THE SOUTH ISLAND SWELL
Golden Bay: For a truly wild, windswept experience without the menace of huge cold waves, make the stunning hike out to Wharariki Beach on the very northern tip of the South Island. The Golden Bay area is a rural peninsula culminating in a conservation area full of trails, wild beaches and inlets. It requires a 20minute hike to reach Wharariki Beach, adding to its remote feel, and a surfable swell is far from guaranteed. Nonetheless, the setting alone makes it a popular spot. The trail winds over hills and dunes, before delivering you to a massive beach with dramatic rock formations jutting up out of the sand and the sea. And if you’re lucky, one of the several peaks along this beach break will have enough shape to ride a few punchy, beginnerfriendly waves.
Nearest town: Nelson
Otago coast: Dunedin is the second largest city on New
Zealand’s South Island, with a university that gives it a young and fun vibe. The nearby surf, however, is a more serious matter. Diehards flock to what is known as the Otago coast for the massive south swells that roll through in winter. Surfers here share the breaks with yelloweyed penguins, sea lions and, of course, great whites, but the variety makes it a popular spot even in summer. Some 45km north of town is a heavy and hollow righthand point break, Karitane, that sits right in front of the mouth of the
Waikouaiti River. About halfway between Karitane and Dunedin is
Murderers Bay. Don’t let the name scare you: the fast righthand barrel breaks at manageable size, but it needs just the right conditions to turn on. Further south, Papatowai is known for its Mavericksesque big waves and draws bigwave surfers from all over.
Nearest town: Dunedin
Kaikoura: The stretch of coastline around Kaikoura is perhaps what Fiordland would look and feel like if it had roads and towns. Some 21⁄2 hours north of Christchurch, on the South Island’s east coast, it is by no means remote. It is, however, extremely raw — a place that’s rich with sea life, large untamed swell and massive ocean mammals. South from the tiny town of Kaikoura, lie a dozen or so of the South Island’s best breaks. Perhaps the most popular is the righthand point break north of a town called Mangamaunu, which fires often and at a manageable size, breaking into a boulder beach framed by lush mountains. A more serious swell can be found just a few clicks south at Kahutara. This is also a righthand point break, but a much heavier one that comes into its own in the colder months, and is well over headhigh.
Nearest town: Kaikoura