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Home to any number of clichés, movies, tv shows and the stereotypical surfer lifestyle is Hawaii’s North shore with rolling waves on one side and lush rainforests on the other.

Getting there
Its not particularly a long drive with an average car run taking under an hour but it really depends on the traffic which can go from “Sunday drive” to “LA peak hour” depending on the time of day/year.

There’s a couple different routes you can take which are about the same travel time.
The H2 to route 803 is the gps choice, you could try the 99 on the way back but you may get stuck with some local traffic on the smaller roads. Take the 750 if you’re up for the scenic route.

Travel tip: If you’re venturing up during the cooler months when the surfing comps are on, be prepared for ultimate chaos and getting no where fast..slowly!

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North Shore Locale

Haleiwa – Is the major town in the area which you’ll see coming over the mountain range. Its pretty much a blip on the map but hosts more than enough amenities for tourists and locals alike with food, souvenir and surf stores dominating the landscape. This however isn’t the only stop for services, there are plenty of other places and road side vendors along the coast line.

Waimea
Bay – One of the most popular beaches in the area which means parking can sometimes be a pain during the day. Later in the afternoon sees the crowds die off
Falls Park – Is the national park home to gardens, hiking paths and even craft demos. Cost is $24 and opening/closing times vary from day to day so check the website
Valley – If you’re lucky enough to catch a sunset with some drama, this is the place to be. Sadly not the case for us!

Pupukea beach, Sunset beach, Turtle bay beach, Laniakea beach and Sharks Cove are all roughly linked together and continue up the coast line so there’s plenty to choose from when you are looking for a spot to beach, relax or swim/surf. Plenty of rock pools crop up at low tide as well which will help with interesting photos (if you have the sky to match).

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Travel tip: Don’t let the scheduled daily afternoon sun showers deter you, they clear as quickly as they come, just keep a brolly handy or be within dashing distance to your car if you’ve set up a picnic.

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As always, if you have any questions about our adventures or where to buy something, just hit us up on the Soulbridge Media facebook page.

Hawaii 2012 part #1 – Arrival
Hawaii 2012 part #2 – Waikiki
Hawaii 2012 part #3 – Honolulu shopping – Part A
Hawaii 2012 part #4 – The Big Island – Volcano tour
Hawaii 2012 part #5 – Shopping Honolulu – part B
Hawaii 2012 part #6 – Tattoo Honolulu / Boardshorts: A Perfect Fit art exhibits
Hawaii 2012 part #7 – Pearl City area
Hawaii 2012 part #8 – Swap meets and Made in Hawaii festival
Hawaii 2012 part #9 – Cook offs and Car shows
Hawaii 2012 part #10 – North shore
Hawaii 2012 part #11 – Windward shore and Sealife Park
Hawaii 2012 part #12 – Chief’s Luau at Sealife Park
Hawaii 2012 part #13 – South shore – Diamondhead crater, Hanauma bay

The Dame ass shakin machine rolled through town again and asses were subsequently shook.

Check out all the action on the Dame Reggaeton facebook page.

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The gang is back for another installment of smooth funk, soul and hiphop…. and a surprisingly large contingent of B grade space movie outfits!

Mother Popcorn photos here

Yosemite National Park

Generally in a day you could cover the valley floor and one or two of the shorter mountain/waterfall hikes, however, ideally a two day stay on site would be best to cover a fair portion of the popular areas as well as chances for sunrise and sunset photos and revisiting areas at different times of the day. In saying that, if you’re on a tight schedule, a “summary” tour of the park is doable in about half a day.

Yosemite National Park - one of the many lookout spots on the way in

Firstly, the place is vast, not just in a physical sense but in a commercial way to accommodate the masses of tourists, for the most part its all 2 lane, one way bitumen roads with plenty of spots to pull over. On the way up and over the mountain range its single 2 way roads but still plenty of lookout spots. Travelling in late May, early June will still see plenty of thick snow at the top of the mountain areas. Temperatures were high single figures (Celsius) in these areas but were quite warm on the valley floor, around low 20s. So while you’re active you can easily get away with shorts and t-shirt for most of the day, though temps drop off fast once the sun slips behind the mountains.

