Kekerengu

Kekerengu is a short right-hand point and reef that comes alive on a SE or E swell with a westerly blowing offshore, best worked across the middle of the tide. The takeoff runs off a rocky point and peels right over reef, while the open beach beside it throws up its own peaks with both rights and lefts depending on how the swell is angling in. The bottom is rocky points at either end with mostly small stones in between, so the wave tends to come up wally and punchy rather than long and clean, and on a small day it breaks close to the sand. It rewards intermediate surfers who can read a shifty lineup, and steps up for the better surfers when a solid SE pushes through. Be straight with yourself here: this is a fairly average, exposed stretch that is more of a stop to check as you pass than a destination, so it earns a stop when the swell is genuinely southeast.

The setting is the draw as much as the wave. This is the remote coast where State Highway 1 finally leaves the sea and turns inland, a wide sweep of grazing country, ocean and big east-coast sunrises with the Inland Kaikoura Range behind you. The whole shoreline here was permanently lifted by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, whose Kekerengu Fault ruptured right through this country, raising the seabed and reshaping the breaks into the form they hold today. The Store at Kekerengu sits right on the highway above the beach, an unexpectedly good cafe and stop in the middle of empty coast, with seals often hauled out on the rocks below. Treat the place gently and check in respectfully with anyone out, the way you would anywhere this quiet.

• This is a SE-swell spot, so save it for when a genuine southeast pulse lines up with a west wind and the middle of the tide, and drive on past if the swell is anywhere else.
• Read the bank before you suit up, because the sand shifts the peaks around between the points and the better corner can be well up or down the beach from the carpark on any given day.
• String it into a Kaikoura coast run rather than a dedicated mission, checking Mangamaunu and the points south of town on the same swell window, all roughly forty minutes south down SH1.
• The Store at Kekerengu is the reason plenty of people stop, a genuinely good cafe and shop right above the surf, open 8.30am to 4pm seven days for a post-session coffee and feed.
• Watch for seals hauled out on the uplifted rocks below the highway and give them a wide berth, both in the water and on the shore.

• The wave breaks over rock at both points and across reef, so know where the rocks sit before you paddle out and keep clear of them through the takeoff and on the inside.
• On a small swell the beach break stands up and folds right onto the stones close to shore, so pull off early rather than riding all the way in and getting dumped on the rocks.
• It is a wide, exposed open-Pacific beach with no patrol and no one watching, so surf within your limits, ideally with someone else around, and treat any current pulling along the points with respect.
• Cold water year round means a proper winter setup of 5/4mm with boots, gloves and a hood, or you will be driving home shivering long before the surf runs out.
• SH1 runs hard along the back of the beach and trains use the line through here, so park well off the carriageway and take care crossing to the sand, especially with boards and kids.

Getting there

Kekerengu sits on State Highway 1 on the coast between Kaikoura and Blenheim, at the point where the highway swings inland heading north. It is roughly 40 minutes (about 60km) north of Kaikoura and around an hour south of Blenheim, with the beach and break visible from the road as you arrive.

Parking

Park at the sealed pullover by The Store on SH1 and walk a short way down to the sand. There is no formal beach carpark, so pull well clear of the highway carriageway when you stop.

Toilets & showers

The Store runs an ablution block with clean toilets and hot showers (bring a couple of dollars in coins for the showers) alongside its beachfront campground. There are no separate public council toilets at the beach, so The Store is your stop.

Shops, cafes & fuel

The Store at Kekerengu (5748 SH1) is the hub here, a well-regarded cafe and gift store open 8.30am to 4pm seven days, right above the beach. There is no fuel at Kekerengu: the nearest is the Mobil APL Fuelstop at Ward on SH1, about 17km (20 minutes) north, which also has a small shop. Kaikoura, about 40 minutes south, has the nearest supermarket and full services.

Accommodation

Self-contained baches and holiday homes are scattered but sparse around Kekerengu, including Kekerengu Cottage at Sleepers Vineyard nearby, with more listings through Bookabach and Holiday Houses. Ward and Seddon to the north and Kaikoura to the south (about 40 minutes) offer the nearest towns with motels and a fuller spread of beds.

Camping

The Store runs a beachfront campground right beside the surf, open 24/7 year round, with grassed and sandy sites among the pines for tents and self-contained vehicles, an ablution block with toilets, hot showers and laundry, and fresh water on site. Note there are no powered sites, so it suits self-contained setups. Book through The Store.