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Each year I make it a goal to visit one of Australia's premier Land Kiting destinations, Kingston SE. This marked my 7th year visiting Kingston, nowhere near the 20+ @The Duke and @AliNev have been going. Each year I go to experience the one thing I can't find here at home, and that's a dry lake/claypan. Kingston is an amazing place, over the years I have collected some amazing footage. This video I've choosen to focus on claypan and why I travel to Kingston for it each year. Please turn your speakers up as loud as they can go... Thanks for watching, please share this topic with your friends

Our annual trip to Kingston SE in South Australia is always a brilliant trip. This year was no different with lots of action on the claypan and a great last day (for me) on the beach. Many thanks to Joel for letting me have the footage from the Phantom 3.

Never has a video cost me so much in time and expense. I hope its not a total waste of yours.:)

Good to see you arrived home safely Mr and Mrs Chook. I have put together what @Mez filmed with her phone, Filmed mostly at the granites.

Sweet wheels. Making the hubs was a bitch. About 3 hours machining per wheel.

Project Salvage : Restoring 20 Years of Kiting History. Over the next few weeks I’ll be working to restore the content that was once available on Flexifoil Forums / Kitecrowd. I’ll be attempting to restore nearly 20 years of kiting history where there were nearly 2 million contributions made by thousands of individuals. Why? It’s something personal for me, my first years of Kiting the Flexifoil Forums provided so much wealth of information. With kitecrowd, foilzone, arcusers, racekites all disappearing there’s been a significant amount of knowledge erased from the internet. Include the loss of Yahoo Groups and the amount of human effort that has been extinguished is actually quite mind boggling. This is my contribution to trying to retain some of that history and maintain its availability for others going forward. The current situation… The website went offline some months ago so I’ve gone in to this completely blind with the acceptance that it could result in a dead end. My initial assessment is that the database whilst a complete mess is recoverable, and the file system indicates that all the attachments etc are also recoverable. The original copy of the software itself that was being used however is not, this is something that I’m still assessing going forward. So given the situation I am confident at this stage with some considerable effort the content can be restored and live on the internet once again.

It has been an interesting journey to Zac and my first snow kiting session. It all started with those far and few in-between posts from around the global of snow kiting and me thinking I’d like to do that. Back in Oz, it was some thing like a six hour drive just to get there, and to start with apart from the kites we did not have the gear. So lot’s of questions to those on the EK that might know thing about Snow kiting (thanks @clive and @goshen), slowly the picture came together. Then came the big move from Australia to New Zealand - South Island - Christchurch, snow kiting would finally become a reality. First step was to pick whether we were to ski or snow board, since we already have experience on landboards, surfboards and skate boards, it was a natural choice … hm at the time … to pick snow boards. We now have 1.75 years experience behind us snow boarding on the steep slopes of New Zealand, just gravity runs. In the mean time I was scouring over reports/stories of snow kiting in New Zealand, to pick suitable places to go and were reasonably close to where we live, and what dangers to look out for. @outlaw gave us some great tips. More scanning on-line topographic maps. We don’t have any avalanche training, and from reading on the subject, unless you are trained, on off piste trails keep below 30degree inclines. More scanning of topographic maps. Then there was the question of at what altitude does the snow begin, rather a challenge here in New Zealand as most of the mountains with snow on them are really steep. So more keeping an eye on weather maps for snow falls and wind. Finally the planets aligned, our favourite down hill snowboarding field, Mt Hutt was forecast to be shut (aka Mt Shutt) due to high winds, with the weather forecasts indicating strong to gale conditions. So were we going to bite off more than we could chew? More scanning of the weather maps, must say https://www.windy.com proved to be very useful, thanks @plummet. So it was either a 1.5 hr drive Mt Somer with a 400 metre hike to where the snow might begin and 30 knot winds forecast or a 3hr drive to Round Hill in the south where 15 knot winds were forecast with a hop skip and jump from our car to the kite launch spot. Round Hill has some nice low slope inclines before the steep 30 degree inclines begin, but would the snow line be low enough? Found some web cams at the village next to Lake Tekapo, bonzi — looks like the snow line would be low enough and we had two potential sites around the lake, Round Hill and Mt Joseph. Round Hill was it then. It also had a ski field, so if the wind would not play ball we could hit the ski field. It was going to be an early morning start, waking up at 5am, no different to our usual weekends to Mt Hutt. Great road trip Round Hill, we arrived at 0900 and we were greeted with plenty of snow with not too steep slopes. The wind was very light but with occasional gusts, and the angry clouds building up North West of us, where the 100 to 120 km winds at Mt Hutt were blowing. Cut a long story short, we made a few trips up and down the hill from the car to the kite launching spot to get it right with kite sizes. Here is a video of our kiting session, sorry no fancy go pro videos, just stills and movies from our mobile phones. By 1530 we were both totally knackered, called it a day and drove back home. Was a great day out, looking forward to the next session. Regards, Norman and Zac.

