Karikari Peninsula, New Zealand

About Karikari Peninsula

The Karikari Peninsula sits in New Zealand's Far North, and the local school's line about it is hard to improve on: they get so much wind here that they named the place twice. It records more kiteable days than most of the country.

Rangiputa is the flat-water beach — white silica sand, turquoise water, and waist-deep water over sandbars that stay mirror-flat even when it is blowing 25 knots and more. That combination is rare and it is why people travel this far north to learn.

Tokerau Beach, on the other side of the peninsula, runs eighteen kilometres with small waves at the northern end building larger to the south. Between the two, the peninsula covers flat water and waves at every level.

It is remote — a long drive from Auckland through the Northland, with limited services once you arrive — and that is much of the point. The Bay of Islands, the kauri forests and Cape Reinga are all within reach.

When to go

Best months: January, February, March, April, November, December.

Kite areas

1 distinct riding area documented within this destination.

• Karikari / Rangiputa

  Best months: January, February, March, April, November, December.