Why SUP in New Zealand?
Because there's water water everywhere! You can't get away from water in New Zealand For starters, we have an incredibly long and varied coastline. If you straighten out all the kinks and indentations it actually measures over 6000km - that's more coastline than the United States of America has!
The surf on offer in NZ is second to none. You only need to look at our location on the globe to see why. With amazing beaches all around the coast, and some world class point breaks and reefs, we have everything from fun beach breaks to monster barrels.
Our surf-SUP scene is only a small part of what's on offer here though. A large percentage of this coastline is actually sheltered water. We have an incredible number of harbours, bays and estuaries that all just make for fantastic SUP cruising and exploring.
Many of which are home to all sorts of other creatures, which are often quite happy to come and say hello. Paddleboarding with stingrays, dolphins, orcas, seals and much more is all part of the regular scene here in NZ. Fortunately though, they're all of the friendly sort.
And then there are the inland locations. Incredible lakes, so blue they almost hurt your eyes. Amazing rivers and gorges. Unbelievable scenery that will remain in your mind for ever.
Check out this pic - look at that backdrop. You've seen Lord of the Rings; there was no CGI in that scenery. It really is like this.
You'll be blown away at the opportunities for paddleboarding here. Indeed, you'll absolutely be kicking yourself if you don't have a board with you when you're travelling around.
The simple fact is that New Zealand is a country made for SUP. Nowhere is more than a few hours from the sea, and we're really only just starting to tap in to the potential here. But one thing's for certain. Taking a paddleboard with you when you travel around will massively increase your options for getting up close and personal with the legendary New Zealand landscape.
One final point - please do show proper consideration to all other water users if you're SUPing in New Zealand. Click here for our guidelines on SUP etiquette.