A short trip across the Tasman to the land of the kiwi, lots of sheep, overzealous camp rangers and more importantly a bunch of long, rocky left hand waves. A sweet as sample of some New Zealand windsurfing. I’ll be back.
Weld Road, heading South from Taranaki, offered surprisingly large swell and strong wind. I couldn’t figure out why I was windsurfing this fun, chunky left all to myself – until I drove past Pungarehu.
Pungarehu is easily one of the best waves I’ve windsurfed, long, big, clean and rippable. I was a little annoyed I had wasted time and energy on ‘fun’ conditions at Weld Road when Pungarehu was epic!
The rocks around Taranaki are brutal. Get caught inside on a big swell and your gear and body is on the line.
I learned this the hard way on a light wind session at Pungarehu, skinning my hand down to the tendons. Unfortunately that meant the rest of the trip was a write off for windsurfing.
All photos thanks to Olivia Hughes / Untracked.Media