Well my lady (Mrs Chook) has progressed from singing in @.Joel's shower in Kingston and belting it out with @Mez under the pine trees on the foreshore. From 2.11 is her song.

Hey, am new here but just wanted to share my entry to the sport as someone with the disability (paraplegic) Here is a little video of my recent experience on new brighton beach in CHCH, NZ. Have been lucky enough to have the help of Gav Mulvay to set up a buggy with hand controls and am having a great time with it. (thanks gav). It is a pretty simple and easily removable mod that seems to work great.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all at Extreme Kites

Hello all! Now this might go unseen as I am not sure how many people may remember my father AndyFly (Andrew, Andy) who sadly passed in 2011 from a seizure. His passion was kiting, buggying, and mostly, being apart of the BrisKites & Extremekites community. On the long weekend of Easter in 2012 my family and I travelled to Yeppoon to meet with many of the kiting community as we remembered dad for who he was, alongside an event that he loved attending (with us AndyFly "maggots" joining the fun 😂) as we scattered some of his ashes on the beach out the front of Driftwood. Our family has so many fond memories of so many different people within this community, and the joy that it their friendship brought Andrew. For the first time since 2011, my mum Linda and I have travelled to Yeppoon to spend the last few weeks remembering the adventures we use to have with dad on these kiting trips and the people that we met. We walked along the same beach today, in front of Driftwood, drawing his name once again in the sands that he once loved. I watched a kite surfer today and it reminded me of the times I use to go and kite with dad in Canberra at the Amaroo ovals at 14 years old, learning how to kite and watching dad fly through the sky in his buggy for hours. So here is a big thank you from our AndyFly family to everyone who remembers dad. To everyone who brought such strong friendships, fun, banter, love and support to dad's life. For everyone who left such kind words after he passed, and who posted such amazing pictures of dad (some of which I am only seeing for the first time ❤️) We are all doing well and hold these memories of you all close to our hearts. Hope to see you in Yeppoon sometime in the future! Jess

@roblukin makes the ABC News. Article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-01/encephalitis-survivor-doing-extreme-sports-kite-buggying/100951660

Been back to Lake Lefroy a couple of times in the last month pole dancing. Great surface and plenty of room to play. Had a thunderstorm go through just after I got there yesterday and this guy nailed a shot from the club shelter. You know their close when your carbon mast starts humming with static and there is an arc discharging across the mast join halfway up on Bryans yacht. 15mm of rain and back sailing an hour later when the wind drove the water away. The surface is like glass all over. "BUGGER" Pretty sticky on the edges though when I was packing up for the 31/2 hour trip home. Had 3mm rain a month ago when I was there as well and looked fantastic. My yacht on it's side to the left. Didn't stop the sailing as it's rock hard under 3mm of water. This is a replica of a 1907 Bleriot land yacht I built the sail for. Great mirror images.

