Best time to surf Mangawhai Heads

The best time to surf at Mangawhai Heads is June–September, with waves of about 1.5 m and water around 16°C.

Mangawhai Heads, Northland, New Zealand

Sports: Surfing

Best time to go: June–September

Mangawhai Heads is a seaside village at the mouth of the Mangawhai Harbour on Northland's east coast, about an hour and a half north of Auckland. The surf beach runs north from the harbour entrance. There is parking at the surf life saving club, with toilets and showers, and the club patrols the beach in summer.

The best-known wave is the bar at the harbour mouth, where the water flowing in and out shapes a sandbar that gives both rights and lefts. The bar moves and is sometimes dredged, so the wave changes from year to year. It works best in a north-east swell with a west wind, which blows offshore; the beach further north also has peaks in smaller swells. North-east swells come mostly from late summer to winter, with tropical lows and easterly storms; in a long spell of westerlies the coast can go flat.

Rips and the tidal current at the harbour mouth are strong, especially on the outgoing tide, so the bar is for experienced surfers; learners should stay on the beach in front of the club, between the flags when it is patrolled. The sandspit and estuary are a nesting area for shorebirds, among them the rare fairy tern, so keep to the marked paths. The water is about 15 °C in August and 22 °C in February: a 4/3 in winter, a 3/2 in summer. The nearest hospital is in Whangārei, about an hour away.

Month by month at Mangawhai Heads

January: 10 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 0.6 m, water 21°C, air 23°C (nights 17°C), 27 sunny days, 16 rainy days
February: 5 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 0.7 m, water 22°C, air 23°C (nights 17°C), 26 sunny days, 15 rainy days
March: 6 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 0.8 m, water 21°C, air 22°C (nights 16°C), 28 sunny days, 11 rainy days
April: 10 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 0.9 m, water 20°C, air 20°C (nights 15°C), 24 sunny days, 16 rainy days
May: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.2 m, water 19°C, air 18°C (nights 13°C), 27 sunny days, 11 rainy days
June: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 17°C, air 16°C (nights 12°C), 24 sunny days, 13 rainy days
July: 10 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 16°C, air 15°C (nights 10°C), 25 sunny days, 14 rainy days
August: 8 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 15°C, air 15°C (nights 9°C), 25 sunny days, 13 rainy days
September: 11 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 1.6 m, water 15°C, air 16°C (nights 11°C), 26 sunny days, 15 rainy days
October: 9 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 1.3 m, water 16°C, air 18°C (nights 12°C), 27 sunny days, 14 rainy days
November: 7 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 10 knots, waves 0.9 m, water 18°C, air 20°C (nights 14°C), 26 sunny days, 16 rainy days
December: 8 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 0.7 m, water 20°C, air 22°C (nights 16°C), 28 sunny days, 16 rainy days