Herbertville

Herbertville is an isolated beach break on the northern Wairarapa coast, a long expanse of sand that throws up peaks along the shore on a southerly or south-east swell. It is exposed and consistent, holding a mix of groundswell and windswell through the year, and a northwest wind grooms it clean. The banks shift with every storm so the best peak moves around, with reef sections sharpening the better banks, but at heart this is a forgiving, shifting beach break rather than a performance wave, and on the right day you can have the whole bay to yourself.

The settlement sits just south of Cape Turnagain on the eastern edge of the Tararua District: a handful of baches, a holiday park and a country pub at the end of a long sealed back road from Dannevirke. It is genuinely remote, no patrol and limited supplies, and home to some of the strongest wind in the country (a 246 km/h gust here in 2023 is the national record). That wind is the catch, it can blow the bay out in an afternoon, so wait for a settled northwester. For a surfer willing to take the inland route south of Hawke's Bay, it is a quiet, characterful reward.

• Chase a S or SE swell with a northwest wind, and check the Herbertville or Akitio cam before you commit to the long drive in.
• Take a minute to walk the beach and read the lines before paddling out, because the good peak shifts around with the sand.
• It shares a swell with Akitio, 15 minutes north, so if Herbertville is too big or too windy then Akitio and the spots further south (Castlepoint, Riversdale) are the same east-coast run.
• Make a weekend of it, because the holiday park, the pub opposite, a 45-minute walk to Cape Turnagain, surfcasting off the beach and a 9-hole golf course add up to an easy off-grid weekend, surf or no surf.

• Wind is the thing that catches people out here, on one of the windiest stretches of coast in the whole country (the 246 km/h gust recorded here is the national record). It blows out fast, so you want a settled NW offshore rather than a forecast that swings onshore by midday.
• The sandbanks and the rips that feed them move with every storm, so read the beach and pick your bank before you paddle out.
• The sharper banks break over rock in places, so it pays to know what is under you, especially at lower tide.
• This is remote, unpatrolled water with no surf club, patchy phone coverage and the nearest help an hour inland, so surf with someone.
• A long session gets genuinely cold out here, where southern east-coast water meets near-constant wind chill, so suit up properly.

Getting there

Herbertville is on the eastern edge of the Tararua District, just south of Cape Turnagain. It is about an hour on sealed back roads from Dannevirke or Waipukurau via Weber or Wimbledon, a deliberate detour off any main route, roughly 3.5 hours from Wellington.

Parking

Roadside and reserve parking by the beach and the river mouth in the settlement. The beach is a five-minute walk from the holiday park, and there is rarely any competition for space.

Toilets & showers

Metered showers, a family and accessible bathroom and a basic camp kitchen at Herbertville Holiday Park. No surf-club facilities, the camp is the hub.

Shops, cafes & fuel

The Herbertville Tavern opposite the holiday park does takeaways and has a beer garden. There is no service station, so the nearest fuel and full groceries are in Dannevirke or Waipukurau about an hour inland. Arrive fuelled and stocked.

Accommodation

Herbertville Holiday Park has 18 powered sites and plenty of tent space, plus baches and holiday homes for rent in the settlement year-round. Very quiet outside summer.

Camping

The holiday park is the camping option, with powered and tent sites, showers and laundry. Freedom camping is restricted under the Tararua District bylaw, so use the camp.