The weather was great, the wind was a little light on the first few days & quite unseasonal in direction, but we convinced Warren who owns & runs Safari Lodge it was worth a downwinder. He has been on the island for over 20 years and this was one of only a handful of times he had taken a group to kite in a westerly wind. We headed out to sea & upwind of the island to kite from a sandy reef. A boat launch saw us head off downwind for approximately 8kms. We kited this westerly wind for a few days, mostly in the afternoons. As the wind shifted direction to the seasonal South Easterly we had a lull day.

Fiona took the time to do a yoga class and then relax with a book in a hammock while George & Liam went on a fishing trip. George hooked up and landed a great sized tuna, while Liam acted as depth sounder with the aid of a snorkel and mask. Both George & Liam did a little snorkeling later that afternoon while Fiona took out the stand up paddle board for a great view of the reef in the bay just outside the lodge.

One quiet morning before the wind picked up gave everyone a chance to do some wakeboarding, but the rest of the trip provided a light wind downwinder in the morning followed by a stronger more consistent wind for an afternoon downwinder. Liam managed to boat launch and get on the water nearly everytime with his most successful downwinder being the last one when he would have made it home, but the lower tide meant he needed to be picked up before kiting back the lodge.

We can highly recommend Safari Lodge for anyone looking to relax, enjoy the company of other kiters, windsurfers and world travellers with something to do whether the wind blows or not. There was always a fishing trip going out or you could just relax and enjoy the weather, even George stopped for a breather. Warren, Stephanie & Alecci were all fantastic hosts and the Fijian cooks & support crew did an awesome job.

Accommodation included private rooms and bunk house style of a good standard you would expect from a cabin or quality backpackers. Food was traditional, mild, of great variety and plenty of it. This is a no more to spend kind of holiday except for a few snacks & alcohol at very reasonable prices from the bar. All fishing, kayaking, stand up, wakeboarding, yoga and downwinder boat trips etc are included in the one price. Really a kiteboarders dream and excellent for those who are up and going right through to advanced flat water trick riders.

We will be taking a couple of weeks next year to return in July and welcome anyone who would like to join us to let us know and book early for an excellent time.

More photos of kiting to follow, our waterproof camera didn’t survive the snorkeling. Some of the great crew we got to know on the trip got photos of us on the water and will be sending them through. Plus when the wind is up, photos are far from your mind. Check this post out again soon.

Local guys & girls will strut the catwalk, showing some of the latest KSA & Mystic kiteboard clothing.  Together with Sandalman & Rafters Footwear & Maui Magic and Dakine accessories.

Door Prizes, special discounts on the night & plenty of fun.

Cu There!

The Key has excellent relaunch, safety and light bar pressure making it a perfect kite to learn with.  The Crisis 137 is a great size for the average rider & put together with a 13mtr Key it is an excellent combination for larger beginners.

Pre order your kit today as stock is limited.

Lizard Island boat Trip with Windswell

17th – 23rd June, secure your spot before the end of March $2200 per person including meals, accommodation, kiting spots & other activities.  (bookings via the shop).

Cape Tribulation Camp

15th – 23rd June Mat will be heading there, camping spots from $30 per night.  Self book & catch up with Mat & his family. http://www.capetribcamping.com.au

Australian Kite Surfari

1st June or 11th June for 4 days 3 nights land based trip visiting some of the best spots in FNQ for kiting $1025 per person (bookings via the shop).

Local kitesurfers including World Ranked 5^th Andy Yates & defending Australian Champion Keahi De Aboitiz excelled at the Nationals.  Andy took out 1^st in the Open Men’s while Keahi took home 2^nd in the Open Men’s & 1^st in the Junior Division.   Although not even out of their teens, these guys are veterans of the competition circuit in Australia and did not disappoint the Sunshine Coast Kitesurfing Community with these results, but most surprising were the result of some of the coasts junior riders.  Tom Ryan took 4^th position in the juniors but of particular interest was 14 year old Adventure Sports Kitesurf Australia team rider Lucas Hearn who competed in his first National competition and came 8^th in the Open men’s Division & 7^th in the Junior Division.  These are great results considering his age and experience in Freestyle kitesurfing.   Lucas came home to compete at a local competition hosted by Kite Thrills in Currimundi and won multiple first positions in the under 16 division.  Coming 1st in the Freestyle, Big Air & overall under 16 years.  Tom Ryan almost mirrored these results in the Under 18 Division.

Kitesurfing competitions are only part of the local kitesurfing scene and it is fantastic to see these results but most of all it is great to see these guys out having fun, enjoying the great beaches and waters of the Sunshine Coast.   In reading this you might be thinking, great young person’s sports, but think again.  The local kitesurfing community includes kids as young as 9 and adults in their late 60’s to 70’s all enjoying this exciting sport.  Kitesurfing provides overall fitness and can be as adrenalin packed or as relaxed as you want to make it.  What more could you want from your recreation time and how many sports can the whole family enjoy together like Kitesurfing?

