Teiki Mathieu Baillan surfing a self-made Alaya surfboard in Macaroni, Mentawaï, Indonesia. Photo by C. Naslain, 2009.
Find the best surf spots |
|
|
South Island New Zealand - From the golden sands of Able Tasman national park in the North, to the antarctic waters in the far south, South Island has a vast surfable coastline. Here the West / East Coast divide is more noticable than for North Island, with the West Coast deserving its wild and dangerous reputation. All of South Island can be characterised by cold water, so bring some neoprene.
If you like surfing with crowds come with some mates - as you'll find plenty of empty spots in South Island. If you come visiting, respect the locals, and you'll find great people to surf with - you might even get shown some of their un-published spots. New Zealand has a small population, (if you exclude the several million working as bar staff in London), and about one-in-three of those who actually live in NZ are Jaffas (nice people who come from Aukland..).... so get out and enjoy the surf.
If you go in winter and the water is too cold, try the great snow-boarding!
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 S, 174 00 E
Coastline: 15,134 km
Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Seasonal swell & wind variations:
Jan/Feb | Mar/Apr | May/Jun | Jul/Aug | Sep/Oct | Nov/Dec | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Surfing Season | ||||||
Typical Swell Size | ||||||
Surf Equipment | ||||||
Water temp. | ||||||
Air temp. | ||||||
Climate |
This is an interactive map! Use controls to pan and zoom this map.
Your favourites and future surf spot lists
Your favorite zone isn't listed ? Add a zone
Zones (5) | Surf Spots | Sub zones |
---|---|---|
North Coast | 10 | 0 |
NE Coast | 29 | 0 |
SE Coast | 27 | 0 |
Far South | 15 | 0 |
West Coast | 8 | 0 |
Cable bay reef |
Westport breakwater |
Tarangua bay |
Hickory bay |
By kalaukoa , 29-04-2009
Coming in August 2009 - Aloha, I am from Hawaii and will be on Te Waipounamu (south island)from 08.19.08 - 09.05.09. The surf looks unreal, and I was wondering if there are any local shops that do rentals? I am going to be there on my honeymoon, and bringing my snowboard, so there is a lot of stuff to pack. Does it get good in the winter? If anyone could let me know, or if anyone wants to go surfing while I am there, I would totally be stoked, and retutn the aloha if anyone ever came to Hawaii.
By Black's Beach Loke , 12-01-2007
Dunedin Rippers - Im going to be in Dunedin for a week in February following a scientific egghead conference in Queenstown. Any rippers want to stoke a bro and take me surfing. Ill buy the beer and promise to take you surfing if your ever in California.
By bsummers@tasmail.com , 01-12-2006
should i? - Im heading over to south island at the end of december through january. just wondering if its worth bringing a board at this time of the year?
You can edit this page to correct errors or add new information. If you have any problems regarding this page, Send us feedback.
Wannasurf.com on your mobile
RSS All the RSS feeds of Wannasurf.com
Newsletter All news by email