As a goofy in nsw I excitedly spent 3 hours on google earth last night studying the New Zealand west coast from the bottom island all the way to the top island. **** me there's some left points there. What a dream! Are they all crowded?

I'm sure like nsw there's some fat handers great for sup that don't get looked at when there's something better nearby for a shorty. Is the lefts that are good for sup on the west coast, in particular the South Island, a case of your more worried about finding someone to paddle out with than worried about a crowd paddling out and ruining your surf? Like some of those south oz waves at the moment.

not asking anyone to give up or talk about individual spots here just the general vibe.
like, if you go there, there looks like fat left points everywhere. Waves we enjoy but the shortboards probably wouldn't bother with unless desperate. What's the go?

again, please don't mention individual waves that are semi secret

The major issue is onshore wind and weather especially s. Island, so there might be fewer spots accessible by car than you imagine on that coast.

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slsurf said..
The major issue is onshore wind and weather especially s. Island, so there might be fewer spots accessible by car than you imagine on that coast.

Are there less spots that are protected by the southerlies?

Correct for instance raglan is crowded because no other decent protected points near Auckland. Then there is that one place a surfer got shot at with a rifle from shore s. of raglan I think. But great place to explore with so many different coastlines I never got to sup just surfed there but can't go wrong visiting, people and surfers friendly in general. Other than raglan most of the protected spots aren't that consistent, but if you drive probably can find good surf somewhere most days. Some of the regions have peninsulas, or headlands allowing for almost any wind/swell combination.

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slsurf said..
Correct for instance raglan is crowded because no other decent protected points near Auckland. Then there is that one place a surfer got shot at with a rifle from shore s. of raglan I think. But great place to explore with so many different coastlines I never got to sup just surfed there but can't go wrong visiting, people and surfers friendly in general. Other than raglan most of the protected spots aren't that consistent, but if you drive probably can find good surf somewhere most days. Some of the regions have peninsulas, or headlands allowing for almost any wind/swell combination.

What a waste of a coastline, so much potential. Probably like south coast nsw in a good east swell with a west wind, everywhere is pumping but south swell and not as many spots.

haha yeah read about that point somewhere. Has it eased up over the years or is it still an invite only or get your head kicked in type of deal?

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slsurf said..
Correct for instance raglan is crowded because no other decent protected points near Auckland. Then there is that one place a surfer got shot at with a rifle from shore s. of raglan I think. But great place to explore with so many different coastlines I never got to sup just surfed there but can't go wrong visiting, people and surfers friendly in general. Other than raglan most of the protected spots aren't that consistent, but if you drive probably can find good surf somewhere most days. Some of the regions have peninsulas, or headlands allowing for almost any wind/swell combination.

Also, how is the top part of eggmont national park not just a 100km straight left hand point break?

Yeah that's the taranaki area between there and new Plymouth also lots of spots. I know it mostly from windsurfing and I remember most of the points and reefs being rocky, but if you check the online descriptions of the surf breaks you can get an idea.

Google "shippies"

Give me a bell if you fly or arrive in Auckland and can show you some spots on both west and east coasts around here.

there's a good left at M?ori bay at the moment

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thegreatsup said..
Give me a bell if you fly or arrive in Auckland and can show you some spots on both west and east coasts around here.

there's a good left at M?ori bay at the moment

A chance to be in Aukland in October...what are the chances of catching some decent surf then?

Some mates and I used to into windsurf wave sailing and the Taranaki coast has some epic spots.
From the days of camping at Weld Road then staying at the Wave Haven, we ended up buying a place in Opunake and a lot of the time there is wind but when it wasn't windy enough did a lot more surfing and became an ok surfer but there are so many locations that you didn't have to surf crowded spots.

There are few sandy beaches or as locals say "large grains of sand" - ROCKS! So mainly reef breaks. Ended up getting a jet ski and doing tow in but there are some breaks where its too long to prone paddle but a longer sup to paddle a km out the back.

Sold that place over 20 years ago but so many memories of good waves. I always remember this time of year as the best for surfing, maybe not 3m swell but higher chance of offshore and clean waves.

October you could be lucky but our spring frontal system will normally be nw to sw wind direction so better around Okura - New Plymouth. Surfers would be up early before the wind comes up.

Shippies - yeah been surfing there and the island is relatively thin to give you more options.

Had this guy studying reef breaks and remember him saying parts of South Island had great surf breaks but.

Good Luck