The Gap / North Island / New Zealand

The Gap is found just on the outskirts of Napier and is a real beginners wave.  It's a bit sloppy but breaks regularly and is a good place to get to grips with the basics.

The beach is long and sandy, and when you get here you'll notice why the spot gets its name – there is a break in the line-up buildings behind the beach, and this is because the end of the airport runway finishes just behind it.  It's a very popular place, and is crowded almost all the time.

This spot will work with the wind coming from the north-west, west or south-west and the swell working from the south, south-east, east or north-east. It isn't fussy about the tide position or whether it is rising or falling, and the swell will start at less than 1 m and reach a maximum height of about 2 m. It is a fairly standard beach break, both right and left, and the waves are slow and don't hold much power. Length on most days is short at around 50 m, but some of the better days can see this increase to 100 m or 150 m.

You can park right next to the beach itself, or if you aren't driving it is only a short taxi ride from the centre of the city.  The beach doesn't have any facilities, but Napier is a good place to stay and offers a range of accommodation, nightlife and things to entertain you when you aren't surfing.

There are no environmental hazards around here at all, and the only potential problem is from the odd local who thinks this is their private spot.