Surf-Forecast | Otaki Beach Surf Guide

Otaki Beach Surf Guide

Otaki Beach in Wanganui-Manawatu is a reasonably exposed beach break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the east. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the west northwest. The beach break provides left and right handers. Best around high tide. Rarely crowded here.

Otaki Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	1	fairly consistent	15.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Otaki Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Otaki Beach occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Otaki Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Otaki Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of August. Clean surfable waves are typically found 3% of the time in August while 27% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 70% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

27%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

70%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Otaki Beach Location Map

Interactive Otaki Beach surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Otaki Beach is Paraparaumu Airport (PPQ) in New Zealand, 29 km (18 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Otaki Beach is Masterton Airport (MRO), also in New Zealand, 52 km (32 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Otaki Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 10 June 2026, 17:43 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 10			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	15	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross	cross- off	glass

What does Otaki Beach look like?

Latest photos from Otaki Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Justin Schimpf Credit: Steve Armitage Credit: Local Credit: Sean Credit: Peter Geers

Tides at Otaki Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Otaki, 9 km from Otaki Beach.

Next High Water: 05:54am | 1.78m

Next Low Water: 11:50pm | 0.55m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Otaki Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.1 °C) at Otaki Beach is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (10.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.