Pouawa Beach.

Pouawa Beach sits within the Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve on the East Cape coast north of Gisborne, offering fickle but fun beachbreak peaks that shift across the sandbars. Scattered reef outcrops add texture to the lineup, creating wedgy sections when the sand cooperates. The rivermouth at the northern end provides a degree of shelter from northeast winds, concentrating the better banks in that corner. Swell windows are generous, picking up anything from northeast through to south, though a clean easterly pulse produces the best-shaped walls. Waves tend to be well-covered and mellow rather than hollow, with the occasional steep, fast section on lower tides. Ride lengths are short at under 50 metres, keeping things punchy. The break handles everything from knee-high fun waves up to solid overhead days. Crowds are modest - summer campers and a handful of Gisborne locals make up the typical lineup. Rip currents are the main hazard and can be strong after rain pushes water out of the Pouawa River. A good option when the main Wainui and Makorori breaks to the south are maxing out or too crowded.

Fickle sandbars wedging off the rivermouth where northeast swells find their cleanest shape.