Shoal Bay

Shoal Bay is located on the North Shore 10 minutes from Auckland city (unless its rush hour, then prepare to meet the harbour bridge traffic).  Head towards Devonport, when you see the MacDonalds, swing a right.  Shoal bay is at the end of Bayswater road.
Great on a Southwest wind at mid-tide.
At high tide, its hard to launch and at low tide its a mud pit.

At mid-tide, Shoal bay has this great sandbar which is perfect for launching.  Flat water for tricks is on the right, or you can go left and head out into the shipping channel towards the bridge!

There are a lot of lessons taught at Shoal bay because it is really shallow in spots, but I have found the beginners tend to stay away from the masses.

The flat water here is amazing, its like kiting on a mirror, just beautiful, and because its so shallow the water can get really warm.

If you feel like an adventure, head off to the left and hit the open water.  The swells can be quite fun on really windy days, and heading out towards the motorway always makes the drivers look twice :)

Shoal bay has street parking, a grassy verge to pump your kite on and can get very busy.

There are no toilet or changing facilities at this site, so if you need to pee, you will have to go in your wetsuit!