🇳🇿 Raglan
New Zealand · Oceania · All New Zealand spots →
Best directionW
Wind speed15–25kt
SeasonSep – Feb
Skill levelAdvanced
WaterLagoon + waves
New Zealand's premier wave-kiting destination, on the North Island's west coast — a huge lagoon for flat-water sessions, with real surf just outside at Ngarunui Beach for those who want it.
View live 5-day wind forecast →Good to know
Getting thereWest coast of the North Island, about 2 hours south of Auckland Airport (AKL) via State Highway 1 and Route 23. A car is required; free parking at Manu Bay or Kopua domain beach access. The sandy shores inside the harbor mouth near the footbridge give the primary, clean launch.
HazardsThe channel connecting the harbor to the ocean generates genuinely violent, rapid tidal current that can sweep a rider out to sea or into black volcanic rock shelves downwind. Stay inside the wide shallow harbor flats, away from the moving channel mouth and heavy weekend surf lineups.
Best time of dayAfternoon, when regional WSW winds get thermally accelerated across the flat harbor waters. Time sessions with high tide for the safest depth over the inside sandbanks while avoiding the worst outgoing tidal race.