuangxi. Dashi had a great sunrise, albeit it a late one by the time I got there. As usual those beautiful dogs that hang around the beach for as long as I have known and greet each and all whether you come on foot or by car. Blackie and Sandy are my names I have given them, both rush up to you wagging their tails, smiling (dogs do), really happy to see you and for that they get a great pat on the nose and a small hug as I bend down to pat them. Quickly they resume their sleep pose until the next car comes. Best man's friend that I HAVE MET IN TAIWAN. At first like last Saturday, the surf is deceptive, as the swell looked flat, great morning temperature and no wind compared to last week. The current again was strong taking you from left to right after you got out past the first 20 metres or so. Great water termperature this morning, maybe 22 degrees and no need in my view for a wetsuit as the water was too warm. I was able to get out with no problem as there were no sets coming in. About 60-70 metres out there was a sandbank where the first set broke, then the water went to over 2 metres in depth until near the shore. A set came in and suddenly the waves rose up right before your eyes so you have to be aware and looking directly out to sea. The first wave came quickly so I rode it straight down, struggling to get up as the wave pushed me forward, eventually standing and riding it to the the right. The next set came quickly in much the same fashion and again I was misplaced, ending up straight down, finally standing up and riding to the left. What the heck, great weather and beach to myself so far. The swell dropped off and it was just the flying fish and I was bobbing up and down in the water which was murky today, not sure why as the typhoon was long gone. There was a bit of debris as well. Set two rolled in and this time I was ready, lined up to the side and was up fast and riding the wave sideways down the front then flicked back up just as it was closing out. Paddling back was hard yakka with current constantly a drag adding at least ten minutes, with a huge cross current, tiring work. My friend Mr Zhang turned up around 730 with about 4 other surfers to join the party and the sun was starting to breakout and I had forgot to put on suntan cream. I would become a tomato today for sure. Again I wasnt paying attention and the swell came in catching me out and dumping me serverely, followed by at least 6 other waves. With a strong current, a longtime to get outside too. I got a few more waves, just short rides as the waves faded after the sandbank,nonetheless, good rides. There was about a dozen surfers now as the sun blazed down on the beach, blackie and sandy were fast asleep. Breakfast was at the breakfast shop near Toucheng Station, Ice tea, Tuna salad burger and fried egg on pancake. I love the service and atomsphere friendly and chaootic, no change in the years I have come. Total NT70 and better value than Taipei, plus outside and 阿pleasant view of the park and station. A surfing mate called and said that Shuangxi was good, no current and 3-4 ft swell, however many riders. Dashi was bigger but strong current. On the way back to Taipei, I first drove over to Chingsui near Xietian Temple, about 60+ out crowded but swell 3ft at best. See Pic 4 below. Tiring now after 3 hours, I called it a day around 9am and the swell had picked up versus 6.15am (pic below).

October 13, Fong Geng

The swell last Sunday was North East so Fong Geng was working and attracted several surfers by around 1030am, havent seen it this good for ages. One surfer per wave, means it can take quite awhile to catch a wave depending on how good you are. Good luck.

October 13, Dashi, a wild day out.

I was up a little late today, having attended a friends birthday party last night so had a few, but not too many. I first woke up at 5am, just as it was dawn but managed to fall back to sleep. Finally at just before 7 I scrambled out of bed, got change and rode my bicycle to the van via Roxy 99(Local bar located on Jinshan South Rd) and ran into Lucas  from the party last night. Lucas was surprised to see me and I him as Lucas had just come out and was swigging on water. 'Lucas, 'wow are you also heading home man?' 'No I said, 'I am off to the beach'. 'Ok, man, take care', so we parted ways. The van (pictured above)  which I had purchased for NT32k, USD1100 hasn't yet being christened but fingers crossed, it will take me on many future trips down to Hualian/Taitung area for surfing.

Anyway, the car ride to Yilan was fantastic, with the car smooth as silk and little traffic on the road. The swell along the coast was awesome, again perfect crystal blue sea with strong well but no howling wind unlike on Wednesday (see October 10, 2012). The pic below from Cool Surfing shows perfect waves coming in from the North East,

One couldn't ask for more beautiful weather and strong well, however looks are deceiving especially with surf and heading down to the beach front at Dashi showed huge choppy swell making it hard to get out. Pic 3 above shows this. However, I was determined to make a go of it and again was the only person heading into the water. It was great to again be greeted by 2 cool resident dogs, blackie and coffee (my names) who seemed to hang on the beach.  Such friendly dogs who always came up to me wagging their tails and waiting to be pat. After a couple of pathetic stretches. I went into the sea, with the aim to get out beyond the foam to be near the huge swell. Easier said than done, that is for sure.

