Surf Forecasts:
Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast from 29 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 1 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 13s period, SW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 2 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, SW swell with 3,642 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 30 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 12s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Buffalo Bay Wildside this week:
The surf forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 30) at 5PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.1m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 12s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Buffalo Bay Wildside in the next 16 days are 3.5m 13s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 02) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 12s period and expected on Friday (Sep 04) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5PM (Sun 30th Aug) | 7ft (2.1m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Tue 1st Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up for Buffalo Bay Wildside. This spot is exposed to the swell, and it’s inconsistent, so you’ve gotta pick your moments. The water temperature is sitting at 59°, which is 4° colder than normal for this time of year – that’s much colder than usual, so you’ll want a good thick wetsuit. The best window is shaping up to be Sunday afternoon, the 30th of August, when we’ve got a glassy 7ft south-west swell with a 12-second period. That’s moderate wave energy (1191), and it’s going to be clean and lined up – perfect for experienced surfers. The morning of Monday the 31st is also looking clean with a 5ft south-west swell and glassy conditions, but it’s a touch smaller. After that, things get a bit mixed. Tuesday the 1st of September has a 7ft south-west swell, but the wind turns cross-onshore, making it messy. Into Wednesday the 2nd, the swell jumps to 10ft – that’s strong energy (3181) – but it’s too big for this break, so only for the brave. The afternoon of the 5th of September is a standout: 8ft south-west swell, 13-second period, clean cross-off wind, and strong energy (2063). That’s a great call for experienced surfers. A couple of smaller windows appear around the 11th and 12th of September, with a 5ft south-west swell on the 11th afternoon and a glassy 8ft on the 12th afternoon, but the swell period drops to 8 seconds on the 12th, so it’s a bit more jumbled. From the 13th, it’s too big again – 12ft on the 13th morning – so that’s expert-only territory. Overall, the best bets are the 30th August afternoon and the 5th September afternoon. Keep an eye on the wind, because when it’s glassy or cross-off, this spot can really fire. Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 17°C on Sat morning, min 10°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed afternoon, min 12°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Wed morning, strong winds from the SE by Thu afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSE 11 | SW 14 | SW 9 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 251 | 167 | 241 | 729 | 1130 | 840 | 675 | 573 | 770 | 1102 | 1912 | 3299 | 3174 | 2511 | 2005 | 1486 | 1148 | 389 | 1261 | 821 | 582 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 4:26PM1.89m | 4:37AM1.76m | 4:54PM1.90m | 5:06AM1.72m | 5:24PM1.85m | 5:38AM1.64m | 5:57PM1.76m | 6:13AM1.53m | 6:34PM1.62m | 6:54AM1.38m | 7:20PM1.45m | 7:52AM1.21m | 8:36PM1.27m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:13AM0.01m | 10:35PM0.06m | 10:40AM0.01m | 11:05PM0.06m | 11:09AM0.05m | 11:36PM0.12m | 11:40AM0.14m | 00:11AM0.21m | 12:14PM0.26m | 00:51AM0.35m | 12:56PM0.42m | 1:45AM0.51m | 1:58PM0.59m | 3:22AM0.65m | |||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  |  | | | | | |
 | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — |
mm | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 |
Feels °C | 17 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSE 11 | SW 10 | SW 9 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
| kJ | 251 | 167 | 226 | 729 | 1130 | 840 | 675 | 573 | 770 | 1102 | 1912 | 3299 | 3174 | 2511 | 2005 | 1486 | 1148 | 319 | 1261 | 821 | 582 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 13 | E 12 | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | ESE 5 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | E 8 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 |
| kJ | 154 | 175 | 241 | 257 | 41 | 21 | 21 | 37 | 33 | 31 | 19 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 144 | 389 | 6 | 220 | 185 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | E 11 | E 12 | E 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 7 | SE 10 | SE 6 | — | — | — | — | — | E 9 | ESE 7 | SSW 10 | E 7 | E 7 | S 14 |
| kJ | 162 | 121 | 95 | 67 | 20 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 15 | 43 | 1 | 9 | 106 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 3 | SW 4 | SSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 7 | — | E 5 | — |
| kJ | 5 | 10 | 141 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 294 | — | 8 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 524 | 19 | 418 | 415 | 19 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Buffalo Bay Wildside Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Buffalo Bay Wildside provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Buffalo Bay Wildside can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Buffalo Bay Wildside) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Garden Route? If you are looking for accommodation near Buffalo Bay Wildside, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Garden Route, consider staying in Knysna which is 8 km (5 miles) away. Other places in and around Garden Route where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Plettenberg Bay which is 36 km (22 miles) away, George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.
Nearest