Tairua is 2 hours east of Auckland. Head down the southern motorway towards the Coromandel (will be sign posted). Once over the ranges 1.30 out of Auckland there will be a turnoff for Whangamata or Tairua. Take the left Turn to Tairua. its another 15 minutes from here. The southern end tends to have better banks
You can park your car right beside the beach. Public access from the road is permitted. Its a heavy beach break so take a longer board when the swell is up. When the swell is real big hit it from Mid to high tide, when its small try mid to low. Take shit loads of sunscreen as there is no ozone layer above the coromandel!
Overview
Atmosphere
Tairua like the rest of the Cormoandel is pretty inconsistent (unkile the west coast.) But when theres a swell running, with an offshore (consistent offshores in winter - the southwesterly) it can get real good and hollow. The banks like any beach break can be fickle, but on a good day I'd compare it to Hossegar France. Heavy tubes breaking on shallow banks. The best time of year is Feb - April when cyclones produce consistent swell for weeks on end. Crowds tend to be pretty thin (maybe in weekends a bit hectic) but the there's plenty to do other than surfing and the scenery (in all the coromandel) is world class
ah yes, tairua...
yes, yes, a lovely little town, though sadly there are never any good waves here. Being the honest and upstanding citizen that I am, I can reliably inform you that there never has been, and never will be a qualitybarreling right-hander there. However, being such a good citizen, I'll let you know that there is a excellent left-hand bar break in Whangamata that never ever gets crowded
comment by anon, 2006-08-05 04:22:03
Tairua
In the perfect conditions Tairua pumps!
comment by :), 2006-01-28 02:46:04
It's not world class...but
The beach and area is beautiful(like all of the Coromandel). The waves are good when it has swell - and there is ALWAYS a bank to be had. Comparing it to Hossegor though...hmmmm....a little Risque.
comment by anonymous, 2006-10-17 04:50:06