Today the current was strong and moving from left to right compared to Wednesday when there was none. so this plus the rip which took you out from the beach about 50 metres or so. My first attempts to get out saw me continually dumped back into the ocean by the strong surf, finally realising that since the water wasn't deep, I could initially walk out first with the board and it was a quicker way out. So I made it past the first set of foam, is the best way to describe it but if you slipped at all, the wave would pick you up and dump you hard into the sand. Now that I was paddling to get out past the next set of waves, the rip was extremely strong and current tossing me around like a corkscrew in a swell. It was tough going, having to push under several waves, ankle sticking out the back as you push the nose of the board under the wave. I have never being good at this but certainly in a big swell this is the way to go as you come through the wave supported by the board.

The goal of getting out past that big swell was now dimming after about an hour n the water, waves at least 10ft+ were insurmountable. and it seemed an impossible dream to get out. I was dragged again to the far right by the current and tried to get back on shore but the waves didn't carry you all the way. Near the shore the swell was dumping sharply into the sand and I was churned over into the sand and the water was only 4ft. I picked up my board and tried to scramble up the beach but Dashi with all its rocks, makes it hard to run quickly. Anyway back on shore I spoke to a local who just seemed to be watching. According to him, it could be better in the afternoon but I COULDN'T wait that long.

I went back out again and the swell had dropped off a bit so was able to get out a bit further. A set came through and I caught the foam of the big wave all the way to shore, carving up the water. I then went out again and within a few minutes caught a 6ft wave and took off the right hand side, back up to the top and rode it up and down to shore. Then turning round to go out again, suddenly the swell picked up out of nowhere, pounding me into the water several times and without noticing, swept way along to the other side.

I threw in the towel and decided to call it a day but getting back onshore was not that easy so I paddled back out the middle and was able to catch the foam of a wave straight onto the beach avoiding being dumped. At that same time a group of surfers who were watching me try to get out, bailed in their cars and went elsewhere to look for a better wave, Dashi was too big and dangerous at present to get any decent waves.

Sept 27th, Dashi Early morning plunge

With the Typhoon offshore and the swell up, I was determined to be at Dashi at the crack of dawn, so that meant a Friday night train ride, one I hadnt done quite awhile. After a late dinner I caught the MRT to Taipei Main Station, raring to go but with no amber necktar (beer) supplies for the train ride. I also had my Google Kindle to accompany me on the ride, a great asset to pass the time on the train as the view is pitch black (obviously being night duh). While there are numerous 7-11s within the station if you enter the platform from the B1, there are none at the B2 area, so after buying my ticket I had to negotiate the rabbit warren to find another convenience store to stock up. Finally locating a High life I got 4 cans of Taiwan beer for the journey. Note for all those bargain hunters there were no specials at all in the store so I would say stock up before outside the station to get the 'bargains'.

I raced back down to the platform and joined the squeeze to get ont the train (even before most alighted) and found my favourite '2 seater', the seat and I have this love hate relationship. My name is written all over it. I think I had accidentally bumped into a lady in my race to get the seat and during the journey she kept glancing up at me, mask on. As, I was knocking back the beers and reading Kindle, a guilt feeling slowly crept over me and I eventually went over and apologised. 'No worries' she said, surprised that I had come over apologising for bumping into her. When they alighted later on. the couple waved to me and I waved back, cool we were friends again.

Around 11.30pm I arrived at Dashi, the sea was roaring and wind howling like a gale but such a great feeling. It always re-invigorates me whenever I arrive here, such a calming affect on me and puts me on a surfing high. I crashed at Cool Surfing. coolsurf.com.tw (I am a member) but you can make reservations and rent boards, a good place to stay if looking. The waves were really loud which is fine but I am a light sleeper so got a couple hours. Up at 5am, it was pouring with rain and with a strong wind, nearly pushed onto the fence. Eventually reaching the beach at high tide, it looked scary and I was questioning my sanity to go out alone.

Bugger it and I plunged in the swell only to be dumped on several times and pushed under. After a few minutes, with the sun coming out (but still dark) I managed to get out ahead of the foam and paddled out over the huge swell. at least 8ft plus. Sitting like a duck, bobbing up and down I got my breath back and grabbed the first wave of the morning, managing to go straight downt the wave and just standing up in a wobbly fashion before wiping out. That is typical of me on most mornings, not to mention I hadnt surfed for 2 weeks. Next came a huge set and let the first one go and was positioned for the next, a whopper, took off to the side perfectly (rare for me) and what a ride it was. I cut back into the top, back down the wave and it was like you were floating on air, moving in and out of the wave, then rode off at the end.

