Featured

Jul25

Beach Bio: Waimea Bay

Wavemaster Blog, Featured 0 comments

Ahh… Waimea Bay. Rarely do you hear of the North Shore and not also hear of this iconic beach. It became famous in the 1950’s as big wave riders like Greg Knoll travelled to Hawaii to surf the big-waves of the North Shore. Waimea was the big-time for them… and boom big wave surfing was born. Waimea Bay has kept its reputation and is still one of the largest and well known paddle-in big wave surf spots in the world. With storms crossing the Pacific and slamming into Oahu, waves can get as big as 50 ft. It’s host the legendary Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational every year, however the contest is only held when it gets 30 ft or bigger. Sometimes it is years before Waimea gets that big, but when it does man it is some spectacle.

Backpackers Hawaii

O But thats not all…

Besides the massive surf and legendary history Waimea has a lot more to it. When the surf is flat Waimea has a jumping rock cleverly named “Jump Rock”. Great name, I mean its what you are suppose to do on it… or off of it rather. Reaching about 20 ft at the highest point and about 5 ft at its lowest, anyone can enjoy it and jump at their own comfort zone. Be sure to jump though, growing up as kids it is said to be bad luck to climb back down. DunDunDun.

Backpackers Hawaii

Another thing to do when the surf is flat… make surf. Cause God forbid us NOT to surf for more than a week. Plus its just awesome. My words would not suffice, so check out this video and you will see what I am talking about.

Waimea is a beautiful and sacred place to us here in Hawaii and we are lucky here at Backpackers to have it so close to us. Aloha!

Backpackers Hawaii

Jul11

Jumping from 12,000 ft with Skydive Hawaii

Wavemaster Featured, Skydiving 0 comments

Ever been skydiving? Well I had never been until a few days ago. Here at Backpackers Hawaii you can easily experience this for hands down the best deal ever. I decided to take advantage of this and take a trip over to Skydive Hawaii with a couple of friends. It was super easy to reserve a jump… we just called in and went that day. We arrived and right away watched people landing from the sky. We walked in, signed up and it was actually way faster than I expected. Strapped all of our gear on and walked out to the runway where we boarded the plane.

Skydive Hawaii - Backpackers Hawaii

The plane took us to just over 12,000 feet. I can’t even imagine what 20,000 feet would be like. It was all good and I wasn’t nervous the entire time until I put my foot on the step to jump out. My heart raced as we jumped and we were going so fast, I froze for a few seconds until we stopped accelerating. Seeing the water below you and moving so fast down was a massive rush. In the video you can see I was so pumped I couldn’t stop throwing out the classic Shocka. I definitely recommend Skydive Hawaii to anyone who visits here. My words cant even describe how awesome it was so check out these awesome photos and video!

Skydive Hawaii - Backpackers Hawaii

A big mahalo to the entire Skydive Hawaii crew! Visit their website for more info. www.skydivehawaii.com

Jun13

Glider Rides Are AWESOME!

Wavemaster Featured, Gliding 0 comments

For those of you who dont like reading we made it simple for you and made a video. ENJOY!!

Ever been on a glider ride? It’s essentially a big paper airplane that gets towed up into the sky and then let go at about 800ft in the air. Its a bit more durable than a paper airplane however, and luckily it flies a lot better. A couple days ago me and my buddy Doug got to go on a ride in one of these bad boys and it was awesome. I repeat… AWESOME!

Glider Rides - Backpackers Hawaii

We met our pilot Don who said he has been flying since 8 years old. He must have been 7 ft tall. Im amazed he fit into the glider, Doug and I were have trouble squeezing in and we are both under 6 ft. I recommend a single ride, two grown men sharing a seat isn’t the most comfortable thing, but it was still totally worth it.

