Kuoatunu Reef / North Island / New Zealand

This spot only breaks a few days a year, but if it does go off then you can get some decent sized waves that can be a decent challenge for those with a bit of experience. There is a good atmosphere here.

The beach is made up of soft golden sand, and is quite deep and fairly long so there is plenty of room for everybody. Water temperatures will be about 15° C in the middle of winter and require a wetsuit, while in summer you will be working at about 22° C and a shorty will be plenty.

For this place to work the wind needs to be coming from the south-west, south or south-east and the swell rolling down from the north or the north-east. It does work at all tide positions and on both rising and falling tides, and the swell will start at about 1 m and hold up to 2 1/2 m or so.  It breaks both right and left, over the reef, and the waves are both hollow and fast so good technique is important. Length is usually short at about 50 m, but it has been seen to get over 100 m on exceptional days.

The beach has nothing on it but the town of Kuaotunu is just a couple of minutes walk away.  There are a few places to stay if you want to use it as a base, and a couple of places to eat too.

The only thing to watch out for here is the rocks that lurk just under the water and can wreck your board if you happen to catch one.