More photos to come waiting for beach racers then we r done

We had an awesome sand dune session yesterday.. few pics now.. post video later

When ever I have to fabricate up something that's out of the ordinary, I try to get the job done with the gear that I have on hand. Sometimes that's not the best outcome, so I now try and make a jig/tool to do the job and then after it's been modified (it isn't always the best design first time out) and works well, I then give it a hit with a spray can when I'm next doing some painting. This makes life easier on later jobs as usually I can just modify an existing tool to suit my needs. Here are some of my simple bending mandrels that I use for round or flat bar. These are 32mm x 6mm flat bar rolled on a "ring rolling machine" and welded to a 6mm plate. The smaller diameter mandrels on smaller square backing plates just fit into a wider jaw opening of my vice. The mandrel marked music note I used to make this grape vine trellis for the entrance of our house. See next photo of the panels. "Somewhere over the rainbow" is the music for the roof and "I write the songs for the walls".. Each of the 11 panels took me an average of 4 hours to build. Formers are double sided (different sizes each side.) 100mm x 10mm FB in the centre fits into the jaws of my vice when using the mandrel on the other side of the plate. This one is really simple and has been used a hell of a lot. It is 2 bits of heavy 25mm x25mm x 6mm angle drilled to take 2 bits of 10mm Hi-tensile bolt shanks. They are plug welded from the back. One angle has emery paper sikaflex onto it to grip the other angle. By mounting them in a vice, the distance between the bolts can be adjusted to make the bends or allow for different thicknesses of material. The "minsup" air line clip, just retains them together when not in use. They tend to hide from each other under my bench otherwise. Then I made rod benders for different jobs I have done in the past. The green one does 6mm and gold is adjustable out to 8mm round mild steel and 316 stainless. For bending thicker steel I made this bender that will bend 40mm x 10mm on its edge using the yellow slotted die I made. I have made heaps of dies for it over the years. It can do eye bolts using the red attachment above the frame with the shiny nut visible at the back. (replacing the red chain link pin with a round headed pin.) Phone photo had a hissy fit under my high bay lighting in the shed. I also have made heavy Flat bar and rod benders that I can bend 100mm x 16mm Flat bar to 90 degrees cold in with only body pressure. My big hydraulic ring roller I built will roll 150mm x 75mm x 10mm wall RHS on it's edge into a 2400mm circle. I built it to make grain silo rings. It works really well for curving cattle yard rail so the cows don't damage themselves on exposed vertical posts. Also a smaller ring roller that does lots of square and round profiles. I made this one mainly for rolling rims for Penny Farthing bikes that I haven't completed yet. Rim profile rolled from 20mm round chrome molly tubing. I almost live in my shed. Come on show me the ones that make your life easier.

I wouldn't take people quite that little, Kathleen. I have some nephews and nieces that could possibly end up in the passenger seat but they're the age where they can rock climb and bungee jump. I guess I could always unbolt the back seat and attach a small cage....

But still the wind blows!!!! Morale has dropped a little since we lost our chef @andy666 on Friday and we now have a hotline to the local pizza shop. Cheers for your company and skills mate. We have kited every day since arriving and with the latest really high tides the beach is still like a pool table. Yesterday I measured the widest part of the beach at low tide (up by the curve at Ridges) and from the dune to the waters edge on the GPS the beach is 291mtrs wide. Great winds around lately. They are around 12 knots after lunch on an out going tide and climb up a little just before dark. With the forecast for this week up into the 20's again it's a pretty tough gig. Even @roblukin is crying about his shoulder hurting due to the constant buggying. Doesn't make him ease off any though. @Goz rode with us yesterday and it's fantastic to get more kites on the beach. @Bernie is out with us whenever he gets a spare moment and young @Ant joins us when the wind is too light to cut loose kite boarding. With school holidays ending today the beach has been really quiet anyway and very often I have been to the point and only seen one or two 4 wheel drives. The coppers do very regular patrols and RBT's along the beach in the paddy wagon or a Raptor quad and always have a friendly wave for us. There is quite a large community of wedge tail eagles that are always ridge soaring at the point and feeding on the outgoing tide. 2 of them have an enormous wingspan and glide along effortlessly well above our kites at 70kmh. They follow us for ages never flapping a wing. There are also hawks that are really curious and soar along with us by the creek their heads swivelling around while they track us. They do the odd strafing run just to show who is the boss. The creek is a non event to cross this year as it's very shallow. I came through at high tide in my buggy and it was just up to my helmet while seated. Midi xl's don't float with my weight. Off to do my washing (my six pack of blue work shirts and boardies) and get ready for the outgoing tide.