On the valley floor, you can actually drive to most of the major sights. This is definitely the quickest way, but of course everyone has the same idea and you will get caught up with those inconsiderate types holding up traffic, triple parked trying to get photos from their car. Even if you choose not to park somewhere, unfortunately there’s no escaping them because of the one way ring road layout of the park. There is a shuttle that loops this ring road but for a relaxing experience and access to extra areas minus some of the strenuous hiking or traffic headaches you can’t go past hiring a bicycle.

The bicycles are hired from the Yosemite village, which is the central point for visitors. Take your pick of mountain bike, cruiser, tandems or even ones with trailers for around $10 hour or $28 for the day. Helmets are included for the safety conscious. Yosemite Lodge is also the major hub for tourist information, eateries and a grocery/souvenir store. The store prices are all reasonable and service was friendly and quick. There’s even free ice water (:

Yosemite National Park - Mirror Lake

For the most part, the ride is quite easy with very little variation in inclines so no prior triathlon experience is required. The steepest part you’ll encounter will be the path up to Mirror Lake but its only a short run before bicycle access is restricted. There are racks at this point but no locks or chains are provided, just make sure you remember which bike is yours! We marked ours with a napkin and rubber band around one of the hand grips (:

The rest of the walk up to Mirror Lake is quite steep. This is where you thank yourself from packing that extra bottle of water 😉 From Mirror Lake you get the classic view of Half Dome and some nice white water river action so make sure you have the camera and tripod ready.

Yosemite National Park

The bike path crosses over the river a few times so plenty of scenic moments can be had. If you have the extra time, head on over to Yosemite Falls, if not you can still see it from the path.

Yosemite Falls

Travel tip: If you’re travelling in the off season, road closures are always imminent around the park and access will be limited so check the forecasts and updates on the Yosemite park site.

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After a quick frolick in the snow at a rest area along side a biker gang, we were heading down the mountain and out to the bay area. Next stop… Milpitas!

Yosemite National Park

Milpitas 2011 – Great Mall
Yosemite 2011 part #1 – LA to Oakhurst via Bakersfield
Yosemite 2011 part #2 – Yosemite National Park
San Francisco 2011 part #1 – Arrival
San Francisco 2011 part #2 – Shopping – Haight, Downtown SF
San Francisco 2011 part #3 – Chinatown
San Francisco 2011 part #4 – Japantown
San Francisco 2011 part #5 – Alcatraz
San Francisco 2011 part #6 – Fisherman’s wharf, Golden Gate Bridge

Complete Yosemite 2011 photo gallery here
Complete San Francisco 2011 photo gallery here

The Slingers have been a little quiet on the local front but showed last Saturday night they can still rock it at the drop of a hat.

Vinyl Slingers @ Alhambra photos here

07.11.2011

Energetic Melbournite, Citizen.com drops in for a boogie at Barsoma.

Citizen.com @ Barsoma photos here

The Dame team hit it again with another long weekend show, happy birthday Queen Mum!

Dame Reggaeton @ The Church photos here

Extended gallery on the Dame Reggaeton Facebook page

Back to back weekends! The Dame boys throw a bonus round for the Labour Day holiday.

May Day Dame Reggaeton – photos here

04.30.2011

The lounge king swaggered on into Alhambra with a bag full of luscious house and rare groove.

Mark Farina @ Alhambra photos here

11.30.2010

Its been awhile between drinks for a Krafty club gig but as always, he doesn’t disappoint!
A definite highlight would be the layering of “hit the road jack” over drum and bass with Prodigy snippets. Completely nuts!

Krafty Kuts @ Family photos here

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