Kitesrufing in New Zealand South Island

I used to go to Lake Clearwater for windsurfing back in the day, sea breezes kick in about 2pm.

Take out full insurance, South Island is safer than the north but I'd still say you have a 1 in 4 chance of having your camper van broken into... All anecdotal, not fact-based coming from an ex-Kiwi who has lived in both Islands.

As for kiting, in NZ you're never more than 1hr's drive from a lake or the ocean. The glacial lakes only vary in temperature by 2 degrees between winter and summer i.e. they're bloody freezing, so take your thickest wetsuit. Ocean temps are warmer especially up near Nelson.

I reckon it would be awesome to kite in the Milford sound and capture it on video. That place is incredible, like going into Jurassic Park. The west coast is quite windy and extremely wet. Pretty dodgy stretch of ocean but in many places it's more of a shore break i.e. up near Greymouth so once you got out back a little you'd be OK.

The East coast has a lot of spots with a more gradual gradient and so more breaks. As someone mentioned, Dunedin would be good. I'd hit Nelson but that's at the other end of the Island. Kaikura is a popular tourist spot and is windy and kitable.

Ozone tested their foil kites recently in some of the South Island lakes, you should look it up.

Chrsitchurch - anywhere on the beach. The estuary when the tide is in....

I have recently moved north from being a South Island Kiter, a quick guide below for you, Bring a 12-14m kite, 9-10 and a 5-6m if you can. You'll probably get to use them all over the course of a month of travelling.

The lakes: Cold as glacial bodies of water, 4/3 wetsuit country but they get good afternoon thermals (coming down the Alps towards the plains). Big winds in the famous NW'ers too. Pack a small kite. Coleridge is good but cold, can be a little gusty. Lake Clearwater is a smaller, shallower and thus warmer lake in the Ashburton group and can be very good. Wanaka and wakatipu lakes can be good but launching, wind funnels and gusts can be a pain. Aviemore in the Waitaki valley can get really consistent in the summer months for Arvo thermals.

East Coast: Christchurch area is the pick with a regular cold Easterly seabreeze, 15-20knots most settled days. The Estuary became a giant oxidation pond in the earthquakes and while it's a good flatwater spot it's slimy and muddy underfoot. New Brighton beach offers miles of onshore wave type sailing on an open beach, just stay away from the pier and popular swimming spots. Further North Waikuku beach and the Ashley river mouth lagoon offers awesome kiting. 3/2 wetsuits in the summer. I haven't kited further south but am sure there is some great stuff to explore.

West Coast: Plenty of swell but not really that great for wind. The mountains are right on the coast and keep the winds relatively light even in a howling onshore, a SW seabreeze can set-up which provides some side to side off kiting around Westport at Carters Beach but to be honest I'd just enjoy the scenery or go surfing.

Nelson area: A fairly consistent N-NE seabreeze depending on the prevailing weather patterns. Only around 15 knots so you will be on big kites but the spots and consistent winds make up for it. Occasional nuking SW comes down the valley too. Spots here are Tahunanui in town, crowded by NZ standards but has an emptying estuary "Magic carpet" so get's a good 5 knot boost on wind speed. It can get choppy. It's a cool beach though because you can get a coffee at the launch site, easy rigging and launch areas. Marahau is about an hours drive away and the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. Huge sand flat and at mid tide has sandbars to jump, shallow clear water and channels in between. This is probably the most unforgettable place to kite surf in NZ, amazing scenery, golden sand and super fun kiting. Gets around 15-17 knots in the seabreeze. Usually 4 or 5 kiters out when it's on. Golden bay is a giant shallow bay and sand flats, loads of spots and gets way more wind than the nelson side of Takaka hill- happy hunting over there.

Enjoy but be prepared to kite alone!

Haven't heard from Plums in a while...
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Some of my favourites not mentioned:
Cape Foulwind (south of Westport) in anything from the west. Wet, big waves, and often ridiculously windy, some of the most extreme kiting I have ever had have been there. Cook named it Foulwind for a reason.
Otago Coast from Oamaru south. Steady sea breezes on sunny days, sometimes over 20 knots. The Catlins is gorgeous but the water is frikken cold. Lots of marine life, seals, penguins, sea lions and dolphins. I've never seen a shark but there are Great Whites out there.
Colac Bay / Oreti Beach on the south coast near Invercargill. Water is actually a lot warmer then around Dunedin. Wind is often well over 30 knots, < 7m often required. Colac Bay is more cross/cross-off, Oreti is more onshore. Waves can be large.