Kite spot on water · New Zealand
Lyall bay
Riders have kited it in SE–SW.
- Works in
- SE–SW
- Watch out
- SW
- Nearest airport
- WLGWellington International Airport, 1 km
Forecast and webcams
Before you go
Forecasts often disagree. When Windguru, ALADIN and Windy agree, it is worth going.
Webcams nearby
Live images from cameras within 25 km of the spot. Click to open the camera on Windy.com.
Webcams: Windy.com
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.
riding areaPparking
From riders
What you need to know
Watch out for
- Heavy onshore beach break, gusty onshore wind, windsurfers, very narrow beach at high tide; the spot can get crowded and very dangerous.community map
- Main road, buildings, regular power lines, and high-voltage trolleybus overhead lines right by the beach.community map
Where to launch
- The only rigging, launch, and landing area is in the far western corner of the beach in front of the toilets. Launching at low tide is recommended.community map
- Do not launch east of the lifeguard towers (impossible to get upwind past the shorebreak) or at the east end near the airport.community map
Parking
- Car park about 400 m from the spot.capacity: 2 · OpenStreetMap
Rules and respect
- Riding is restricted to the western part of the bay: the Briscoes building marks the end of the flight zone, and turning around at the ACCOUNTANTS building is even better.community map
- Keep a 50 m distance from the public, do not fly kites over people on the beach, do not spray surfers, and do not ride through surf competitions.community map
- Before launching (especially as the first person on the spot), it is MANDATORY to call the airport control tower at (04) 387 1980 for clearance.community map
Conditions
- Long, narrow sandy bay that catches strong south swell and big, heavy waves (onshore beach break). Prevailing S wind is cross-onshore from the right.community map
Riders' tips
- If you cannot confidently ride upwind, clear waves, and make transitions in a S wind, go to Petone instead.community map
Facilities
- Toilet block at the west end of the beach, surf club buildings.community map
In riders' own words
- „Wind Direction SE through to SW although can be gusty in SW due to the hills on the Western side.“
- „although can be gusty in SW due to the hills on the Western side.“
- „Level Advanced, to kite Lyall you must be able tocompetently kite up wind, be able to comfortably pop waves“
- „The beach is long and sandy but can be verynarrow at high tide, so launching is recommended at low tide.“
- „Theonly place to set-up, launch and land in Lyall bay is at the far westend/corner of the beach, in front of the toilet block“
- „Launching anywhere east of the lifesaving club buildings isnot advisable as it is almost impossible to sail upwind through theshorebreak here.“
- „OpenStreetMap way/525308821“
- „OpenStreetMap way/1218655074“
- „A mainroad runs adjacent to the beach and not only does it have the usualpower lines but also has high voltage bus power cables too.“
- „Combination of heavy waves, gusty onshore winds, windsurfers, proximity to the road (and buildings on the beach)“
- „Before sailing in Lyall Bay you MUST contact the airport control tower (particularly if you're the first there) and ask permission prior to launch (04) 387 1980“
- „Sailing is restricted to the west side of the bay, the Briscoes building marks the end of the fly zone, even better turn back at the ACCOUNTANTS building.“
- „- give the public 50m space at all times, watch the lauch, wait for people to walk“
- „Sailing is restricted to the west side of the bay, the ACCOUNTANTS building marks the end of the fly zone.“
Photos from the area
andrew mcmillan, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Turnagra, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Turnagra, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.
windiest monthsaverage wind in knots, NASA POWER; below the month in m/s
Values by month
| January | 13.3 knots · 6.8 m/s |
|---|---|
| February | 12.7 knots · 6.5 m/s |
| March | 12.4 knots · 6.4 m/s |
| April | 12.2 knots · 6.3 m/s |
| May | 13.0 knots · 6.7 m/s |
| June | 13.4 knots · 6.9 m/s |
| July | 13.5 knots · 6.9 m/s |
| August | 13.1 knots · 6.7 m/s |
| September | 14.4 knots · 7.4 m/s |
| October | 14.2 knots · 7.3 m/s |
| November | 14.0 knots · 7.2 m/s |
| December | 13.4 knots · 6.9 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.
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