Kite spot on water · New Zealand

North Piha

Name: North Piha
Address: NZ

Practical notes from riders: launch, parking and what to watch out for.

Show on the map-36.9428, 174.4641

Nearest airport: AKLAuckland International Airport, 30 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

Pparking

From riders

What you need to know

Watch out for

Tricky wind due to surrounding land and strong currents.community map

Parking

Car park “North Piha Les Waygood Park” about 100 m from the spot.OpenStreetMap

Riders' tips

Definitely do not ride alone here; the beach is not very popular for kiting even in Karekare.community map

In riders' own words

„OpenStreetMap way/194226220“
„OpenStreetMap way/1473239347“
„Wind can be quite dicey due to surrounding land and strong currents work here.“
„Not really a popular Beach for Kiting nor Karekare... Definitely not a place to Kite alone.“

Photos from the area

Monkey Rock 20241016 183503 01 · 292 m from the spot
Prosperosity, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Monkey Rock 20241016 183503 02 · 292 m from the spot
Prosperosity, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Monkey Rock 20241016 183503 03 · 305 m from the spot
Prosperosity, CC BY 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.

11.7Jan6.0

11.0Feb5.7

11.4Mar5.9

11.8Apr6.1

13.4May6.9

14.4Jun7.4

14.2Jul7.3

13.7Aug7.0

13.9Sep7.2

14.0Oct7.2

13.0Nov6.7

12.5Dec6.4

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

Values by month

January	11.7 knots · 6.0 m/s
February	11.0 knots · 5.7 m/s
March	11.4 knots · 5.9 m/s
April	11.8 knots · 6.1 m/s
May	13.4 knots · 6.9 m/s
June	14.4 knots · 7.4 m/s
July	14.2 knots · 7.3 m/s
August	13.7 knots · 7.0 m/s
September	13.9 knots · 7.2 m/s
October	14.0 knots · 7.2 m/s
November	13.0 knots · 6.7 m/s
December	12.5 knots · 6.4 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.