Daily Image - November - Kelly Cestari's daily image from Hawaii

Each year for the past six years I have been returning to the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Why? Why would I love a place that takes virtually two full days of traveling to arrive at. My first trip was for three weeks in February 2007 to cover an event. On that first trip I met the people that have now become a second family. Scott, Kathi, Brent, Shannon and Murray welcome me every year with open arms. Dinner table conversations and dinner table arguments, just like family. My first full season was 2007/8 and I have returned every season since. At first it was an email to Kathi asking if it would be alright for me to stay with them again, it is now an email I receive asking when I will return, the true Aloha spirit. Without doubt it is the wave as well. Pipeline, Backdoor and Off The Wall are the three main draw cards. In all my seasons I have yet to capture a photograph that makes me feel I can now hang up my camera. Throughout each season I scour the net for images captured from each swell and the following "Hawaii issue" each magazine produces once the season is over. Each photograph studied and questions asked as to why I didn't or couldn't make that. Mostly it is fear that prevents me from getting in that death zone where the jaw dropping action photos are made and each year I swear to myself I will jump that hurdle and produce some a-grade gold and each year I leave the rock feeling unfulfilled vowing to return and score that goal. Not much has changed over the years, there is still only one road in and one road out of the Golden Mile. One road which breaks and one road getting repaired. The bike path still winds along in the same parallel passage with the ocean through the trees only each year the roots grow bigger and the bumps higher. The faces stay the same, some new but mostly just aged by a year. The chinese tourists still flock to Sunset beach asking where are the big waves, the california tourists still ask where is Pipeline while watching her break dreams and make dreams in all her first second and third reef glory. The dream seekers still continue their love affair with the blue waters of the North Shore only aging every year. The locals still welcome us with the Aloha spirit just as long as you bring back that respectful attitude year in and year out. There is not much to hate about the rock. Hate is such a strong word. Island Fever will take hold of you at some stage, you just need to dive back into the warm azure blue waters and wash it off. The images to follow are my Hawaiian story.

One thing I always look forward to is getting back on my bicycle. For eight weeks or three months at a time my bicycle is my transport, I don't leave the 10 kilometer stretch very often so two wheels are all need. I prefer a bike with gears, it saves the legs. There are many beach cruisers, they have far more comfortable seats but for me gears are the only way. The bike can have its dangers. Wild chickens, slow walkers, slow riders, jay-walkers, roots, low hanging branches and the blinding afternoon sun. I have had my fair share of injuries, from decapitated toes to last years infection. I was racing along the path at top speed en route to Waimea for the opening ceremony of The Eddie. There is a bend where I purposefully dodge the root, a combination of speed and poor balance lead to the front wheel going right while I continued my forward and left projection. With a backpack loaded with gear I put my body on the line and hobbled away with a severe roastie on my thigh and a very bloody ankle and toes. Injuries heal though and memories are there to be retold. The bike path is a place of greeting familiar faces, a place to ride and clear your head, a place of exercise but whatever you do, be sure to lock up your bike or you may have to walk home. I've had a bicycle pinched during my first season, it has never happened again and the same bicycle has served me well over the last six years thanks to a trusty lock and some good maintenance. Ride the path it is a good way to see the Golden Mile.

Parking during early and late season is not too bad except for the days when it is really pumping but with enough patience you will still find a place to park along the Kamehameha Highway, other wise known as Kam Highway. In Feb 2007 there were no "No Parking" signs, you could park anywhere that didn't block a driveway. In January 2008 the signs literally appeared over night causing great anger and confusion and lining the local councils bank accounts with tourist money. At first they were pretty strict with very limited parking areas, now over the seasons things have relaxed again and people adhere to the rules. I have dished up one hundred dollars in parking fines but that was years ago and now I just stick to my bicycle. Come the time of season when the circus rolls into town parking can become very hard to find and when you do, mostly only in the morning, you hold onto it. Some find a good parking and hold onto it a little too stubbornly.

My Hawaii seasons are when I do my equipment shopping and waiting for things to arrive is fun. The daily mailbox check is a happy time often followed by disappointment, damn it hasn't arrived yet. The locals opt for two versions of the mailbox, the standard black tin can or the customised box of fun. Riding past the houses you can help but smile at Aloha spirit and patriotic nature of the Hawaiian. A rather convenient aspect of the American postal service is the ability to place mail you want sent out in the mailbox, raise the flag on the side and the mailman/lady knows there is a collection. A true wonder of a first world country. Now and then a house gets abandoned or a mailbox neglected and it gets covered in growth waiting, hoping for a delivery and to once again proudly raise its flag.

