New Zealand Surfing Adventures – Spring 2013 Update

Hope you had an epic summer/winter wherever you are in the world. We have had one of the best winters to date in New Zealand with one of the biggest snow falls ever recorded in the North and South Island making it an awesome season which is set to continue until the end of October. The east coast has be inundated with consistent large long period swell lighting up the many river mouths, beach breaks and right hand points  spread throughout the north and south island. The west coast has also had its fair share of action with the offshore winds produced from the east coast depressions (low pressure systems). That’s the beauty of New Zealand, as you can surf a different coastline each day and sometimes you can even surf both the west and east coast in the same day like some of our clients experienced on a special winters day up north.

The winter in NZ is quite mild in the north island and a 3/2 wetsuit is all you need even for the colder days. The south island had one of the warmest winters with big east swells pushing down the coast igniting the 10+ world class right hand points in the southern region. The west coast of the south island had an amazing winter of waves and warm north east winds. Plenty of these isolated and un-crowded/unknown spots came to life and we stumbled upon some amazing waves with just the crew out on our mid winter surf/snow trip. A 4/3 wetsuit will get you through a winter down south and a head cap and booties don’t go missed on a howling south west (cold) at the start of winter in June. It’s well worth the sacrifice to wear some extra rubber when you are surfing world class waves to your self with just your mates and your guide out.

Our mid winter surf and snow trip with one of our clients will go done in the record books as we were able to surf perfect a frames on the west coast of the south island in the morning, snowboard up Treble cone (one of NZ’s best ski fields) in the afternoon and catch a rainbow trout in the Clutha river in the evening. There are not many places in the world where you can do that and if you’re after perfect waves with no crowds, then book a trip over here. We promise you will be blown away by the waves, landscapes, people and adventure activities that we can offer (even in winter).

It’s coming into the end of spring at the moment which means the waters starting to heat up, the days are getting longer and the waves are starting to turn on. The 3/2’s are being ditched for spring suits and board shorts up north while the southern chargers are losing a little rubber themselves as the water temp rises. The end of spring brings with it big south west swells that swarm up the west coast lighting up the right and left hand reefs of New Plymouth and world class lefts scattered along the north islands west coast. Big depressions also form off the northern tip of NZ pushing north east swell to the reefs, river mouths and points.

We are looking forward to summer with a few north and south island trips with clients to make the most of the super long day light hours. In the south of the south island you can surf till 10 pm at night if you’re keen. When it gets light at 6am and dark at 10 pm you can surf as many times as you like and experience a range of different waves in the same day.

The far north is also starting to come into its own with the best time of the year for fishing/free diving in the next few months and always an offshore wind somewhere with the versatile coastline. If clients are interested in giving spear fishing a go we can provide the equipment needed to help them shoot there first fish. We can teach specialized free diving techniques to help holding breath and relaxing underwater, stalk fish and catch a feed.

So what are you waiting for? Let New Zealand Surf Adventures show you how much NZ has to offer and give you the best surf experience in New Zealand. They have adventures leaving weekly! There is something to suit every surfer, from budget conscious explorers to luxury surf travel.