If there was such a thing as a perfect wave, that was it. As well getting back out was quite easy as there was no rip that I could detect and the current wasnt strong. The rain was pouring down, with the dark clouds still hovering over, it could have being January, wind chill factor was a killer since I only had a rash guard on. However, just waiting for the next wave you could see the sun slowly pushing through showing up the local fishing boats and the sounds of the motors chugging just out to sea. Plenty of fish still around here.

My next wave came up quickly as I am easily distracted thinking about life and I was late getting on it, ending up going straight down with the wave crashing all over me as I road the foam for a bit, before bailing out. It took at least another 10-15 minutes to paddle out as a hug set rolled in and pounded me for awhile. I pushed through the waves, forcing the board down and keeping my ankle up and came through the last wave at last outside. I could see one car pull up, so soon there were 2 of us out there,, not bad. The next wave was  textbook ride, hanging out to the left handside, straight down to the bottom and cut back slowly as the wave was just about to close out so I flicked out and just got out before the wave crashed.

Awhile later I got a ride right into shore and was tiring alittle and wanted to try to get out once more. I turned around to paddle and was hit by a succession of huge waves, ducking under the water without time

to get my board which is always a hassle. I eventually gave up and left the lone surfer out there to enjoy the waves alone.

DOUBLE TEN SURFING, DASHI

Up early morning, at 5am, it is always a struggle to get out of bed in the pitch black but today I was determined to make it to the beach for a wave. Rain had being the forecast but it has only was spitting while I was having a quick drink in Shida park last night. The taxi I got was one driven by a young guy, with all the windows open, nice cool breeze as we took off to the station. This driver was a real hoon, with the drivers seat laid right back and he was leaning into it relaxing. We were coming up to a red light near the station when suddenly, the driver flicked a switch (just like in the move Fast and Furious and the car leapt ahead suddenly however fast and we took the corner at great speed, just beating the light. On the way we had being able to glimpse at the preparations for Double Ten celebrations outside the Presidential Office.

I went straight into the station, purchased a ticket and waited half asleep for the train to arrive, not many people at all today. Grabbing a seat on the train, I was able to obtain a 2 seater all to myself, enabling me to squash up and attempt to sleep, listening to Eminem looping on my iPhone. A few labourers got on at Nankang and at 6am were chatting away for the next hour, making it hard to sleep, but at least the weather was splendid. After exiting the tunnel after Fulong the sea was shining a healthy blue with beautiful sunshine. The waves were strong and full sweeping across the ocean and crashing onto the beach at Dali Station (pic 1).

Despite what looked like a strong wind, conditions looked perfect for surfing today. I alighted at Dashi Station, the wind nearly blew me over so it was definitely going to be much stronger in the surf. I changed clothes at 'Cool Surfing' where I am a member and was walking along the sea wall to the surf when I was nearly blown off a few times as gusts of winds raced across, each time forcing me to bend down and grab my board to prevent it from blowing away and taking me with it. The beach was deserted with only one surfer in the water, always a good sign so my warmup was kept brief in order to get into the water quickly.

I launched into the water and was immediatley hit by a large set which pushed me down underwater, wave after wave. Finally a break came and the howling wind continually splashed water into my eyes, the salt stinging as well. The first wave I caught saw me fly down the front of the wave too quickly and I lost my balance, ending up head over heels into the foam. Thank God, the water is so deep, it was a soft landing. I got back onto my board and paddled outside once more and the second wave, about 6ft, came hurtling towards me as I was getting up, my hand slipped on the side and I wiped out once more. A good start for the day, but so cool to be out here, once in the water, it is total relaxation.

A huge set came in and I let the first go, then got the second cutting away to the rightside, up into the wave as it started to break and landed board and all back into the sea, a successful ride .Onshore, I could see more vans pulling up to check out the waves, no doubt, word had spread on the excellent conditions. However, just the 2 of us in the water here still. Another set came through quickly and I was able to get placed to ride the wave at a great angle sliding down then curving back to the top, flicked back down, then up and over. Priceless waves on a sunny day. The crowds started to come and congregate round the spot I was but soon drifted away. The wind speed picked up and was pushing the swell down flat so I called it a day, but such a fantastic way to spend October 10 holiday.