SUP World Trip with Julia & Rob

Episode 3 - Hawaii

Julia and Rob are living thEIR dream on a 6-month world trip with their SUPs. Beginning of October they left Munich for this big adventure. After Canada AND USA their Third stop was hawaii. When you hear Hawaii, the first thing you think of is dream beaches, crystal clear water and palm trees wherever you look. Julia´s and Rob´s first thought was: "Hawaii – where can we find the next SUP spot?" This place is actually an absolute SUP and Surfers paradise. Unfortunately, they were only able to paddle on two of the four islands they visited. On the Big Island, the wind thwarted their plans and on Oahu they only had two days too little time to find a perfect spot. But their absolute favorite was Maui - read more hereafter!

Spot 1: Kihei - SUPsurfing
For every SUPsurf beginner, Kihei is the perfect hub to set up a base on Maui. On the one hand, Kihei itself is a super cute and relaxed surfing village and on the other hand, Kalama Beach is the perfect beginner spot. It is not a pure beach break and you have to pay attention to rocks or corals in the water, especially at low tide. Neoprene shoes make total sense, because there are lots of sea urchins. The waves are super good for beginners and great fun. And best of all: you are riding the waves together with turtles. They were constantly in the waves with us. At the end of the wave they put their heads out next to us as if they were asking: "Hey dude, who are you actually? And what are you doing at my spot?" We hardly got out of the water there. During our stay on Maui we were SUPsurfing at Kalama Beach almost every day. With our iSUPs we were the exotic on the water, but with a wave height of 3 - 4 feet it is still great fun with a touring board like the Ray Air Premium 11’6. You just have to stand far enough back.

Spot 2: Kihei - Flatwater
On Maui you can paddle on flatwater very well out on the sea. At the southern end of our beloved SUPsurf beach, you can get out super relaxed without waves and paddle down south along the coast. Along beautiful rock formations and tropical palm trees over crystal clear water. You can also go on great flatwater paddle tours on the north side of Kalama Beach. It goes on for miles along the coast. And with a little bit of luck, you can even spot humpback whales from December to May. They give birth to their children here in Maalaea Bay. Unfortunately we didn't meet any while paddling, but were able to watch it from land and on a boat tour, which was pretty cool as well!

Spot 3: Kauai - Wailua River
On Kauai we unfortunately had bad luck with the weather. From 5 full days we had there, it rained and stormed for 4 ½ days. Including official weather and spring flood warnings from the authorities. For those warnings, the television program was even interrupted and push messages came to the cell phone. It got a little queasy for a short time. When it stopped raining for half a day and eventually the sun flashed for a few hours, we of course immediately took the opportunity to get on our SUPs. It should be a jungle SUP tour on the Wailua River. Surrounded by thick, green tropical forrests and singing birds, we paddled upriver inland. After a fairly wide passage at the beginning, the river became narrower until we had to duck under the hanging branches.

In Hawaii, we tried the Ray Air Premium for the first time in the waves and can say that the decision to take an 11’6 touring board with us on our trip around the world was the right one. An all-rounder would not have made us happy on our long sea tours. And in small waves, the Ray Air Premium is also absolutely feasible and fun.

You can follow Julia and Rob on Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/sup.travel.repeat/