Kaka Pt

Kaka Point is not one wave but a whole stretch of coast, a variety of beach and reef peaks scattered between the village and Nugget Point a few kilometres south. The sandy beach throws up shifting banks while rocky points and reefs add punchier, more defined walls, so you can pick a peak to suit the day and find both rights and lefts along the way. It comes alive on NE and E swells, and big southerly groundswell wraps in too, while a west wind grooms everything clean and offshore. It works across all tides as the banks and reefs vary, and the wave itself is punchy and powerful enough to keep intermediates honest yet forgiving enough for an improving surfer on the gentler beach sections. The reefs are where it gets serious, so read the line-up before you commit.

The place is the other half of the appeal. Kaka Point is a small seaside village of around 230 people at the northern gateway to the Catlins, reached off the Southern Scenic Route, with a tidy row of baches, a general store and a cafe and bar above a wide curving beach. Just south the road climbs to Nugget Point, where the 1870 Tokatā lighthouse looks out over the wave-battered Nuggets and a colony of fur seals, while nearby Roaring Bay hides yellow-eyed penguins and the odd sea lion. This is subantarctic water and properly cold, so come rubbered up, and treat the wildlife and the rocks with the respect this remote coast demands.

• Let the wind pick your peak: a west offshore cleans up the whole coast, so cruise the road between the village and Nugget Point and surf whichever beach bank or reef is lined up best that day.
• The beach sections near the village are the friendlier, more forgiving option, while the reefs further toward Nugget Point reward surfers who can read a shifting, punchy line-up.
• Tide is flexible here because the banks and reefs all break differently, so it is worth a look at any stage rather than waiting for one magic window.
• Make a trip of it: walk the easy 20 minute return track to the Tokatā lighthouse for fur seals and seabirds, then duck into the Roaring Bay hide to spot hoiho coming in at dusk.
• Use Kaka Point as the base for a Catlins road trip south through Ōwaka, Papatowai and Curio Bay; fuel up in Balclutha first, as there is no petrol in the village.

• The reefs and rocky points that make the best waves are unforgiving; learn where the rock sits at the tide you are surfing and stay off it when the swell is up, as Surf Seeker bluntly warns to be careful on the rocks.
• Big southerly groundswell brings serious power and current to an exposed, end-of-the-road coast; pick the sheltered beach peaks on the bigger days and do not paddle out beyond your level here.
• Water this far south is genuinely cold, among the coldest in NZ, so a winter 5/4mm with boots, gloves and hood is not optional; cold saps strength fast and shortens how long you can safely stay out.
• This is a remote break with no crowd to help if things go wrong, and the surf club only patrols the main beach in summer; surf with a mate and tell someone your plan.
• Yellow-eyed penguins come ashore at Roaring Bay in the late afternoon, so do not go onto that beach after 3pm, and give the fur seals and sea lions hauled out on the rocks a wide berth.

Getting there

From Dunedin head south on SH1 to Balclutha (about an hour), then follow the signs onto the Southern Scenic Route toward Owaka and turn off down Kaka Point Road to the village, roughly 15 km and 20 minutes from Balclutha. The Esplanade runs along the beachfront, and the sealed road continues a further 8 km south to Nugget Point.

Parking

There is parking along the Esplanade beside the beach in the village, and dedicated DOC car parks at Nugget Point: the upper Kaimātaitai carpark for the lighthouse walk and a lower Roaring Bay carpark 800 m before it for the penguin hide.

Toilets & showers

Public toilets and changing sheds are at the main beach in the village, and there are also toilets at the Nugget Point car parks. A summer-patrolled Kaka Point Surf Life Saving Club sits behind the safest part of the beach.

Shops, cafes & fuel

The village has a general store and a cafe and bar above the beach for food and basics. There is no petrol station in Kaka Point, so fill up in Balclutha (about 20 minutes north) before heading down; Ōwaka also has limited fuel.

Accommodation

For its size the village is well set up for visitors, with motels, a spa motel, B&Bs, self-contained studios and a good spread of baches available through the usual booking sites, making it the natural place to stay for a Catlins surf trip.

Camping

Kaka Point Camping Ground sits in the village within easy walking distance of the beach and shop, offering powered sites, non-powered grass tent sites and cabins. Freedom camping is restricted under Clutha District bylaws, so use the campground or a paid site rather than parking up at the beach.