Project Salvage : Restoring 15 Years of Kite Reviews. RaceKites was an example of a collective human effort coming together to build the largest, dedicated online repository of kiting reviews. In 2019 RaceKites went offline, today I would like to share that the sum of all that knowledge is coming to Extreme Kites. Alan Short, the owner of RaceKites was responsible for building and maintaining the platform for nearly 15 years containing over 1500 reviews. I’d like to acknowledge the thousands of hours Alan put in to the RaceKites community, and his immense generosity in providing that content to Extreme Kites. RaceKites as a platform in my opinion was one of the most important online resources available when looking to purchase that never ending ‘next’ kite. And even when you weren’t, it was still a bloody good read! With most of the manufacturers either having packed up or moved on from Land Kiting it’s increasingly likely that someone new entering kiting is going to purchase a second hand kite. Restoring this incredible resource to the Internet gives those individuals access to the information we had years ago when we were making those decisions for ourselves. Bite off more than you can chew, then chew like crazy! Over the next few weeks / months I will begin importing the RaceKites content to Extreme Kites. Right now I’ve revamped the Reviews section a bit, with a bit more to go and then that content will start to flow in and become available to everyone again. Similar to the ‘Recovering 20 Years of Kiting History’ news I’ll be using the comments area below to keep a running update on the progress. Thank you again for being part of Extreme Kites, thank you to the wonderful human being Alan is and hopefully today’s news brought a little bit of happiness to your day.

Top fun. Will have a quick edit ready soon. DrWind and I got new PB's and Nigel clocked up just on 150kms for the day. Here's the edit

Here's a quick low res few minutes for those who weren't there to get an idea of the spot...

Don't go chasing waterfoils. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all, But I think you're moving too fast. sorry couldn't resist

Just some highlights so far.. Bloody good roll up this year. Buggy riders Chook, Pete (kite bike), Andy, Bernie, Jamie, Ant, Plummet, Andrew, Jeremy and Kathy, in Yeppoon for Easter along with our fantastic hosts Clive and Merrilyn.

The last few days on the beach. Still havin' a ball. Most days I'm managing to get to over 80kmh. This video is the roughest the beach has been since I've been here. 85.6kmh through the foam. Fantastic to have Pete @gannet with us today. Welcome to Aus mate.

Summer is just around the corner, I've gone through and highlighted the best weekends available for us to land kite down at Sandy Point. Again this season we can either do day trips down there, or quick over-nighters staying in one of the local caravan parks. Subscribe/Follow this topic to keep up to date etc. Local Caravan Parks Sandy Point Holiday Park ( 0km Distance ) Waratah Bay Caravan Park ( 12km Distance ) Shallow Inlet Caravan Park ( 22km Distance )

