Hi, Just thought I'd introduce myself and in case anyone is interested, I'd thought I'd put in a link to the Australia kiting scene -

http://www.extreme-kites.com

Forums, reviews, weather, that sort of thing.

cheers,
Gav

Hi 3lad3,

Welcome to the Power Kite Forum! I'm a bit of a newbie here, but it seems to be a great place to have a chat about any aspect of kiting. Enjoy!

BTW, is buggying popular over in Aus? I hear plenty about kite-surfing, but not much about buggying? Just wondering if it's ever worth me doing a trip over from NZ at some stage?

Kiteboarding is definitely more popular in Australia than buggying, I guess because Australians are big on water sports. Buggying is coming along slowly though, and we have some awesome places to do it. We have great beaches, huge salt lakes and plenty of other open places to go. All I need is more time to get out there!

cheers,
Gav

Howdy,
The Buggy Scene in Oz has a rich history.
In mid-November 1995, upon the completion of the World Cup Sport Kite Team Competition in Lakes Entrance, Victoria, Gary Lyons and I envisioned and organized the Outback Buggy Safari.
We gathered 19 individual from all over the world, including three Americans, chartered a bus to haul us from the east coast of Australia, across Victoria, to Adelaide, South Australia and then up into the interior, beyond the bush, to the "land of the never-never", to Lake Gairdner, the fourth or fifth largest dry lake bed in the world.
At approximately 100 miles long and 30-40 miles wide, it was the largest flat, open space we had ever been in.
Lake Gairdner is a dry salt lake and the glistening white crystaline surface is a sharp contrast to the low, worn, red landscape that surrounds it.
We stayed the week with "Joan of the Never-Never" and her husband Walt at Mt. Ives Station, their sheep ranch about 20 km away.

So many stories fill my memory of that trip.
As enjoyable as the company was, and as great as the buggying was, the location was awe-inspiring in its own right.

It was, for many of those who attended, life-changing.
At the least it was life-enhancing.

Adventures like this help make the play even more enjoyable.
Make the effort to create adventures.
You won't regret it.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

OH...

Another "when I was in Oz" story, if I am allowed...

In Adelaide, head to Semaphor Beach if it's a good buggy day.
We were that lucky and got to buggy with a crew of the locals.

Just off the beach, amidst the dunes and grasses, before getting to the car-park and the streets, sits an old LifeGuard Station that had fallen into disrepair.
An enterprising local had refurbished the spacious two-story Station (with it's enchanting full-surround deck) and converted it into a restaurant and pub.

Brilliant!

That afternoon, with favorable winds, Allison Robin and I were able to buggy off the hard sand beach, through the low dunes, right up to the edge of the deck!
Where we were amply rewarded with pints of fresh, cold local beer.
Served to us while sitting right there on our buggies.

Warm, friendly, hospitable people, those Aussies.

After a second (pint) we launched and made our way back through the dunes to the hard sand and finished our wonderful afternoon session.

Sometimes I love civilization.

And refrigeration.


Perhaps the buggy scene in Oz isn't as large as the water stuff, but it's all about the wind and the friends and the special moments we get to share.

They are where you find them.

Want to live in that world...
Got to be that person.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama