Travel Tips

GETTING HERE

International visitors should enter the country through one of the north island international airports. The main ones are Auckland and Wellington.

From any of these locations rental cars can be obtained, then its time to hit the road and head for the ‘Naki’. Most rentals come with road maps and all the highways are well sign posted. You will need a car to get from spot to spot and likely accomodation hubs in Taranaki.

Remember we drive on left and watch out for stray sheep on the country roads.

Driving to Taranaki

From Auckland 4.5 hr drive
You’ll get on the motorway and head south on State Highway 1, switch to State Highway 3 at Hamilton and take it all the way to New Plymouth. From there its a short 10-15min drive on Surf Highway 45 to Oakura.

From Hamilton 3.5 hr drive
Take State Highway 3 from Hamilton all the way to New Plymouth. From there its a short 10-15min drive on Surf Highway 45 to Oakura.

From Wellington 4 hr drive
Take the motorway and head North on State Highway 1. At a small town called Bulls you’ll switch to State Highway 3, after a few hrs you’ll reach a town called Hawera where you’ll take Surf Highway 45 and end up in Oakura.

Flying to Taranaki

If you don’t have the time but do have the money, then you can always catch a connecting flight directly to New Plymouth from any of the main hubs.

Equipment Rental

A few of our key sponsors can help you with equipment rental. Just get in touch with them via our sponsors page. Otherwise your best options are collecting gear from one of the centers in Auckland on the way down to Taranaki.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The sailing in Taranaki comes from winds generated from weather systems in the Tasman sea and Pacific Ocean. This makes it hard to predict what the weather and wind strengths will be. Spring is typically a windy time of year. In general sailing most people use sail sizes 5.3 down to 4.2 and boards around 80-90lt. If you are using only one board then you will need a board that can be used in lighter winds.

In October the air has started to warm up but the water still has a winter chill. Mount Taranaki can still have snow so you will need warm clothes.