Hi,

I'll be visiting New Zealand in January and February 2010 (about 8-9 weeks). I have rented a campervan and will visit both the south as the north island.
I'm dedicated kiter from the Netherlands (Amsterdam). I have been kiting for 5 years now (about one session a week, 100-120 hours in a year)). You can imagine that I want to kite in New zealand as well. That's why I will bring my kitegear with me. There's only one problem; because I will also be travelling in Indonesia and Malaysia I can only take one kite and one board with me (I will be backpacking so carrying 20 kilo's of kitegear in hot and humid borneo is no option). So I have to decide which kite I will bring with me. I want to optimize my changes, so I hope you quys can give me some good advice (you know the conditions at your spots best).

I weigh about 90 kilo's (200 lbs) and with my nobile shinn(135*42) I can surf with my ocean rodeo rises in the following conditions
14: between 12-22 knots at sea, 10-22 knots in flat water.
12: between 15-26 knots at sea, 13-26 knots in flat water.
10: between 18-30 knots at sea, 16-30 knots in flat water.
8: between 20-35+ knots at sea, 18-35+ knots in flat water.

Looking at the statistics at windfinder.com (www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_wellington.htm) and comparing them with those of my homespot Ijmuiden(www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_ijmuiden.htm) I think the 12 or the 10 will be my best choice. But which one of these will give me the most (and best) hours on the water during my stay? What would advise me? Thanks in advance.

Regards, Rik

Hi Rik,

Not much point in checking the wind stats in Wellington if you are touring around, Wellington is one of the windiest cities in the world, and really is completely different from the rest of NZ.

In the rest of NZ you can get just about any wind strength and direction on any day, so it is bets to be prepared. In you quiver if you could squeeze it in I would try to fit the 14m and the 8m to give you max wind range. if you really can only take one kite then the 12m would be your best bet.

If you make it to Ruakaka you are more than welcome to spot by the shop for a coffee and a tour of the factory.

Cheers

Dave Kay

I kite in Wellington and yes it does get windy here more so than any other town in NZ. 10m is my most used size here but really you need 2 kites (12 or 14 and an 8) to make the most of a range of conditions. Why don't you buy a cheap kite off Trade Me then sell it when your done? If I had to pick just one kite then go the 12 as Dave mentioned.
http://trademe.co.nzhttp://trademe.co.nz

i'm not a kite surfer.. i'm on the land. but i do kite various locations from auckland to wellington.
in those months your most common winds are between 10-20knots.

ps if you want hardcore surf to kite in check out taranaki. its the place for waves.

Its possible that you could almost consider shipping your kites over to NZ as your going to be here for a good length of time.Then you would be able to get the most time on the water...

Im sure a kiteshop would be happy to have the gear shipped to them and you pick it up from them when you arrive.

Bigger the better for those months......

Thank you all for your information. I'm know thinking of shipping my gear in advance (suggestion Zennon). For that I need a post adress. Any suggestions, which shops/persons are willing to 'loan' their adress?