Missing Piha surfer gives the cops a call to say he's all good - and they can call off the search

A surfer who was thought missing after not returning to shore at Auckland's Piha beach last night is actually safe and well.

A call was made by a person at Piha beach last night at 7.20pm who had seen the surfer head into the water but did not see them come back in.

However, after seeing the media reports this morning, the surfer informed police that he actually exited the water around 6pm last night - before last night's search had even begun.

A large police search was undertaken last night involving the The Eagle helicopter and was due to be resumed this morning, before the surfer's phone call.