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Rat Island is a small island out off Wellingtons Island Bay, officially called Taputeranga Island. Rat island features a right hand reef break off the east side of the island and a left hand reef break off the south west side of the island. Both sides produce solid, hollow, fast waves. Can be quite a long paddle to get out. best for advanced to expert surfers.
Airport Reef is located off the end of the Wellington Airport runway/breakwater, out from Lyall Bay. It features a big peak with right and left-handers. The wave dredges up for a gnarly drop-in, then into a fat wall. Can get heavy close-outs. Leave this one to the experts.
Houghton Bay is a beach break on a sandy and rocky beach. The are a couple of peaks with both right and left handers. The wave is powerful, and can get hollow. Best for intermediate to expert surfers. Can get crowded, so know the rules and respect the locals.
Eastbourne is on the east side of Wellington harbour, and refers to the coastline between Eastbourne and Pencarrow Head, where you will find several breaks to choose from on most of the points. The breaks are all left hand point breaks, and break on big south swells. The waves will be bigger at Pencarrow Head and get smaller as they come in towards Eastbourne. You can find some mellower, wally waves and good length rides. Not usually any crowds out this way. Good for surfers of all levels.
Propellers is a nice long, right hand point break on the rocky point at the Wahine Memorial Park. The wave has a solid, hollow drop in, with a wally, fat barrel. Popular spot, respect the locals. Leave this one to the experts. Careful around the rocks.
Breaker Bay is a right hand point break on a very rocky beach. It has gnarly, hollow drop in, with a fast, powerful wave offering a good barrel section or two. Watchout for the rocks, as it can get shallow at times. Can be crowded when its on. Waves feathering on the outer rock can indicate a set on its way in. Expert surfers only.
Lyall Bay is a popular beach break close to Wellington, meaning it gets very crowded when it's on. There are several peaks to choose from along the beach. Often the best peak is near the rock wall by the airport, which can dredge up some gnarly take-offs and offer some decent barrels. The Maranui end of the beach picks up more swell angles with some good peaks. On a big swell, the reef on Arthur's Nose can start working.