Glider Rides - Backpackers Hawaii

So we get hooked up to the biplane and off we go! Right away we started getting airborne, these planes are so dam light. Quickly we ascend and before we knew it we were at 800ft and the biplane lets us off the hook. Say goodbye to the only motor… we were on our own at this point. However, a glider doesn’t just glide down. By riding the wind currents of the mountains we were able to keep rising to over 2,000 ft! You can just keep going and going as long as your next to the mountains. SO SICK!

Glider Rides - Backpackers Hawaii

Mahalo to Mr.Bill and the gang for an awesome time!

For more info about Mr.Bills Original Glider Rides click here.

or visit http://www.honolulusoaring.com/

Jun08

North Shore Shark Adventures

Wavemaster Diving, Featured, Snorkeling 0 comments

Yesterday a couple friends and I got the opportunity to jump on board with North Shore Shark Adventures and go on a shark cage tour. It was sick! Everybody in the crew was great and really made it an awesome experience. Here is a run down of how it went.

North Shore Shark Adventures - Backpackers Hawaii

We arrived at the harbor for our 12 o’clock tour, and right on time we saw our boat rounding the corner to pick us up. No going back now. The boat docked and we met our captain Mack. He then rounded up all of our slippers in a bucket and we headed out for the open ocean. I stepped onto the boat and thought “dam this thing is decked out”. It had a full closed canopy with rows of cushioned benches, it even had splashgaurds to keep the ocean spray from entering the sitting area….Pretty flashy. It really made the ride out to sea comfortable despite the strong winds and choppy seas.

North Shore Shark Adventures - Backpackers Hawaii

Even before we reached the cage sharks were beginning to appear from the deep blue ocean. Spots of brown surrounded the boat as we drew near our destination. Apparently because people have been fishing here for so long and dropping bait into the water the sharks have become attracted to the sound of boat engines. In the words of Captain Mack “its like a dinner bell for them.”

North Shore Shark Adventures - Backpackers Hawaii

After a short while we arrive at the cage, and it was go time. We geared up with snorkels and masks that they provided and climbed into the cage. AND THERE WERE SHARKS EVERYWHERE!! Not just a single shark here or there, but literally everywhere you looked. I would say there was at least 30 Galapagos sharks surrounding the cage at any given time, ranging from 6-12 ft in length!!!

North Shore Shark Adventures - Backpackers Hawaii

Mahalo to Captain Mack and the entire crew of North Shore Shark Adventures for an awesome day!

For more information about North Shore Shark Adventures click here. Or visit www.sharktourshawaii.com

May23

Summer Time on the North Shore of Oahu

Wavemaster Diving, Featured, Skydiving, Snorkeling, Trains and Hiking 0 comments

The North Shore of Oahu is famous for its winters, which is when the biggest waves occur. However, summer is a different story. Although there are not much waves this time of year, summer is equally amazing here on the North Shore. It’s a time marked by calm wind, warm water, and sunny blue skies everyday. It opens the door for a whole range of activities that we sometimes forget about during the surf season. Oh and my favorite part… its empty. Winter can get a little crazy, the surf contests ,the waves, the pros, THE SCENE. Summer is a peaceful time, everything slows down and it seems a little easier to breathe.

Here are three things to do on the North Shore during the summer:

1. Snorkeling and Diving

The North Shore has so many beautiful locations to snorkel and scuba dive. During the winter months it is nearly impossible, and would be dangerous, to attempt to enjoy these amazing places due to the large surf. My favorite place is Sharks Cove, which is conveniently right down the street from Backpackers.

2. Hiking

So many trails on Oahu!! Summer is a great time to do some hiking and get your butt in shape for the beach!! Or just go for the amazing views.

3. Skydiving

If you are coming to Hawaii for an adrenaline rush and there aren’t any waves. Well might as well go skydiving! Check out the North Shore from the sky. Best lookout there is.

These are just a few awesome activities you can do here on the North Shore, but there are so much more. Come out and find out for yourself.

Disclaimer: There is still surf on all other sides of the island! So you can always do that as well.