Overview

New Zealand is a real surfers paradise with a huge coastline to explore offering numerous secret spots, and vast areas of wilderness where you’ll find beaches with nobody else in the water. The surfing near the main urban areas and the more famous spots such as Raglan and Piha can have crowds. New Zealand has two very different coastlines the West Coast and East Coast, each having their own different characteristics. The West is reputed to be rough and wild, the East calmer and more picturesque, however Piha can produce pristine clean surf and Gisborne is renowned for powerful heavy waves.

New Zealand has quality surf year round, however, there is a large difference between the seasons. During the summer months New Zealand experiences calmer conditions with predominant north easterly weather creating consistent north-east swell for the north-east coast and smaller offshore clean conditions for the west coast. Between the months of December through April, New Zealand also receives tropical storms from the Pacific producing epic cyclone swell lighting up many areas that lay dormant for the majority of the year. Winter is a different proposition alltogether, where huge southerly storms in Antarctica produce large long period ground swells that wrap into protected points and reefs along both east and west coasts.

Weather

New Zealand experiences a temperate climate in the south island and is sub-tropical in the North Island and the nature of the terrain, the prevailing winds and the length of the country lead to sharp regional contrasts. Temperatures can vary greatly with daytime temperatures sometimes reaching 30°C and to falling below 0°C in the evenings. In general, rainfall and humidity is higher on the west coast of the country due to the north-south orientation of the mountain ranges and the prevailing westerly winds.

Lying in the windy Roaring Forties, exposed regions of the country get blustery.

The Owner

Nick Towner: After wrapping up his PhD which investigated the sustainable development of surf tourism in the Mentawai Islands, Nick needed a new focus in life so put his energy into setting up a lifestyle business venture. NZ Surfing Adventures is really a combination of Nick’s passion for surf adventure around the globe and as well as in NZ and his educational background in surf tourism. Nick has over 15 years experience in surf travel between both the North and South Islands meaning that you will always be scoring pumping uncrowded waves on New Zealand’s vast coastline. Nick’s intimate knowledge of both surf and weather conditions alongside his qualifications in surf instruction make him the perfect person to guide you on your adventure in beautiful New Zealand.

Surf Breaks

North Island

Far North

The winterless north as it’s more commonly known is the ultimate surf destination offering New Zealand’s warmest and most humid climate, where boardshorts can easily be worn throughout the summer months. With the east and west coasts being only 15 minutes apart, you double your chances of scoring waves. If the Pacific coast is flat and onshore, jump in the truck and no doubt there will be offshore waves on the Tasman coast.

Piha beach

A 50-minute drive from Auckland international airport is Auckland’s west coast, a beautiful rugged coastline that offers consistent quality and often very hollow beach breaks. Winter brings constant south west storms that can last for a week, while summer offers smaller cleaner offshore conditions. Lion Rock offers left and right options with backwash vectors from the rocks creating interesting scenarios. Some great beach breaks on the right day to the north of Lion Rock right up the beach.  Best at around 3-6 ft.

Raglan

Is a sleepy coastal town home to three excellent left hand point break that peel mechanically over volcanic reef and boulders. Raglan is remarkably consistent with a large headland allowing large southwest swells to wrap 90 degrees and is offshore in the prevailing south westerly winds.

• Indicators – A difficult paddle on a big day, best done from the relative safety of Whale Bay or the headland to the east of it. Indicators is the main break but depending on the size of the swell, another 3 spots can be found along this inlet.
• Manu Bay - Manu Bay is a medium length left hander that ramps along a rocky point, nice longboarding wave.

Gisborne

New Zealands most famous surfing destination, home to high quality powerful hollow waves. Gisborne is extremely consistent coping the full brunt of both southerly, easterly and northerly swells. Due to its remote location and relaxed atmosphere there is opportunity to score pumping waves with only a few local crew out. Gisborne is a great launching point for your surf adventure being the gateway to both the isolated Eastcape and fabled Mahia.

• Wainui Beach – Wainui Beach about 6 kms from Gisborne is the great spot for surfers of all levels . The best waves are found off the southern reefs, offering superb right and left breaks. The Island 1 km before Wainui has Gisborne’s longest tubes. There are two left hand reef breaks which work in big southerly swells.

