Wairoa

The Wairoa Bar breaks where the Wairoa River meets the Pacific on the black sand of Whakamahia Beach, ten minutes east of town. Several peaks form around the river mouth over sand and shingle, both lefts and rights, and on a clean banking week they throw gnarly, sucky drops and hollow barrels that the small local crew know intimately. It picks up the frequent south swells that run up the Hawke's Bay coast and wants a N or NNW offshore. Off-form, when the river has the sand sitting wrong, it drops back to a moderate, shifting beach break. River-mouth currents run hard and the takeoffs are committing, so this is a wave for intermediate and better surfers rather than a place to learn.

Everything depends on how the river has arranged the bar over recent weeks, so a session here is either well worth the drive or not worth the wetsuit, and a look from Pilot Hill above the mouth tells you which. Wairoa town, the northern gateway to Hawke's Bay, is rural East Coast New Zealand working hard and not pretending otherwise, and the coast around it stays quiet enough that you will usually have a peak to yourself. It sits 30 minutes south of Mahia and at the top of the Hawke's Bay coast, which makes it a handy overnight stop between the two.

• Scout from Pilot Hill above the mouth, or ask a local, before pulling the wetsuit on, since the bar dictates everything and a glance up there saves a wasted drive.
• Time your visit to a clean south groundswell and a banking week, the combination that turns the mouth into a quality river-mouth barrel rather than a wash.
• Aim for mid to high incoming tide, which softens the worst of the outgoing-tide current while the bar still has shape.
• For a bed, Wairoa town has pubs, cafes and the Riverbank Motel, or you can freedom-camp at the river mouth itself, handy if you want to be on the bar for an early session.

• On the outgoing tide and a bigger swell the rip beside the bar runs hard, so work out which way it is pushing before you paddle and use it as your way out rather than fighting across it.
• The takeoffs are sucky and steep over sand and shingle when the bar is banked up, so commit early and have the paddle power and board to match.
• The bar changes constantly with river flow and sand, firing one week and a shifting closeout the next, so scout from Pilot Hill before you suit up.
• It is a popular wave with a small, capable local crew, so know the rules, wait your turn and respect the lineup.
• The coast here is genuinely quiet with few people about, so surf with a mate or let someone know, because help is not close if something goes wrong.

Getting there

The Wairoa Bar is at the river mouth on Whakamahia Beach, about 10 minutes east of Wairoa town off Whakamahi Road past the reserve. Wairoa is on SH2, roughly 1 hour north of Napier or 1 hour south of Gisborne.

Parking

Parking at the Pilot Hill carpark and along Whakamahia Beach by the river mouth. Sealed then gravel; park and walk to whichever bank is breaking.

Toilets & showers

Public toilets at Whakamahia Beach by the river mouth, open 24/7. More in Wairoa town, 10 minutes west. No showers, so bring water for a rinse.

Shops, cafes & fuel

Nothing at the bar. Wairoa town (10 minutes) is the service town for the northern Hawke's Bay coast, with supermarkets, fuel, pubs and cafes.

Accommodation

The Riverbank Motel and other motels in Wairoa town, plus baches and Bookabach options. Mahia, 30 minutes north, has the holiday park if you want to be coast-side.

Camping

Two council self-contained freedom-camping spots right at the river mouth: Pilot Hill (boat launch and walks) and Whakamahia Beach on the black sand. Both self-contained vehicles only, three-night maximum. Wairoa town has motels for everyone else.