Northland Paddleboarding
Opening in 2008, Northland Paddleboarding was the first full-time specialist stand up paddleboarding school in New Zealand. Admittedly in those early years things were fairly quiet (the sport didn’t really catch on here until about 2010), but this just gave us time to develop and refine our teaching methods, and the systems developed here are now used as a model by most SUP schools around the country.
Rather than aiming for high throughput and quick turnarounds, Northland Paddleboarding has always been about personal service and ensuring that our clients get what they need. The pace of life is slower in Northland, it’s why we live here. We’d rather take a bit longer with your lesson, spend some more time getting to really understand your requirements and give you the best possible service.
We’re also blessed with a location that really is pretty much perfect for paddleboard tuition, at any level.
Read on to find out more about the team and our operation…
Meet the Boss
Bill is the paddleboarding expert on the team. His entire life has been spent in and around watersports. He started paddleboarding in 2006, and became editor of Europe’s first dedicated SUP magazine back in 2007. He is now one of the leading authorities on the sport in New Zealand – his technique videos on youtube have been viewed over half a million times,
Our Venue
We run a mobile school – rather than being bound to one particular place we go to where the conditions are most suitable. The Kerikeri Inlet offers a variety of launching venues, so that whatever the wind and weather we can be sure to find somewhere sheltered and safe, or more challenging if appropriate. And if it’s just too rough on the ocean, we also have the all-tide sheltered beauty of Lake Manuwai, which is where most of our school activities take place.
We also have a couple of truly amazing ‘secret spots’ that still take our breath away even now, whenever we visit them…