Pumping New Zealand surf in 2014

This extended summer in New Zealand surf history will go down as some of the best waves we have ever seen. Usually we are blessed with the odd East swell that lights up the beach’s and points on New Zealand’s east coast. This summer we have had consistent East swell every weekend and stories of certain places which never usually break have been filtering in. The East coast of both the North and South Island is littered with amazing beach breaks that portray the perfect barrel and break only meters from shore. There are point breaks, river mouths and reefs that have come to life this summer and every weekend an opportunity arises to surf somewhere new or to re kindle an old flame.

The El Nino weather system which produces these constant and grunty East swells is set to continue and if winter was anything like it was last year, we are in for more East swell and guaranteed waves all up and down the North and South island coastline. New Zealand is known for its West coast and the long left-handers that peel over boulders and sandy reef’s such as the image below, however the East coast has been the amazing this entire summer and according to our forecasters, this is set to continue.

 Here is a report from Phil one of our New Zealand Surf Adventures from an awesome session he had last weekend:

“On the Saturday just been I surfed one of my favorite left hand river bars just north of Auckland and scored some hell barrels with only a few guys out. The wave was breaking for 100’s of meters and resembled a reef similar to that of Indonesia. On the other side of the bar there was a right-hander that was also resembling a point break and broke from the head rock all the way to the beach. We surfed for 4 hours straight and with only 10 people in the water the entire time. The next day I drove on down to one of our most well-known left-handers and as we rolled up to the look out we were greeted with 4-6 foot waves breaking forever. This wave is generally crowded (for NZ standards – 10-20 surfers in the water for  a wave that peels for 400+ meters) however as the entire East coast was breaking I surfed with a few of my mates for 5 hours and didn’t stop paddling once, it was all time. These situations are becoming more and more common where waves on both coasts and pumping and the little crowds are dispersed to all over NZ’s many surf breaks.”

Best bet for Autumn:

With Autumn now in full swing in the Southern Hemisphere the South swells produced by large low pressure systems near Antarctica are going to start rolling. With this in mind the East Coast areas of Gisborne in the North Island and Marlborough in the South Island (pictured below) are the pick of the spots. Both areas pick up the large South swells as well as the consistent East swells which we have been receiving a lot over the past several months. Although the air and water temperatures drop during the Autumn months leading up to winter the weather is generally very stable with a large number of sunny days.

You might not have heard of New Zealand as a surf destination and this is due to our humble approach to our country. We don’t want every man and his dog moving over to New Zealand for the waves so little is spoken about the surf and for good reason; we get to score some of the best waves in the world with just you and your mates out. If you’re after quality waves with no crowds, book your surf trip with New Zealand Surf Adventures and we will guarantee you get to surf world class waves with no one around but you and your buddies.