This can be a bit of a fickle spot and although it isn't as consistent as many other northern places it is still decent, if small, on its day. There won't be much to challenge experienced surfers, but beginners will like it and it is really convenient too as it is located just in one of the Auckland suburbs.
The beach here is a long thin strip of sand that runs the length of the bay. Behind it is grass and the odd tree and the town of Long Bay itself. Temperatures here are fairly mild, reaching at most 25° C in summer and dropping to a low of about 15° C in winter.
This place works best when the swell is coming from the north-east and it is at the mid tide position, though it works on both rising and falling tides. It will start working at less than 1 m and hold up to about 1.5 m. It is a beach break that only breaks to the right and the waves aren't anything special, pretty much powerless and fairly slow. You might not be surprised to learn that length is usually pretty short, at most 50 m on an average day, although it might get to over 100 m on a good day.
You can camp around here if you want somewhere to stay overnight, and if you are just here for a day trip there is plenty of parking within a couple of minutes walk of the beach. There aren't any facilities on the beach itself but the town of Torbay just to the south has a couple of restaurants and cafes etc.
There aren't any real hazards here just keep an eye out for the odd local who might drop in on you.
