Raglan – Surf Mecca and Hippie Paradise

Hanging out, watching the sun set from the beach in Raglan.

Raglan is the land of opportunity, especially if you are in the following professions:

• organic farmer
• yoga instructor
• new wave well being practitioner
• surf rat

The place is a small town, not sure what the population is but it definitely swells on weekends with the surrounding city crowd bombing in for the amazing surf beaches that reside all of 5 minutes out of town.

Raglan has character. Period. Not some type of eccentric, over the top character but a rootsy home grown character, kinda like Janis Joplin’s voice. When you hit the town, you get this vibe that the entire population blasts ‘Om Nashi Me’ by Edward Sharpe down by the beach and just sing along to the non-existent lyrics. All walks of people living in perfect harmony i suppose.

The whole reason we made a side trip here was to surf, the place has a world renowned break and I definitely wanted to see it for myself. The main surf beaches are a slight drive out of town, but well worth the journey. Ngarunui Beach is the biggest by far and has the most people trying to catch a ride on the ocean swell, the next beach is Manu which is definitely for more advanced surfers and apparently has the largest left hand break in the world followed by Whale Bay which has some formidable swells that lead into a large and rocky beach.

Upon review of my surfing skills and the various spots we decided to pick Ngarunui Beach, not only because the beach was sandy and wide open, but we could also rent a board on the beach which would be infinitely easier than jamming a longboard in the back of our killer ’98 Hyundai Accent hatchback.

So we picked a sandy home, threw down our towels, Jackie busted out the magazine and I busted out the cash to get a board. Now I have been skating and snowboarding for the better half of my life and surfed a few times before so I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to get up and catch a few waves As i ran into the crystal blue waters I realized the waves were definitely bigger than any of the waves i have surfed on before, the cash was dropped and i dedicated myself to being a surf rat for a day.

After a few failed attempts at getting used to the the breaks of the waves my arms were like spaghetti, but there was no way i was spending $35 and not getting the hang of this. As I looked behind meIi saw a perfect wave formulating behind me and judging by the size and height of the swell I figured this was “the One”. I started thrashing and paddling my useless arms ilk crazy and I felt the power of the ocean pick up where my body left off, I was cruising! Now just a hop skip and a jump away from catching my first wave in New Zealand. I jump up and start riding towards the shore, I’m up, man does this ever feel awesome! Seconds later I am being tumbled in the surf along with my board. Once my submerged body popped out of the water I figured, think less next time and go with the instincts!

For the rest of the day I was in the water, and by the end of the day i was getting the hang of judging waves and consistently hopping up and riding nature’s roller coaster to the shore. I know i am saying this at risk of sounding like the stereotypical beach bum, but one of the best feelings in the world is getting up and riding a wave because you have to work your ass off to make it happen. No chairlifts to take you to the top, no skateparks and waxed curbs to hone your flat ground skills, just you, the ocean and a willingness to paddle enthusiastically to keep up with the largest body of water on the planet..

All in all the New Zealand surf was a definite highlight for me and there is no better place to catch a wave in NZ than Raglan. Although a bit off the beaten trail it is definitely worth the trip, in reality the best places always are.

If you decide to come to Raglan and don’t want to surf there are plenty of natural sights to check out while you are there, and since we were there for a few days Jackie and I spent a day checking them out. Our first stop was Bridal Veil falls which is set in a impossibly lush forest park situated around the 50 meter waterfall. The view of the water smashing into the basin at the base of the fall is incredible, we spent a good half an hour just hanging out there.

To cap our Raglan adventure up, we decided to go to Te Toto Gorge, a sacred place for the Maori and a site with a spectacular view of the ocean and the canyon that makes up the gorge. The surrounding view is worth a trip to New Zealand by itself. As the sun set behind the ocean horizon, I could not think of a better way to end our road trip to Raglan.

See more pics of our Raglan adventure here

Amazing view from Te Toto Gorge