Kite spot on water · New Zealand

Hannahs Bay, Rotorua

Name: Hannahs Bay, Rotorua
Address: NZ

Riders have kited it in N, NE, SW, W, NW.

Show on the map-38.1138, 176.3048

Works in: N, NE, SW, W, NW
Watch out: W
Nearest airport: ROTRotorua Regional Airport, 1 km

Forecast and webcams

Before you go

Forecasts often disagree. When Windguru, ALADIN and Windy agree, it is worth going.

Tips for this spot

Offshore wind carries you away from land. Do not ride it without a rescue boat.
When a storm is coming, get out of the water and land the kite at once. Gusts before a storm are violent and a kite overhead is the highest point around.
New spot: ask locals about shallows, currents and where people launch.

On site

Wind and riding area

worksdoes not work / gustyno reports

Direction the wind blows from. Based on riders' experience, not a forecast.

Pparking

From riders

What you need to know

Watch out W: W wind is pure cross-shore, but tends to be gustier.

Parking

Car park about 300 m from the spot.OpenStreetMap

Conditions

In SW it is cross-on; in W it turns purely cross-shore, but gets gustier.community map

In riders' own words

„Hannahs bay in a south west is cross on going straight cross in a westerly but becomes more gusty. The N N/w, Ne also works at Hannahs bay“
„going straight cross in a westerly but becomes more gusty“
„OpenStreetMap way/369969461“
„OpenStreetMap way/90344486“

Photos from the area

Waikawau Hannahs Bay · 245 m from the spot
Luca Sartoni, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Air NZ Boeing 737 - Rotorua (2217803019) · 620 m from the spot
XPinger (Chris Sutton) from Rotorua, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Air New Zealand Link ATR72-600 ZK-MVO NZ5689 ROT-WLG dep ROT (27018799015) · 683 m from the spot
XPinger (Chris Sutton) from Rotorua, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Wind by month

When it blows

Average wind speed 10 m above ground from NASA POWER (MERRA-2, 2001–2025). The model works on a grid of roughly 50 km; on hills and by the water the wind is often stronger and gustier.

5.8Jan3.0

5.4Feb2.8

5.3Mar2.7

5.3Apr2.7

5.6May2.9

5.9Jun3.0

5.9Jul3.0

5.7Aug2.9

6.1Sep3.1

6.4Oct3.3

6.1Nov3.1

6.0Dec3.1

windiest monthsaverage wind in knots, NASA POWER; below the month in m/s

Values by month

January	5.8 knots · 3.0 m/s
February	5.4 knots · 2.8 m/s
March	5.3 knots · 2.7 m/s
April	5.3 knots · 2.7 m/s
May	5.6 knots · 2.9 m/s
June	5.9 knots · 3.0 m/s
July	5.9 knots · 3.0 m/s
August	5.7 knots · 2.9 m/s
September	6.1 knots · 3.1 m/s
October	6.4 knots · 3.3 m/s
November	6.1 knots · 3.1 m/s
December	6.0 knots · 3.1 m/s

Nearby

More spots within 60 km

Been there?

Add what you know

Parking changed, a new ban, a new obstacle in the water? Tell us, we will check it and update the page.

Sources: Community map “Kitesurfing spots in NZ” (Google My Maps). Wind NASA POWER, airports OurAirports, photos Wikimedia Commons (author and licence with each photo). As of 17 October 2026. These are riders' reports; local rules change, so look around before you ride and follow local signs.