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Schnappers Point

Schnappers Point

1:14 am 25 Apr 2009

Ruby Bay

Ruby Bay

9:03 pm 24 Apr 2009

Whangamoa ratings
Quality on a good day: 2.0
Consistency of surf: 2.5
Difficulty level: 3.0
Wind and kite surfing: 1.0
Crowds: 4.5

…

See all 18 ratings

Based on 2 votes. Vote

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Whangamoa Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(New-Zealand – Nelson – Tasman Bay)

Whangamoa photo

Surf Break: Whangamoa

Name: Whangamoa
Type: River Bar
Reliability: inconsistent
Best Swell: N Offshore Wind: SSE

Whangamoa in Nelson is a reasonably exposed River Bar break that does not work very often. Spring and Summer provide the favoured conditions. The best wind direction is from the south southeast. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the north.. Rarely crowded here. Dangerous rips are a hazard of surfing here.

Secret spot? We can hide it!

Overall Whangamoa Surf Consistency and Wind Distribution

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.

The rose diagram shows the variation of swells directed at Whangamoa through an average... (show all text)

This picture illustrates how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different ... (show all text)

Also see Whangamoa surf quality by season and Whangamoa surf quality by month.

Whangamoa Location Map

Select Whangamoa Location Map Detail:

Contours: Roads & Rivers: Select a surf break from the menu
Surf breaks located close to Whangamoa Shoreline around Whangamoa Roads and rivers around Whangamoa

Use this relief map to navigate to New-Zealand - Nelson - Tasman Bay surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of Whangamoa


Visitor Reviews of Whangamoa


Rob Davies from NEW ZEALAND writes:

Remote Whangamoa is the most exposed beach on the Nelson side of Tasman Bay and the surf here is usually a bit bigger than the breaks near Nelson city. When a NW swell is bit too small for Schnapper, Whangamoa is the last resort this side of the Takaka Hill. On the day I surfed it Whangamoa was well overhead while Schnapper, which I surfed a few hours earlier, was barely waist to shoulder high.

Access is the big negative for Whangamoa. After several years of being closed due to logging operations it was available to surfers once again in 2008. The logging track was in good shape when we visted and we did not need 4WD but this may change and in any case 4WD would be safer after heavy rain.

We couldn't find any paths down from the dirt road and so it was a bit of a bush bash through the Manuka and on steep ground it would be really easy to slip and ding your board. The last bit, a steep scramble in Gorse, Flax, long grass and eventually rock was a bit exposed too. I don't know if there is a better path down to the beach or whether it has simply become overgrown during the 2 years when Whangamoa was out of bounds.

We had a very light onshore when we were there but the wave quality was pretty good considering. Quite a powerful and heavy wave breaks in front of the rivermouth but when we were there it was not as good as Delaware Bay (it probably varies a lot with the shape of the bar). Even so, well worth a visit, especially when the other Nelson breaks are a bit small. A stunningly beautiful spot for a weekend camping trip. Take fishing rod.

2010-03-06

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Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to Whangamoa:

  (click location name for more details)
Closest break Magnets 1 mi
Second closest break Delaware Bay 5 mi
Third closest break Delaware Bay Point 6 mi
Fourth closest break Cable Bay 7 mi
Fifth closest break Schnappers Point 9 mi

Wave buoys nearest to Whangamoa:
Closest wave buoy SW Hawaii Buoy 4411 mi
Second closest wave buoy W Hawaii Buoy 4464 mi
Third closest wave buoy NW Hawaii Buoy 4708 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy NW Hawaii Buoy 4769 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy N Hawaii 1 Buoy 4920 mi

Tide stations nearest to Whangamoa:
Closest tide station Croiselles, South Island, New Zealand 9 mi
Second closest tide station Croiselles, South Island, New Zealand(2) 9 mi
Third closest tide station Elaine Bay, New Zealand 14 mi
Fourth closest tide station Elaine Bay, New Zealand(2) 14 mi
Fifth closest tide station Nelson, New Zealand 17 mi

snow forecast website

Ski Resorts closest to Whangamoa:
Closest ski area Rainbow (New Zealand) 63 mi
Second closest ski area Mount Lyford (New Zealand) 94 mi
Third closest ski area Hanmer (New Zealand) 98 mi
Fourth closest ski area Manganui (New Zealand) 128 mi
Fifth closest ski area Temple Basin (New Zealand) 160 mi

city weather forecast website

Town and city forecasts close to Whangamoa:
Closest city location Nelson (New Zealand) 18 mi
Second closest city location Richmond (New Zealand) 24 mi
Third closest city location Mapua (New Zealand) 24 mi
Fourth closest city location Motueka (New Zealand) 26 mi
Fifth closest city location Brightwater (New Zealand) 29 mi
  • The closest passenger airport to Whangamoa is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 33 km (20 miles) away (directly).
  • The second nearest airport to Whangamoa is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 55 km (34 miles) away.
  • Third is Wellington International Airport (WLG) in New Zealand, 110 km (68 miles) away.
  • Paraparaumu Airport (PPQ) in New Zealand is 125 km (78 miles) away.
  • Westport Airport (WSZ), also in New Zealand is the fifth nearest airport to Whangamoa and is 176 km (109 miles) away.
Whangamoa break location map and break info
This is the Surf-Forecast page for Whangamoa, New-Zealand - Nelson - Tasman Bay. Use the tab navigation above to view Whangamoa sea temperature, Whangamoa photographs, Whangamoa detailed swell predictions, wind and weather forecasts, Whangamoa webcams, current wind from New-Zealand - Nelson - Tasman Bay live weather stations and Whangamoa tide predictions. The New Zealand swell maps link will open up the big picture showing New Zealand and the surrounding seas. These swell maps can be animated to show the different swell components, wave energy, wave period, wave heights, together with wind and weather forecasts, current weather and sea state observations from New Zealand wave-buoys, passing ships and coastal weather stations. Each of the forecast pages for this surf break feature a global and regional wavefinder tool to locate the best surf conditions in the area around Whangamoa.