 |
Northland
Known locally as the Winterless North, this area enjoys a sub-tropical climate with ideal waters for fishing and diving as well as some great
surf. Amongst the best spots are the Bluff on Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North, Shipwreck Bay near
Kaitaia and Sandy Bay, a popular spot for Whangarei surfers. Further south near Warkworth, the east-facing
beach of Pakari offers a selection of waves which may be best described as short hollow beach breaks.
|
| |
Auckland
The city lies between the two harbours of Manakau to the west and Waitemata to the east - both coasts being
easily accessible from the city. The West coast surf is by far the more reliable of the two with the east sheltered by nearby islands.
Occasionally you will find a wave on the reefs of Milford and Takapuna, or on the East coast beaches but it is rare.
|
| |
Muruwai
Approximately 40 minutes from Auckland, great waves are located all along the beach with the swell from all directions. Bethells beach is 45 km
of Auckland and best surfed on smaller swells.
|
| |
Piha
Just 35km south west of the city is a popular beach known for its consistent surf; left and right-handers, and given the right conditions
a 50m long barrel.
|
| |
Coromandel
A favorite with New Zealand's over the summer, there are numerous accessible breaks to chose from.
|
| |
Hot Water Beach
Mainly beach breaks but there is also a right-hand break here, best on half to full incoming tides.
|
| |
Raglan
One of New Zealand's best-known surfing beaches, Raglan is situated 48km west of
Hamilton.
|
| |
Whangamata
With a good swell, banks form here and the beach is one of New Zealand's best known surf spots and has been since the 60s.
Choose from the Whangamata Bar (left-hander), the Beach Break or the Southern Estuary break.
|
| |
Waihi Beach
11km east of the town, this beach is good for surfing on smaller swells with the two extreme ends of the beach
offering the best spots.
|
| |
Gisborne
There are good waves around the Cape itself and the east and south facing coasts of
Gisborne also offer a variety of
heavy reef beach breaks. The most famous of those is perhaps located in
Hicks Bar where you will find hollow, fast breaking beach breaks. The nearby Tologa bay and Tokomaru bay also
boast good waves and are worth a look in you're in the area.
|
| |
Taranaki
There are hundreds of isolated spots to choose from here, including the lava shelf formed from the volcano Mt. Taranaki -
numerous surf breaks can be found as a result of this reef.
|
| |
Westport
In addition to its several surf breaks, the town has one freshwater break in the Buller River on which it is situated.
|
| |
Tauranga Bay
South of Westport, this beach with its left-hand break hosts a national surfing competition held here annually.
|
| |
Punakaki
Waves can be found all along this coast as far south as Greymouth with the best break located at Nine Mile - a left-hand reef beach break.
Continuing down the coast, beach breaks can be found off the coast of Greymouth and
Hokitika, and the beautiful beach of Okarito is a prefect
surf spot given the right conditions - avoid it in big swells.
|
| |
Christchurch
At Sumner there's 2 choices of surf: the mouth of the estuary or at main beach. There's right and left-handers at the
river mouth and the beach is best surfed in big swells. An even better beach break located around from
Sumner Head is called "Taylor's Mistake:
where waves break on all tides.
|
| |
Otago and Southland
Dunedin, in spite of its icy winter conditions, has been describe as a surfing paradise. Head for the beach at St.
Clair and check out
nearby beaches for some good waves and less crowds. Beach breaks can also be found at nearby Blackhead and Brighton.
For a biggun then check out the breaks near Riverton - Porridge being the best known. In late September/October, the Big Wave competitors chase the biggest breaks along the south coast from the Catlins to Riverton.
|
