Indicators, Whale Bay, Manu Bay

04/07/2008

A brief summary of New Zealand's finest pointbreak.

Figure 1:Raglan in full cry

Raglan isn’t really a wave itself, it’s a series of points in a row, each with its own really good wave. This particular section (Fig. 1) is called Indicators, and is the first of four. You can paddle out here (access is really easy), and slowly make your way up to the start of the point. Here you get the first ridable section of the entire Raglan stretch. Big swells rear up and move down the point quite fast. The wave is great for top to bottom combos, and some sections call for a bit of extra speed. There isn’t a lot of time for cutbacks, until you reach the second half of the wave.

Figure 2:Raglan is on the west coast of the north island

After surfing yourself into proverbial spaghetti, you can slowly wash in over the rocks, or you may wish to paddle a little further down the point to the next wave, called Whale Bay, a shorter but still quite intense point. Whale Bay has a big rock half way along the wave that prevents a complete ride at high tide, but isn’t really an issue at low.

Further round the point is the third wave, called Manu Bay - arguably the most popular, especially among longboarders. Again it’s a really nice setup, but lacks the power of the first two.

The fourth wave is Wainui Beach - a long rather dull beach break. Great for learning, but rarely a real option for the serious surfer.

Raglan really is a phenomenon, and the scale of the point has to be seen to be believed. What’s more, it’s only a short drive from Auckland. Surf yourself into a pulp, clamber back over the rocks to your rental house on the point, and rest on the sun-warmed decking. Highly recommended.

Posted in New Zealand, Spots