Beginner in New Zealand! Where to go???

[_winston_]

Hello folks!
I am on my way to NZ...Im really looking frwd to going trekking, partying but most of all /Learn how to surf!!!
I am a total beginner (only tried like three times) so my question is -where should I go???
Any good tips will do =)

Cheers guys!

[Hang11]

Depends what island you're going to - I'm guessing South if you want to go trekking?

There's surf schools in most towns. Best places to check out would be Christchurch or Dunedin - there's a few mellow beachies and surf schools that are easy enough to find.

On the north island, have a look at Gisborne, New Plymouth, and north of Auckland.

[_winston_]

ok, thanks for your help...I was thinking of travelling around to a few different places.
Im flying in to Auckland and kind of want to find a chilled out place nearby to start learning straight away =)
Any specific ideas?
And thanks again for yuor helP!

[Hang11]

There's a surf school at Muriwai, just north of Auckland.

Personally, I think Auckland is a ****hole. If you want to go somewhere a bit more chilled, and learn to surf, get out of Auckland, and either head to Northland, Coromandel or East Cape. It's easy enough to get a bus out of the big smoke to any of those places, and they all have good waves, and there will definitely be surf schools about - I guess they would advertise at the backpackers.

This is where I surfed this weekend - south island though

[RJD]

How long are you going to be in NZ for?

More than a few weeks your better of fbuying a cheap car and cheap longboard (sell them at the end) and get a lot of water time in.

Almost all of (popular/tourist) NZ is near the ocean, but it depends wher and when you are, As said Christchurch is a great place to learn but I wouldnt want to spend weeks of a holiday there waiting for a wave to turn up!