Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Big waves roll in to make surfers' paradise

Amy Wiggins
By Amy Wiggins
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·Bay of Plenty Times·
7 Jan, 2013 08:54 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sweltering weather and massive surf drew hardcore surfers to Western Bay beaches yesterday.

Swells of about 2m and a high of 30C created the perfect summer conditions for beach-goers.

Dozens of surfers took to the water at Mount Maunganui Main Beach to make the most of the conditions.

Local surfer Doug Tamaki said the surf was the biggest he had seen in the Western Bay for some time.

"There's been a lot of cyclones out on the Pacific Ocean ... We've been waiting. We knew it was coming."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While the swell was big the surf was still very messy, he said.

"It's quite hard to get up on the waves but once you get up on it you get a good ride. It's not for novices."

Mr Tamaki said he made the most of every chance to get out on the water in his home town.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's an opportunity. We don't have big waves that often."

As for his favourite spot to surf, that was Matakana Island, he said.

"That's got to be the best place in the world. We've got world-class waves over there."

Metservice marine forecaster John Tunster said the large swell was created by a low sitting half way between the Bay of Plenty and Raoul Island.

The low came from the tropics and created an easterly wind which pushed the swell towards the Bay, he said.

The surf was not predicted to last long though.

Mr Tunster said the swell was predicted to have dropped off to about half a metre by today and would remain that way until at least Friday.

Mount Maunganui surfer Ben Millard was also making the most of the unusually large surf while it lasted.

The large waves rolling into the Bay of Plenty meant making less trips to the West Coast to find surf, he said.

"For the East Coast in the summer you don't usually get it [this big]... It's definitely good having waves around this time of year for us. We've been real lucky with the waves. We've had two months of waves and that never happens."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Joe, another local surfer, was enjoying the Mount Maunganui surf yesterday.

"It's not often that it gets this big here. You've got to make the most of it when it comes ... This is the time of year we're all waiting for."

The waves at Papamoa were equally as big, he said.

"I was at Papamoa earlier and I had one of the longest rides I've ever had."

Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club patrol captain Shaun Smith said the hot weather and big seas had created plenty of work.

The Papamoa club alone carried out 37 rescues last week, with 14 on Friday alone. Mr Smith said it was the most he had ever seen in one week.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Smith said there was a large rip pulling right along the beach in the direction of Mount Maunganui making it difficult to find a totally safe spot to place the flags.

Holes and a number of flash rips also created a danger but Mr Smith said he was impressed by the behaviour of beach-goers.

The large surf yesterday seemed to keep dissuade swimmers from going out too far yesterday, he said.

"They are all playing the game well."

He urged swimmers to continue to make the most of the summer weather but to swim between the flags and know their limits.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM

He had nine surgeries: 'There was nothing left - no bones or anything left in my foot.'

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP