Work has stopped at Auckland Surf Park, the Wavegarden lagoon planned for Dairy Flat, north of Auckland. The NZ Herald reported in early November that construction halted in May and is not due to restart until next year, and that the project's New Zealand partner, Trevor McKewen, now puts the opening at 2028 or 2029.
Director Mark Francis told the Herald he had hoped to be back on site in November but that "it will be the start of February." McKewen said work will resume once an expert panel rules on a larger version of the project.
What changed
The surf park itself won resource consent in June 2024 under the previous government's fast-track process, and Aventuur, the US developer behind it, held its groundbreaking in February 2025. Local Matters reported in November that two seasons of early earthworks are done.
The developers then took a bigger Stage 2 back through fast-track: the surf park, a town centre and about 400 homes, as McKewen described it to the Herald, plus a data centre now to be run by a separate company, TenPeaks Data Centres. An expert panel is now deciding it.
The Herald reported that the panel asked the developers to answer points raised by Auckland Council, which had found the project at odds with the regional policy statement and with the rules for land zoned for future urban growth. On 22 October processing was suspended at the developers' request, and on 29 October the panel asked the developers and the council for more information. Local Matters reported that a decision is expected early next year.
The park
Aventuur's plans show a 62-module Wavegarden Cove, an 80-key boutique hotel and 57 eco-cabins. The developer, AW Holdings, is a joint venture of Aventuur and New Zealand partners Mark Francis, Trevor McKewen and former All Black Sir John Kirwan. In February 2024 the Overseas Investment Office approved its purchase of about 42.6 hectares at 1350 Dairy Flat Highway for $44.75 million.
When it could open
The date has moved several times. When the consent came through in 2024, the opening was set for the summer of 2026-27, and coverage of the 2025 groundbreaking pointed to 2027. Aventuur's projects page still gives 2028 for public opening, and McKewen's 2028 or 2029 is the latest estimate.
Good to Know
There is nothing to book. The lagoon was consented in 2024, but the developers have tied the restart of work to the panel's decision on the wider plan, and that application is on hold for now. New Zealand's only open surf venue in our directory is the YourWave standing wave at Hāwea Flat, and Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools is adding a YourWave of its own.