There's been a lot of attention lately towards GT-Race buggies in Australia and I'm unashamedly responsible. Earlier this year @nigel and I discussed to great length and in detail finally making our move towards owning the best production race buggies available. Our decision came about by the competitive blood between us when we're out kiting together, it's nearly a diagnosable medical condition and something that we've enjoyed for over 10 years together. Back in July our original plan was to order the XXTreme Apexx, a buggy we've seen first hand up close when @domenic first purchased his in 2008. We put up a discussion in the Buy & Sell on Extreme Kites to also feel if anyone else was interested, the end result was @igeighty was also showing interest. With three confirmed individuals I approached XXTreme in the Netherlands with our intent on purchasing three Apexx buggies and having them shipped to Australia. Without creating undesired consequences of sharing our unfavourable experience lets just say that communication during this process was incredibly poor. Delays in communication mean idle fingers wander, and wander they did stumbling upon GT-Race's website. We took a closer look at the information available online, then spoke with two GT-Race owners (one being in Mark Van den Berg the Dutch National Champion) and then finally approached @GT-Race (Martin Faber) directly. From the outset Martin's communication pre-order was amazing in the speed of which he delivered answers to our questions, the manner in which he fielded our questions and overall the secure atmosphere he created surrounding the purchase by never leaving any query unanswered. After a week of comparison, reading, searching, discussing with pilots of both buggies the three of us decided that the logical choice in this situation was the GT-Race Rapide. If the Apexx was the gold standard in 2008 the Rapide presented as years of evolution on this original idea. On the surface areas of difference which we felt drew us closer to the Rapide were features such as the integrated backrest, fork lock and flat foot plates. However when going further in to detail we felt the way the headstock connected to the downtube and facilitated the mudguard was a better solution, also the rear axle joint system made for quicker assembly and disassembly. Beyond that we liked little changes like how Martin had stepped the downtube welds and used 20mm head stock bolts that counter-sunk in to the fork. Overall the three of us felt that whilst the Apex was an incredible buggy the Rapide was just that few steps ahead having continued to evolve in increments. With our decision made we approached Martin and placed the order, however we were surprised to note that the Rapide ++ was due for release and that we would be in the first 10 built to receive the ++ version. In short, the ++ version brings together Martin's extensive build experience on the FL, refines it and makes further evolves the manufacturing process to produce a better finished product. It's not so much an evolution in features as it is an evolution in Martin's manufacturing process. With this in place and Martin now building 3 custom Rapide ++ buggies for us @roblukin stepped in to the mix. Originally his plan was to order an Outlaw from Peter Lynn New Zealand, however again you would have more success trying to arrange your affairs through two paper cups and a piece of string than any other form of communication. So again we turned to Martin and explained Rob's personal situation, his strengths and weaknesses regarding his physical condition and physical disabilities he has to manage as part of his buggying process. Virtually instantly Martin stepped it up a gear, and then the goal to manufacture a modified GT-Race Radical for Rob became the goal. There was some considerable discussion, about cutting some weight from the buggy, changing slightly part of the materials used and the manufacturing using those changed specifications. Over the course of a week everything was discussed and a 4th Buggy was ordered. GT-Race's strength isn't only about producing the highest quality, most technically advanced production buggies. GT-Race's strength is also the personalised customer service that Martin Faber spends each weeknight providing and each weekend turning orders in to fulfilment. Presently there are 4 GT-Race buggies being manufactured, assembled, checked over and packed to make their way to Australia. Kite Buggying in Australia is back on a growth trajectory since we launched the new Extreme Kites website in June this year, GT-Race is going to be front and centre of many Australian achievements going forward.

My wrap of up of Speed Week....

MOOSED AS BRO!!! Thanks guys for putting on a great even†, I had a ball. Just wish I could have kited more but my shoulder didn't hold up.. These Kiwi boys go hard, even a little bit crazy i think, but in a good way... I didn't quite get pics of everyone but Im putting up those that Ive got, and theres some good ones of @gannet's spectacular crash Great meeting all you guys and I hope to get back again one day. PS: Special thanks to @northernal321 for bringing the extra buggy and to @gannet for letting me stay with you at Murawai while Im in Auckland Al Conrad C Gannet Laurance Perrin Plummet Chook The Race Gannets Crash Broken Buggies Moose Camp

Why not make 2 videos for the price of one? A slightly more sedate feel to this one....

I found this interesting, Kitebuggyschule St.Peter-Ording teach the basics using Nasa Stars from Born-Kite then evolve in to course flying. It looks like a safe and fun way for both Adults and Kids to get people straight in to the buggy and moving around slowly to spark their interest. The last photo is quite entertaining Photos courtesy of Kitebuggyschule St.Peter-Ording ( http://www.buggyfahrschule.de )

Started building my first one 24th October 2009 after Wolfie sent me a DVD of him and Marty havin' a ball. I watched the clips and went over the shed and started putting bits together. Stole a plastic chair from school and there I had it. Had a lot of fun along the way. Went down the beach and proceeded to teach myself, how to hurt myself in nice simple easy stages. I have now built 5 buggys (well chopped up and seriously modified to end up with the current one. I now have an enormous knowledge base on what doesn't work!! ) and have 2 x Sysmic 2's. Gozzy in Rockhampton and now Clive at Driftwood looks after my QLD Sysmic S2. It's paid for itself in freight savings alone after My 4 Easters in Yeppoon. (Another trip this Easter too) I'll pick up the 2nd Sysmic 2, from Jordan (Jord's) in Adelaide on my way to Kingston in a couple of weeks. So I guess that now there is a South Australian one. Later the plan is to try and sort out how to get it to New Zealand for this coming Octobers Moose Meet. Anyway............Lots of band-aids later I'm still living for this sport!!!!

The buggies have LANDED! So I have 4x GT-Race Buggies in my possession, tonight I'll start filling out my list of demands Christmas Wishlist for those wanting their buggies GT-Race BBQ & Build Day, Starts 11AM Saturday! I'll head out and grab a couple of slabs of meat to marinate overnight and slow-grill on the webber for a few hours tomorrow as we build them See you all tomorrow!

