Big River (New Zealand) / North Island / New Zealand

As you probably guessed from the name, this is a rivermouth break. When it is big and there is a lot of water moving around it is suitable for experienced surfers only, and shouldn’t be attempted alone.

The beach is sandy and is quite long, forming the semicircle of Poverty Bay.  It's very quiet and you'll rarely see more than a couple of other surfers out, while the water temperatures can reach about 23° C in summer and about 14° C in winter.

This place can be quite fickle, but it is most likely to break when the wind is blowing from the north-west and the swell is coming from the south or the south-east. It works at all tide positions and on both rising and falling tides, when the swell will start working at 1 m to 1.5 m before reaching a maximum of just over 2.5 m. It breaks to the right, in front of the River mouth, and the waves are fast and powerful, far more than you would expect from their size. Even a normal day can give a length up to 150 m, and a good day can provide double that.

There aren't any facilities on this beach, but you're only about a 10 min drive out of Gisborne. This large city has good transport connections, plenty of choice for accommodation and places to eat, and a few things to do when you aren't surfing.

The can be some strong currents here, so be careful and don't surf it alone.