This river mouth is a fairly laid back kind of place, but you'll need to check out conditions before you come here as the waves depend on the sandbanks and their condition. It is suitable for everybody and on a good day is one of the best spots in the north.
The beach here is pretty nice, golden sand with grassy areas and rocks at either end. There is always plenty of room and you will get a mixture of locals and visitors surfing out here, making it a fairly chilled out place to be.
Good conditions are created here when the wind is coming from the west, south-west or south and the swell is coming in from the south-east, east or north-east. Working best on a rising tide from the low or mid tide positions, the swell will start at about 1 m and hold up to just over 2 m. It breaks in front of the rivermouth, only to the right, and when it goes off the waves are hollow and fairly fast although if it isn't quite firing it's just an average break. Length is usually quite short too, struggling to exceed about 50 m, but when the waves are best the length will be good too and will approach 150 m or so.
Parking is available at the end of Whangarei Heads Road, and from there you either need to use the footbridge or paddle across the lagoon. There are no facilities on the beach but the town itself, although small, is a noted holiday stop off and is well set up for looking after surfers.
You'll often find some fairly strong currents around here, so keep your wits about you to stay safe. That is the only thing to watch out for though.
