Taylors Mistake

Taylors Mistake is a good hollow beach break tucked into a small bay on the Christchurch side of Banks Peninsula, with sandbank peaks running up and down the beach and a reef at each end. The right-hander off the rocks at the eastern end is the prize, peeling fast and walling into barrel sections that reward surfers who can read the bank, while a left fires off the western end on the right angle. It picks up NE and E swells and gets nothing from the south, so it comes alive when those northerly and easterly pulses arrive and the wind swings into the west or southwest to groom it offshore. It works across all tides depending on how the banks are sitting, and it suits all levels on a smaller day but turns powerful and crowded once there is size, so pick your peak and respect the pecking order.

Named for a nineteenth century navigational error, the bay is hemmed in by volcanic cliffs and famous for its clifftop baches, some of them old sea caves that families lived in, with Whare Moki recognised as the oldest surviving cave bach in the country. Access is over the hill from Sumner on a narrow winding road that drops into a tight beachside car park. The Taylors Mistake Surf Life Saving Club, established here in 1916, sits above the sand, and the bay is the trailhead for the Godley Head loop and the coastal track back to Sumner. Aotearoa Surf runs lessons from its Sumner base just over the hill.

• Northerly and easterly swells wrap into the bay better than they reach the town beaches, so when the forecast shows a NE or E swell with a west or southwest wind, Taylors will often be bigger and cleaner than New Brighton or Scarborough on the same day.
• The eastern right is the performance wave and the western left needs a particular angle to switch on, so check which end the swell is favouring before you paddle out and commit to the peak that is working.
• Check the resident webcam at taylorssurf.co.nz before you drive over the hill, because the road is narrow enough that turning around without a surf is a real disappointment.
• The car park is the trailhead for the Godley Head loop and the Taylors Mistake to Sumner coastal track, a moderate clifftop walk past old gun emplacements, Boulder Bay and the cave baches that is well worth a flat day.
• There is nothing to buy at the bay, so bring your own water and food, or duck back over the hill to Sumner village for cafes and a supermarket after your surf.

• When there is size the wave gets genuinely powerful and the crowd builds fast, so sit wide at first, watch a few sets to learn the bank, and do not drop in on surfers already up and riding.
• The best waves break off the rocks at the eastern end, so keep clear of the reef on takeoff and on your way back out, especially at lower tide when the rocks are shallow.
• Banks shift through the season and the takeoff can be hollow and fast off the drop, so commit early or pull back rather than getting caught behind the peak.
• It is a south facing bay that takes nothing from the south, so a southerly change can leave it flat and onshore quickly, and rips can run along the beach when the swell is up.
• The surf club patrols weekends and public holidays from November to March only, so outside those times and outside the flags you are on your own with no lifeguard cover.
• The narrow winding road over from Sumner drops into a tight, busy car park, so drive it with care and watch for walkers and surfers crossing near the beach.

Getting there

From Christchurch head east through Ferrymead and Redcliffs to Sumner, then climb Scarborough Road over the headland and wind down Taylors Mistake Road into the bay, about a 25 to 30 minute drive from the city or roughly seven minutes from Sumner village. The final descent is narrow and winding.

Parking

There is a free sealed car park at the bottom of the bay beside the beach, with mobility parking, but it is tight and fills early on good surf days and warm weekends. Arrive early or be ready to wait for a space, as roadside room is limited.

Toilets & showers

Public toilets sit by the car park between the road and the beach, and the surf life saving clubhouse has its own toilets and showers. There is a further toilet block up at Godley Head for those on the longer walk.

Shops, cafes & fuel

There are no shops or cafes at the bay itself, so bring water and food. The nearest options are over the hill in Sumner village, which has cafes, a FreshChoice and SuperValue supermarket and general shops, with fuel back along the Ferrymead and Redcliffs corridor on the way in from the city.

Accommodation

There is no accommodation at the beach beyond the private heritage baches. The closest beds are in Sumner, a few minutes over the hill, where holiday rentals, baches and motels are listed through Bookabach and Airbnb, with the full range of Christchurch accommodation a short drive on.

Camping

There is no campground or holiday park at Taylors Mistake, and freedom camping is not permitted in the council car park or reserve under the Christchurch City Council Freedom Camping Bylaw. Self-contained campers should use a sanctioned Christchurch or Banks Peninsula site instead.