Aropaoanui / North Island / New Zealand

This is a rivermouth spot that relies on the building up of a sandbar for it work properly, but it does go off quite frequently and is suitable for everybody, from beginners upwards. 

The beach is pretty quiet and will be all but deserted on weekdays, with perhaps a handful of surfers out here at weekends.  It’s a little cooler than other parts of the island, and will peak at about 18 C in summer and fall to 12 or 13 C in winter.

This spot work at all tide positions and on both rising and falling tides, and is best when the wind comes from the northwest, west or southwest and the swell from the south, southeast or east.  It breaks both right and left in front of the rivermouth and the waves start to build at about 1m before reaching 2 – 3m high.  They are often hollow and are certainly heavier than average, and length is respectable at anything up to 150m. 

This really does feel like a wilderness spot, with the only infrastructure being the road leading down to the beach.  It isn’t too far to drive from Napier though, and there you’ll find everything that  a good tourist destination should have, from accommodation to food and nightlife.

You tend to get some strong currents where the river water meets the ocean, but they are the only hazard and its generally a fairly safe place to surf.