The Coromandel has always attracted surfers from nearby cities on weekends, holiday times and over the occasional widely-anticipated big swell. Many have been lured into settling permanently, forgoing the hustle of city life for a more flexible, if less lucrative, working week where they can sneak out for a dawnie or lunchtime session with only a friend or two in the water – particularly in winter. The Coromandel’s selection of waves varies in character from playful beach breaks to a world-class point break. Whangamata is the country’s best-known east coast surf town, steeped in surfing heritage.
You can hire a board in Whangamata, Pauanui and Hot Water Beach among other towns, but the serious surfer won’t want to arrive unprepared and suffer the torture of standing on the beach while the Pacific Ocean delivers lines of swell and pumping waves.
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