SURF BAY OF PLENTY SURFING
New Zealand Surf Introduction
The
Bay of Plenty was Labelled by its discoverer Captain Cookof the
Endeavour. When the swells are running there are good ridable waves
at most surf spots along the bay from Matakana Island to the Motu
River mouth.
Mt Maunganui about 19 km east of Tauranga is a popular beach some
what over ratedand over populated. This beach is a great holiday
venue with it's golden sands and ok waves in a north or north-east
swell. ‘The Mount’ is New Zealand’s eqiuvilent to
Queensland’s Gold Coast and the first view of this beach gives
an Excellent feel.
‘The Mount’ was a first in New Zealand’s surfing
boom, being the third Surfboard Riders Club to be formed after Takapuna
and Raglan. Ocean Beach over the southern headland, extends to Papamoa
and offers a series of ok beach breaks on the right day, which can
be accessed via footpaths off the main coastal road.
Across the Tauranga harbour entrance from ‘The Mount’
is the long exposed shoreline of Matakana Island. A powerful north-easterly
swell on a high tide produces great sand Barrels, the waves here
tend to be bigger and more hollow than those at ‘The Mount’.
You need to hire a boat to gain access to the island or you can
paddle the channel at the right tide ask around .
Whakatane Heads about 2 kms from Whakatane has a consistent Sand bar break on the northern side of the Whakatane River mouth. The best conditions are a 1-2 metre swell from the north. You need to paddle across the river to get to the north side of the bar. Ohope Beach about 6 kms east of Whakatane is a popular holiday resort where northerly swells can get hollow waves breaking on a shallow bottom.
Maketu about 16 kms east of Te Puke has a right-hand bar break on the west side of the Maketu Point. Newdick’s Beach on the east side can deliver very Excellent beach breaks in an east or north-east swell.