okay
i would recomend a 1 month at least
camper van . as there are lots of great empty break u can park up for the night or week if its cooking
Jan has north swells(cyclone) on the east coast so theres plenty of options including corammandel
eastcape and gizzy
have a look at mahia as well. its rare on the north side but the waves are epic
south side can be big and heavy
dont know much about the west coast but taranaki is the place to be (big and heavy)
with a break every 10 minutes on surfhighway
havent surfed rags but i hear its pretty crowded
kaikoura in the south has a few nice long boarding waves and it not usually more then ten guys out
southland is good and consistent but cold big and heavy
there is a book which every tourist loves and every local hates
www.surf2surf.com
www.surf.co.nz
www.isolated.co.nz
east coast has lovely conditions and it does get big but most of the time 2 to 5 foot
so pretty mellow fun hollow waves to be had
plenty of empty breaks that will be pumping (rivermouths are awesome but fickle)
locals are pretty sweet but can be thieves/car vandals in places
heaps of fruitpickers come to town around january to start thinning etc
so theres good party vibes with the odd sexy backbacker
not many sexy kiwi chicks im afraid
so backpackers or BYO
look us up
i shortboard but hang out with some longboarders