Best time to surf Karioitahi Beach

The best time to surf at Karioitahi Beach is July–August, with waves of about 1.7 m and water around 14°C.

Waiuku, Auckland (West Coast), New Zealand

Sports: Surfing

Best time to go: July–August

Karioitahi Beach lies on the west coast of the Āwhitu Peninsula, about 8 km west of Waiuku and 71 km, around 70 minutes' drive, from central Auckland. The sealed road ends at a car park with toilets by the surf life saving club. The sand is black and iron-rich, washed here from volcanic rock, and the beach runs for many kilometres between dunes and cliffs; the cliffs at Maioro at the southern end are used to train paraglider pilots.

The beach faces the Tasman Sea, and wind and swell reach it with nothing in the way, so there is surf on most days, but it is often blown out. It is an exposed beach break with sandbanks and peaks that change from week to week. Most of the surf comes from groundswells, best from the south-west, and it is cleanest when an east wind blows offshore; the prevailing south-westerly blows onshore, so early mornings and days with easterlies are the best. Autumn and winter bring the most swell and more offshore days.

Like the rest of this coast it has strong rips and powerful waves: surf with others, and between the flags when the club patrols, on weekends and public holidays from Labour Weekend to March and on weekdays from mid-December to late January. Vehicles drive on the beach with a permit and riders exercise horses there, so look out on the sand. The water is about 14 °C in August and 21 °C in February, a little colder than on the east coast: a 5/4 with boots in winter, a 3/2 in summer. Middlemore Hospital in Auckland is about an hour away.

Month by month at Karioitahi Beach

January: 11 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 0.6 m, water 21°C, air 22°C (nights 17°C), 26 sunny days, 13 rainy days
February: 7 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 0.6 m, water 21°C, air 23°C (nights 17°C), 26 sunny days, 12 rainy days
March: 8 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 0.8 m, water 20°C, air 21°C (nights 16°C), 28 sunny days, 12 rainy days
April: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.1 m, water 19°C, air 20°C (nights 15°C), 24 sunny days, 13 rainy days
May: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.3 m, water 17°C, air 17°C (nights 12°C), 25 sunny days, 12 rainy days
June: 11 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.3 m, water 16°C, air 16°C (nights 11°C), 22 sunny days, 17 rainy days
July: 13 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.6 m, water 14°C, air 15°C (nights 10°C), 24 sunny days, 17 rainy days
August: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.7 m, water 14°C, air 14°C (nights 9°C), 26 sunny days, 13 rainy days
September: 15 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 13 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 14°C, air 16°C (nights 11°C), 24 sunny days, 18 rainy days
October: 12 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 1.2 m, water 16°C, air 17°C (nights 12°C), 26 sunny days, 18 rainy days
November: 8 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1 m, water 18°C, air 19°C (nights 14°C), 25 sunny days, 17 rainy days
December: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1 m, water 19°C, air 21°C (nights 16°C), 27 sunny days, 17 rainy days