The following day upon arriving the little island, we were greeted with a choice rising swell. We watched the reefs several miles out to sea begin to pick up the surf, so we hopped in a panga and went to investigate. Just Brandon, Trevor and I, several miles off  one of the eastern most parts of Fiji, with nothing but passing storm clouds and crystalline water to play in.

We arrived at a new island, by way of a grueling myriad of travel methods, to a place rumored to have amazing waves. The first day we were greeted with nothing but flatness, but we found and conquered a wicked neat palm tree. The next few days are when it got interesting...

 

Taveuni has some amazing waterfalls. Just a short hike from the beach into the jungle and you can find the most serene oasis's, freezing cold amidst the sweltering foilage... and you might encounter a random warrior on the way ;)

The swell was small so we made the most of it, goofing off at Wahu's. When the sea went perfectly still we ventured into a small village who's name escapes me, but we will forever remember as Talofa, of which means "hello" in their language. Brimming with children, we had a blast hanging out with the kids and later free-boarding through their series of small reefs and islands.

It was glass flat and hot as the sun, so we docked on Taveuni and took a bike ride to a rock slide high in the hills. After parking our bikes and hiking through a bit of jungle, we found ourselves at a serene little series of rock pools, filled with cold water underneath the shady jungle canopy.

floating miles from land and hundreds of feet above the sea floor. just feeling the water. 

My all-time favorite photographer/artist, Pedro Duarte Jorge, has a new website online. His ability to transcend all mediums and subjects with such ease will forever amaze and inspire me. In the most humble form of any hero I've encountered, he's always lent me his ear, answering countless questions and shared mountains of advice, even back in the days when I didn't know what an aperture was and shot on Auto. I will forever hope to both aspire to his greatness and shake his hand - he is a true master of the lens. Please check out his new website, as well as his more casual and populous flickr page.

In a gender-segregated village on a small island near nowhere, Brandon & Trevor got their first taste of kava. We hung around with some interesting characters, drinking that ridiculous root water well into the hot night...

As Trevor reeled up the Wahu, we rounded a bend in the outer reef only to see this smoking, 100m long reef. Head-high +, light offshore, reeling barrels with not a soul in sight. We were on it. It was Brandon's 20th birthday, and we surfed all day long, high clouds, cool air and 75º water making for the perfect day.

more to follow...

I don't how I've dodged this movie for so long, but I watched it several nights ago. By far the most profound, riveting, enthralling, and terrifying movie to ever grace my eyes. A true masterpiece... both as a film and a story.

Once we hit open ocean we were truly on our way to the waves... we passed the time fishing and mucking about on the deck. Trevor nailed a beautiful Wahu giving us some fantastic steaks and sashimi. The haircut I went to Fiji with was pretty hideous so everyone hanging out on deck decided to help reshape it. At one point I turned around to see Bethany Hamilton wielding the scissors... Trev happened to nab a photo at just the right moment capturing my surprise. The next day, we scored an amazing reef pass. Part VIII to follow....

We steamed through rain squalls for most of the day, but as the evening sun broke through the clouds we found ourselves in a charming bay that warranted nothing but messing around on the boat...

As we sailed out of Vanu Levu, the sky grew darker and the seas grew rougher.

Freakin' awesome music video directed by Daniel Stessen.
Tarzen's "The Fall" meets Zelda.