My name is Joel Theodore, I live in Australia and I have been kiting since 2003. Throughout my journey I have experienced and enjoyed a variety of kiting disciplines, starting with a kite buggy and learning ground based freestyle then moving to aerial freestyle and buggy jumping. After a few years I moved on to Kiteboarding and enjoyed many seasons on the water, however after a bit of a break i'm back in the buggy and this time chasing my goal of outright speed. In 2006 I joined Extreme Kites and my involvement over the years with the community grew. In 2011 I took on ownership of Extreme Kites to preserve the website in an endeavour to keep the Land Kiting community in Australia together. After a few of life's events and some time away in 2014 the flame to chase speed records has re-ignighted. In 2015 I launched the new Extreme Kites website with the help of a newly appointed Team and moved ownership to my private company, this has enabled me to lay back a bit and enjoy partaking in the community in a more relaxed role. My role here is now Website Support where I code, develop and create new and exciting features for the Extreme Kites community. My goals going forward for Extreme Kites are that it continues to foster a positive, welcoming and warm community spirit for those entering the world of kiting. Over the years I have seen various websites, communities, blogs and social media platforms come and go, however for more than a decade Extreme Kites has stood by and supported the spread of kiting knowledge. I believe information for those interested in kiting should be made public and available, it shouldn't be hidden behind paywalls and closed groups unable to be found. The easier we make information accessible here the greater the community benefits, so I hope the time I spend on improving Extreme Kites enhances your experience here with the community. See you around the website or when I'm out with a kite in my hands.

As I mentioned in another thread, I have a heap of material left over from building 1830 F-arc's. The f-arcs are made from good quality chikara ripstop and it is too good to just throw out, so I decided I needed to put it to good use. I have been playing with Surf Plan for a while now and although I can get a design that looks good, I have no idea if the design will fly or not. Then one day looking threw some old archived websites, I found a link to the surf plan design specs for a 6m p-arc. P-arc (P=parallel) was the original name of the F-arc, but was changed before release because Parc backwards is crap SurfPlan Download P-arc base.sle anyway, I decided it was worth giving it a go since I already had the material. So I got the plans printed out on A0 paper and set to work. first thing I had to do was unpick every seam on the remaining sections of 16m f-arc, which took a lot longer then expected. next came the marking out and cutting. Because I was working with material that had been folded and crushed, rather then off the roll, it was a nightmare getting it to lay flat to trace the outline on to. I had to flatten an then clamp the corners to the table. As well as the outline of each piece surfplan also allows you to add waypoints so everything can be aligned after being cut. I used a hot knife to cut all the pieces out to make it a bit quicker and stop the edges from fraying. i then used double sided tape to stick all the pieces of the top and bottom skin together for sewing. The ribs were too difficult to stick in place, so they were just aligned and stitched as I went. (A walking foot attachment from eBay makes sewing ripstop sooo much easier) The surfplan design didn't have spar pockets, so I made them from some 50mm webbing and stitched them to the end cells. I also added internal front and rear straps of 25mm webbing, similar to the more modern arcs. Like the modern arcs, the rear strap has adjustment for the middle 5 cells and wingtip 5 cells. I also made the front line adjustable at the middle 5 cells, in case the kite was prone to backstall. And the finished product..... flat area: 6m wing span: 6m AR: 6.0 I estimate it took about 100hrs, cost $150 and countless ?

@Northern Kites Australia found your Waterfoil bridle

Following sewing machine ideas in the fighter kites thread, I thought I would mention my purchases. In 2016, I purchased Siruba light industrial machine through Gumtree. It ran way too fast, so I experimented with different pulley sizes and altered power arm lengths. Still too fast. Through Sewingmachinesaustralia.com.au, I bought a servo motor, which is absolutely magic. Small and light, easy to fit and totally silent. ie once turned on, a red light glows and that's it. As you press the pedal, you have total control over speed and the only sound is the needle mechanism clicking away. This is linked to a needle synchroniser, so that any time you lift away from the pedal, the needle always stops in the down position and will only lift up when you kick backwards on the pedal. Combined with a knee operated foot lifter, you are totally hands free to control the materials used. I got a heavy duty kit to enable sewing of webbing, shade cloth, leather etc. I'm a very happy camper and recommend SMA. Great people to deal with and unlimited follow up. Michael

A glorious coupla days with the chookster at yepoon with some appearances from Goz and Bernie. Thanks for the buggy lend Bernie. laid down some skids on the beach. Sorted my upwind turns out and managed to survive the croc, shark and jellyfish infested waters on the hydrofoil. Nice!

