Paekākāriki

The wave at Paekākāriki is a shifting sandbar beach break that needs a SW, W or NW swell and an offshore easterly to line up. Peaks run up and down a long stretch of sand and move with the banks, so the best one is rarely in the same place twice, and it is quick to go flat or blow out. It is rarely big, a genuinely forgiving wave to longboard or learn on rather than a performance break.

It sits below one of the more striking settings near Wellington, where a single-row village is squeezed between the steep escarpment and the sea with Kāpiti Island out beyond the break. It is firmly a friendly day-trip wave for the capital rather than a destination, an easy place to surf a relaxed hour and then linger over a coffee.

• Bring volume. A longboard or mid-length turns these soft, shifting peaks into a high-wave-count cruise and suits the place far better than a shortboard.
• When the beach goes flat or onshore, do not write the day off, because the island and reef options nearby pick up a different angle, so have a drive and a look around first.
• Watch a few sets and pick your bank before you paddle, since on a shifting beach like this, being on the right peak is most of the battle.
• Make a day of a flat spell, because the Escarpment Track is one of the best short coastal walks near Wellington and the cafes and heritage railway by the beach round out an easy trip.

• Rips and side currents form between the banks when the swell is up, so read the beach and pick your exit before you paddle out.
• The sandbanks shift constantly, so the rideable peak and the safe channels move around, and a bank that worked last week may not be there now.
• It is an exposed corner of coast that turns fast, so a clean morning can go onshore or a southerly can come up while you are out, and there is no patrol.
• The water stays cold through the year and the beach is open and unforgiving of mistakes, so wear enough rubber and keep an eye on the newer surfers in your group.

Getting there

Paekākāriki is 40 minutes (45 km) north of Wellington, off SH1 or the scenic coastal route. The village sits right on the beach; park along the foreshore by the railway.

Parking

Roadside parking along the Paekākāriki foreshore by the railway and the village. Walk over to whichever bank is breaking.

Toilets & showers

Public toilets at the Paekākāriki beach and village. No surf-club showers, so bring water for a rinse.

Shops, cafes & fuel

Paekākāriki village has cafes, including the Engine Shed by the railway, and a small store. Fuel and supermarkets in Paraparaumu, 15 minutes north.

Accommodation

Paekākāriki has B&Bs and baches, plus the wider Kāpiti Coast options 15 minutes north. Wellington is 40 minutes south.

Camping

Queen Elizabeth Park behind the beach has camping at the Tilley Road campground (powered and tent sites). Freedom camping is restricted on the Kāpiti Coast, so use a campground.