Taranaki

Taranaki is one of New Zealand’s better known surf spots due to its consistency and large range of breaks including reefs, bars, points and beachies. Taranaki has a swell window of almost 180 degrees so there is always a chance of finding somewhere uncrowded that’s pumping and offshore.

• Stent Road – One of the better right handers near Taranaki. A great wave easily accessible from the road. Stent Road can handle true size. The takeoff can be a little hairy and the wave will either bowl or fatten out before reeling into a long wall section.

South Island

Kaikoura

Kaikoura is famous for its whale watching, spectacular snow capped mountains and epic right-hand point breaks. Kaikoura’s waves are intensified by deep ocean trenches and tidal upwellings. The majority of the surf breaks are located in a small geographic area and features its own micro climate in winter where mountains funnel down light offshore winds creating amazing glassy conditions uncommon in New Zealand. The water here can get cold so be sure to have a quality steamer and all the rubber accessories. A couple of national compititions are held here every year. The main breaks here are Mangamanu and Meatworks.

Dunedin

Dunedin is one of New Zealand’s finest areas for surfing and one of the least populated. Home to an amazing range of beaches, bars, points and reefs, if you’re keen to adventure there’s definitely something for everyone. Here marine life and cold temperatures add another dimension to your surf with snow often down to the water line and abundant seals, dolphins and the occasional shark. Be prepared to wear a lot of rubber as Dunedin gets cold but the reward is tenfold.

Papatowai

NZ’s premier big wave location. Not for the faint hearted, needs about 10ft+ to break and big, raw southerly swells from Antarctica bring freezing waters.

Fiordland

Located on the south western side of the south island, Fiordland is one of the most isolated parts of New Zealand, providing surfers with a feeling of remote wilderness experienced in few places around the globe. Southwest New Zealand is home to snow-capped mountains, rivers of ice, deep lakes, unbroken forests and tussock grasslands producing a landscape of exceptional beauty. There is never a shortage of swell in Fiordland with large south swells wrapping into the numerous point and reef breaks, while smaller west swells being ideal for the beachies or river mouths. The main surfing area in Fiordland is Big Bay aptly named for being a large bay open to large swell window and able to handle winds from a variety of directions. The main break is ‘Orchards’ a grunty A-frame reef that handles almost any swell, further north are a variety of reef and points while to the south there are sucky beachies and an extermely hollow river mouth.

Accommodation

All of the New Zealand Surfing Adventures are 100% customised to what you want, which determines the type of waves and amount of travel involved. Ultimately, the direction of the surf trip is governed by the weather and the swell.

Base camp is at Piha Beach 50 minutes from Auckland International airport situated a 5-minute walk to one of the most consistent beach breaks in the world. The Piha eco-surf lodge is a refurbished simple but clean house with several sleep-outs situated in a pristine natural bush setting. Bedrooms and sleep-outs have shared bathrooms with hot water.

Shared kitchen and lounge area has cable TV and DVD as well as WI-FI internet. You can cruise down to the large garden pick some vegetables for the salad, get the organic chicken eggs and stroll backup to the lodge listening to the sound of beautiful native bird song.

All other accommodation options booked in advance will be of high quality. There will be several exceptions due to remote locations of some of the surf breaks, in this situation your guides will always try for the best option. In remote areas one or two days may be spent in tents due to the geographic isolation, however all arrangements will be made to ensure you have a comfortable and pleasant sleep.

Food

There is no set menu on the surf adventures and the food is generally customised to the clients wishes. They try and keep meals comprised of fresh naturally grown produce full of both carbohydrates and protein to get you through a massive day of surfing.

Snow and Surf Options

New Zealand has some of the best and most accessible mountain resorts in the world and during the winter months it is easy in such areas as Taranaki, Kaikoura and Canterbury to surf and snowboard in the same day. Otherwise a full day of snowboarding at Mt Ruapehu in the North Island or Mt Hutt in the South Island can offer a great alternative if conditions are looking unfavorable.

Surf & Other Activities

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Disclaimer - This surf trip is an independent surf operator and is not part of or in partnership with The Perfect Wave Travel Co. The Perfect Wave acts as an agent only. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport, accommodation and other service providers, such as airlines, land based accommodation and boat charter operators. The Perfect Waves' obligation is to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and travel service providers. The Perfect Wave has no responsibility for these services nor do we make or give any warranty of representation regarding their standards. All bookings are made subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these service providers.

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