Himatangi

Himatangi Beach is the Manawatu's main surf break and the closest wave to Palmerston North, a long west-facing Tasman beach 35 km across the plains from the city. It picks up W and SW groundswell and works best when an easterly offshore, often funnelled down the Manawatu Gorge, grooms it clean. The banks shift with the sand so it can be straight and crumbly one week and throwing fun lefts and rights the next, an honest beach break rather than a standout. When a winter swell lines up with that offshore easterly it delivers powerful, empty waves, which is exactly why it is the wave the Massey University students and the Palmy crew rely on.

The setting is pure lower-west-coast: black sand, tussock and one of the largest active dune systems in the North Island, stretching south toward the Manawatu River mouth 8 km away, which throws up extra banks on the right swell. The township is small but well set up, with a patrolled main beach in summer, a surf club, a general store and cafe across the road, a Cosmopolitan Club and a TOP 10 holiday park 200 metres from the sand. It is wide open and the wind is always a factor, but for an easy, uncrowded surf within reach of Palmerston North, Himatangi is the one.

• Walk for your bank, since the good peak shifts with the sand and the wave that was firing last week may have moved a few hundred metres up or down the beach.
• Try the Manawatu River mouth, 8 km south, on certain swell angles when the main beach is not working, as the extra banks there can hold shape when the township peaks are straight.
• Bring a board you can generate speed on, because on the smaller, crumblier days a little extra volume turns an average bank into a fun one.
• Make the dunes part of the trip, as they are among the biggest in the North Island at up to 20 m and a great walk whether you surf or not.

• Wind is the deciding factor on this wide-open coast, so it blows out fast without the easterly offshore and a clean dawn can turn ragged by mid-morning, making an early start the safest bet.
• The shifting sandbars form rips between the banks, so read the beach and pick your bank carefully before you paddle out, watching where the water funnels back out to sea.
• Flags fly in summer only, so outside that season you are on your own on an exposed beach with no patrol, which is reason enough to surf with company.
• The best swells arrive with cold water and real power in winter, so suit up properly with a 4/3mm and hood through the colder months and respect the punch in the bigger sets.
• On a flat or crumbly day the temptation is to paddle out into closeouts that dump on the bank, so wait for a session with some shape rather than burning energy in mush.

Getting there

Himatangi Beach is 35 km (about 30 minutes) west of Palmerston North across the Manawatu plains, signposted off SH1 near Sanson. The township sits right at the coast.

Parking

Sealed parking at the main beach access by the surf club, plus roadside parking through the township. The beach is a short walk.

Toilets & showers

Public toilets at the main beach. Showers, a communal kitchen and laundry at the Himatangi Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, 200 m from the sand.

Shops, cafes & fuel

A general store, dairy, takeaway and cafe across from the holiday park, plus the Himatangi Beach Cosmopolitan Club. No service station at the beach, the nearest fuel is Foxton about 15 minutes south, or Palmerston North.

Accommodation

Himatangi Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park (camping, cabins and self-contained units, 200 m from the beach) is the main base, plus baches and holiday homes in the township.

Camping

The TOP 10 Holiday Park is the camping option, with powered and tent sites, cabins and full facilities. Freedom camping is restricted under the Manawatu District bylaw, so use the park.