We're currently out on the grass flying big kites....

Main beach.... is awesome this year.

Al with a fairy on a string. Dave strapping Al's spare buggy on the back for the return trip home. Perrin...... the master kite fixer. He made the camper specially for the Moose. I believe he makes a mean pizza too!! After travelling most of the coast of both of New Zealand's islands and seeing the roads first hand, I can see why these guys don't tow trailers. At one spot there was a road "slip" and a rock sitting in the middle of the remaining single lane. It looked just like a brown paper bag sitting there. I thought it would do some damage to other vehicles or a motor bike, so got out and threw it into the bush on the side of the road. I could hear it bouncing down the mountain, crashing through the thick bush for the next 30 seconds or so. I shat myself hearing it's long decent and drove VERY carefully after that. The honey moon suite!!! It was fantastic to meet you both. Winds up. That should stop the bugger from blowin' away. The tents take as much of a hammering as the local lads buggies and kites!!!! Thanks for a great time fella's.

Thought I'd upload some old kiteskiing pics from 2001 and 2003. The earlier ones are with skis and handles, yet I determined that bars and snowboards made much more sense. Kites were PL 5.7 Waterfoil (very early days) and PL 1120 ARC (way ahead of its time). I have some accompanying video though I need to wait a week for Vimeo to reset my quota (free account :-) ). Snowkiting is amazing, and Australia is the perfect place for it (undulating hills). From Scotts chair out to Mt McKay is my favorite spot. Close enough to be rescued (if needs be) yet far enough to enjoy the silence!

Hi Kiters Have spent weekend at Kingston to give the new caravan some free camping experience, stayed at the jetty free park last night and moved up to the granites car park for tonight. There has been a fair bit of damage done to the dunes with some storms and high tides over the last few months washing part of the bike track near Wyomi into the sea and a section of the jetty broken away and ended up way down long beach. On our way from Kingston to the Granites we went past the claypan which if you wanted to kite at the moment ,flippers and a snorkel would be more important than knee pads and a helmet. Some dry weather should see this kite able by Jan but there will be some water still on the other side. I guess we are fortunate that there are plenty of options here. Looking forward to catching up with you all again in January . Cheers Bull & Jen

I managed to take a GoPro on Saturday to give the local Melbournian's a closer look at the site. Hope you like it! https://vimeo.com/183436797

I'm the happiest girl at the moment. It's finished! Thank you to @.Joel and @Chook for sourcing the sail, but the biggest thank you goes to my @igeighty - who spent his whole day off modifying the sail and who had it finished and mounted on the Blofly before it got dark. I can't thank you enough Doug. Looking forwards to the test-run.

Some basic info on starting, stopping and turning - see if I can save a few people from making the same mistakes that I did - which was usually not turning tight enough and chasing the kite. I'd been thinking about this for some time and had a few ideas in my head to try and make it short and understandable. In the end I waffled on for friggin' ages and had to edit heaps out. Not to mention several instances when I was waffling on, and then lost all track of what I was talking about!! Typical.

My last buggy was on the 30th. at the mighty northern moose. Started of with a 6am sunrise dune session. For 1.5 hours. Then later the morning hooked up the tandem and towed the kids round a circuit in the dunes. Then finished off the day with tandem sunset session on the hard sand. Oh yeah. That day will stay with me a very long time!. If you can pull a sunrise/sunset buggy in the same day that is a very special thing. Doing it with the family even more special.

And here's another. Quality just a tad less than John's.... Enjoy!

This time I double checked the camera! Winds were 2 - 10 knots at the absolute most, but the 3m still did surprisingly well in the light and shitty winds. It feels like it's got a lot of power for it's size and flys really nicely - it will fly a little better once the pilot's had a bit of practice.