There is only one store on the North Shore and that is Foodland, aka Foodscam. The inflated prices are aimed at the tourist but the locals suffer, unless you get your Makai card and take advantage of the frequent discounts. Nine liters of fruit juice for five dollars, you just better be thirsty because that expiration date is tomorrow. There are a few things I love about Foodland. The Sushi "bar", $5.89 for 12 pieces of Spicey Tuna sushi. The coffee, there is a Starbucks but I save that for the festive weeks when they have Eggnog Latte, I will have the Grande thanks. Foodland has the very cheap but just as tasty option of the vending machine pre-made coffee blend I like to customise. For $1.29 I can get a French Vanilla Kona Coffee Grande. The trick is two thirds French Vanilla topped off with Kona. Sickly sweet if you get the blend wrong and a dollar of amazingness when right. Bigger is better the States and Foodland is no different. Why would you want ham shavings when you can choose from a full leg of smoked in either pine or oak or teak smoke. And closer to thanksgiving it is not rare to spot a 20 pound turkey in the freezer. The beer isle will allow you to sample a brew from almost every part of the world. Chips, dip, soap, shampoo, magazines and newspapers, batteries and torches, ice and coal, lettuce and tomatoes, beans and cheese, bread or burritos or even if you just want a stroll the air-conditioned isles Foodland has most of it all.

The North Shore lifeguards are the true heros of any major swell. They have saved many lives while putting theirs on the line and have prevented lives being lost and children being swept out to sea. Day in Day out the towers are occupied. (Anti clock-wise from top right) The Sunset tower, this was physically moved from its original location about two years ago during a major swell that was threatening to wash it away. A crane picked it up and removed it to safety, a few days later it was perched in the space it occupies today. Rockpiles / Log Cabbins tower, these guys have a perfect view of Backdoor when its on top form. Being situated directly in front of Rock Piles and to the right of Log Cabbins they have that stretch covered. Ehukai Beach Park tower, this is the place of the many lives being saved. These guys watch over Pipe and have the best seat in the house. They got Corey Ziems (Lizzard team rider) to safety when he broke is back in December 2008 after taking off on a massive second reefer.

Travelling for nearly 40 hours with a backpack weighing close to 15 kilograms and another haul of equipment hopefully safe within the checked-in baggage is not fun. Not fun but worth it. I do travel with a fair amount of equipment because you want to be able to cover all sorts of angles when you have the worlds best surfers riding the worlds best waves in front of you. The backpack of tricks with the 500mm, that is for when I'm wearing the scaredy pants and not wanting to swim out or to cover the Triple Crown events which bring me to the North Shore. The little GoPro cameras are sheer brilliance and I never cease to be amazed at the qualify of image you can create with these cameras. I have a mount to use it with the fisheye housing to capture HD video along with the photographs, one day all that footage will be used for some purpose. Thanks to the wifi pack I use it for the remote-prizegiving shots at events. Now I just need to get my hands on the Hero3. The Canon 7D and fisheye, I love shooting fisheye in the water, who doesn't. Recently I tried the 50mm inside the fisheye housing and port, it was not perfect but made a few goodies. The orange fisheye housing, look after it and it will look after you. The Canon 1DMK3 with the 70-200 f2.8 (the white lens). It weighs a ton when swimming. It also creates beautiful images. The green long lens housing, look after it and it will look after you. It has bounced off the reef and bares the scares of battle. Having all this fancy equipment is amazing, it has taken years to afford it all and saying that you don't need the latest technology to create jaw dropping images. The best camera is the camera you have with you. All these photos were created with my iphone.

The Banzai Pipeline, Pipe. The wave by any other name would be just as alluring. I shit my pants at the thought of having to, wanting to swim out when it is maxing but nothing, absolutely nothing beats the water angle. A wave so beautiful, so powerful, the ability to send you home smiling or send you to hospital. A wave with such a reputation you cannot help but love it. I've never surfed it and don't think I ever will. The crowds are hectic and the pecking order intense. The same applies for water photographers.

Backdoor, Pipes brother. Whereas Pipe is often described with female qualities, beautiful, Backdoor is the more rough sibling, brutal. I prefer Backdoor to Pipe, sacrilege. Maybe that's because I feel comfortable shooting Backdoor with fisheye. Whatever it is this is one wave I will always talk and dream about. CaveRock is a good comparison and training ground.

Off The Wall so aptly named, it breaks in front of a wall. Back in the day when asked where you would be, the response "off the wall". It can be a right and left, OTW Lefts are amazing, OTW rights are amazing. When there are giant cross swells you find a few crazies patiently dodging the closeouts and hunting for that one wave that will make it all worth while. The bodyboarders love it because the surfers tend to steer more towards Backdoor and Pipe but there will always be a handful negotiating the drop for a photo or mental memory. When it's small it tends to provide the air sections for high-fi performances.

Don't be fooled by the name of Sunset Beach. The only beach part of it is the sand along the shore. In perfect conditions it is as beautiful as a setting sun, in ugly conditions it is nightmare material. Shooting a few heats during the 2011 Sunset event a cleanup set came through, the announcers saw it coming and gave everyone a heads up. I started scratching towards the horizon as it turned black only to turn around and see everyone paddling the opposite direction. I was confused, I got smashed, they got washed around. Knowledge at Sunset is everyone, sitting wide or deep of the boil or scratching to safety in the channel. I have surfed the biggest wave of my life at Sunset and that is probably small by others comparison. Boards have been broken and one guy stabbed in the throat with the broken edge of his board, it was not pretty. Jordy damaged his knee and the resultant injury nearly jeopardized his re-qualification. Kelly Slater does not enjoy surfing Sunset.