Co-developed and endorsed by surfing legend Buttons Kaluhiokalani, Kahuna Street Sups allow all you stand up paddle surfers to take your favourite sport to the street.

Not only are they great fun, but they provide an awesome full body workout in the process.  If you live near by, drop into the shop and give them a try, Check out the video below.

Now in stock, both in store and online!

Music for the night was provided by local DJ’s Mikey & Roland from BUMP  the location of the Boathouse Floating Restaurant created a fantastic atmosphere for the night.

Special thanks to the evening sponsors FOne kiteboarding, M8 Kiteboarding, Blueyes Eyewear, Hive Swimwear & KSAdesigns.  Photos provided by Jess & Aiden of Gale Force Kites.

We would also like to thank the Page family for the suggestion, support & decorating for the night along with other local crew.

Hopefully we will have some pictures for you soon so you can see what  great night it was.

Great effort Sam!

This is Sam’s first competion entry and the team at the kiteshop are really rapped about her efforts. Can’t wait to see how she goes in 2010 with coconet, the nationals & other great comps.

Major Prize Draw
Slingshot Rev 2 13mtr – Tim Morrow
M8 Kiteboard – Tom Ryan
JN Circus – Mark

Images supplied by Rahani Images

Special thanks to all our sponsors:

F One, M8 Kiteboarding, Gale Force Kites, JN Kiteboarding, Slingshot Australia, KSA designs, SEQKA, Lend Lease,  Hive Swimwear, Blueyes Eyewear, Bump, Solrx, Seacure & Noosa Kiteboarding .

Thanks also to the local Surf Life Savers and the jet skiers who supported the race.

Check out the new gear on DVD with this condensed version of F One’s new Addikt 2 DVD.

Check out the full version at www.bandit3.com

This year will see a repeat of the two divisions for the downwinder along with the addition of some light wind options and at least two other events through the weekend.  All events will have a variety of prizes awarded, with major prizes being awarded in the downwinder race.

Prizes include Blueyes Sunnies, Hive Swimwear, plus major prizes of kites & boards to be announced.

See registration form attached for your chance to enter and enjoy a great weekend of fun, food and friends.

Registration includes food, competitors T’shirts designed and donated by KSAdesigns, a goody bag full of discount vouchers and other great gear along with entry into all competition events.  You will need to be a current member of the AKSA, which you can do by filling out an applications form through Adventure Sports Kitesurf Australia.  Special family application fees apply so check out the application form attached.

PDF download

For more information about all aspects of the IGA Coolum Kite Festival visit www.coolumkitefestival.com

Colours as looking very nice, so we have attached some info to help you select the kite which best suits your needs.  We will have the Waroo demos in any week now andwe will be stocking Waroo and Kahoona with the Nemesis NXG available by order only.

Bali is a big kite destination with Fiona enjoying her Rebel 10mtr while George couldn’t be shifted from the ever reliable Bandit Dos 14mtr.  A few runs on the his favourite Slingshot RPM 12mtr were good, but just not quite enough wind.

Double Island

The NW/N winds kicked in just in time for a great day up at Double Island Point. We were welcomed with a good few hours of excellent wind and then again it kicked in for the late afternoon.  We enjoyed great company for the day, many thanks to everyone for joining us up there, hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Thanks to Mark for these photos:

That didn’t dampen the spirits of the registered students who still had a great chance to learn some vital information and technique tweeks and also received a full refund, although some students generously offered to donate their fees to the Victorian Fire Fund.

Dave of Slingshot Kiteboarding travelled from Newcastle to host the clinic with Andy Yates, Chris Wardell, Michelle England and Andrea Blythe.  We were lucky enough to get a little puff of wind late sunday afternoon, just enough to get the new Slingshot RPM into the sky.  Nice kite and by all accounts is going to fill a growing gap in the performance wake/freestyle kiting market. 

Stock is coming any day along with a demo, so check it out in store!

Chris has promised to bring us another Flatwater Clinic but this time with cable included to ensure that the board skills required for wake/freestyle kiteboarding can be passed on no matter what the weather does.

Winter Escapes to Far North Queensland!

Up to 20% off for end of season clearance!

H20 Audio now in store!

10% off spirit kayaks June only!

20% off Dakine stock!

PDF download

KSA designs clothing clearance with a minimum 25% off the entire womens range tops starting from $15.00.

Men’s T’s starting from $20.00 in a huge range of colours and styles.

New range online now!

KSA designs quality, unique and 100% Austrlian owned kitesurfing clothing brand.

You can also buy online at www.ksadesigns.com if you can’t make it into the store.

For all the technical info visit

http://www.nobilekiteboarding.com/