Thanks Giving, a day to celebrate all that you are thankful for and eat lots of good food with good friends. Egg Nog only comes out around the festive season and gets consumed in the gallons. We don't get it in SA and I love the stuff. 20 pound Turkeys are not uncommon, add some ham and stuffing and you will be rolling home. I am thankful for many things, my job on tour, the seasons I have had in Hawaii, the life long friends I have made in Hawaii, my family and friends at home and my girlfriend who deals with me being away for so long year in and year out.

Slippers, slippas, slops, thongs what ever you call them they are your best friend. The need to wear shoes while in Hawaii is not too frequent. I spend on average eight weeks in Hawaii, I wear shoes probably half a dozen times. It is custom in Hawaii to take your shoes off at the door, it is respectful and keeps the house clean from sand. When visiting friends it always makes you smile when you look at the front door and see the many pairs of slippers representing the Aloha spirit, and the dog guarding them all. It is risky to leave your slippers in the sand on the beach, often someone will "borrow" them. Give-sum-take-sum. I hate walking around bare foot so I travel with hotel slippers for indoors.

SALES, the tourist trap. Sometimes you can find a good deal. The best deals are Black-Friday, the day after Thanks Giving when you get the best deals. Electronics are the best things to get on sale, surfboards tend to be the same price all year round.

You can get some of the best meals from a food truck. The smells emanating from the confines of these vehicles will have your mouth watering before you even realise you are hungry. Acai bowls and Pastels from the Brasillian yellow school bus, to fine dining from the cholos truck to Pizza from the Impossibles Pizza truck you can find a good meal. It can get expensive though so you start to make truck dining an occasional treat.

The sun setting on the North Shore is a sight to behold, it never gets old. From blinding gold rays to skies filled with colors you cannot name. A sun set is even better when enjoyed with an ice-cold beer. I have yet to witness it but there is a "green flash" that occurs when certain atmospheric conditions occur. As the sun dips behind the horizon there is supposedly a green flash, what it represents I don't know but my theory is it's from staring at the ball of fire for too long.

Rain squalls, passing showers, sprinkles are all part of the tropics. You get caught in them and you seek shelter but then you step out straight away to witness the wonderful rainbow on offer. It's a rare day that a rainbow is not visible somewhere.

Free range fruit in abundance on Hawaii. Starfruit, never tried one but sure makes chilled water taste good. Home grown Papaya, tastes great and picking it from your garden is a treat. Pomegranates, also never really eaten one but makes chilled water taste great. Veggie patch tomatoes, yes a tomatoe is actually a fruit. Hawaiian Green Bananas, a unique flavor and better than the imported product FoodScam sells. Why import a product you grow locally?? There is a Malberry tree on the bike path that I discovered a few seasons back, before or after a session there is nothing like a natural sugar kick. Gotta love the organic fruits.

It is the tropics and brightly colored flowers and creatures can be seen just about everywhere. The beautiful flowers can be used to create traditional Hawaiian Lei or decorate your home or just simply be appreciated where they grow. The lizards come in an array of colors too. Sitting in a quite house listening to their chirps as they talk to each other could be a soundtrack to meditation. Color and Hawaii go hand in hand.

Being an island coconuts are a staple part of the diet ... for tourists. I don't understand the fascination with drinking coconut water, straight from the husk it does not taste very good. Perhaps I have an uneducated pallat. The problem with mass consumption is the discarded remains, coconut graves. The palms need to be pruned and there is an actual job for this need. Next time you are walking along a non-island beach and find a coconut, pick up give it a shake and ponder where it came from.

Windmills, a natural energy creator with an eyesore means of gathering. The erection of numerous windmills within the Waimea Valley have the locals up in arms calling for people to Save-The-Valley. They can look ugly when viewed from certain angles but when they supposedly save three hundred thousands barrels of oil being burnt every year it may be acceptable. The locals want to see that saving in their electricity bills though and haven't yet so they are not convinced. Also the earlier mills have since ceased to function, the wind farm in Kahuku has a problem, with leaking batteries and experts unable to assist on how to repair the question arises, are these environment friendly or a potential environmental catastrophe. There are also worries about the unspoken affects on the human health. It was funny though reading a comment about the concern for those who when surfing the giant waves of Waimea may become disorientated when watching the blades spin.

Waves break all along the North Shore and the best are groomed by the volcanic reef. It's hard, it's scary and every season on the first time getting back into the Hawaiian waters I swim down touch the rock and ask for nature to be kind to me. It has worked so far. After the winter swells the reef fills in with sand again and come winter it is all blasted out revealing the deadly caves and pinnacles that can endanger your life. On a small swell day you will find fish swimming the Pipe reef, on the big swells you can guarantee they are not there.

Keiki, it's a heavy shorebreak. Great for bodyboarders, great for bodysurfing, great for photos the likes of Clark Little. Also a place to injure yourself. Last season while "playing" in a small swell my housing smashed me in the face splitting my nose. Two stitches later and a rather large hospital bill later I hold a new found respect for a shorebreak.