
Surf Forecasts:
Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast from 9 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SSW swell with cross-onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 9 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, SSW swell with 3,764 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 9 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period with SSW 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.0m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 17s. The wind is predicted to be cross-onshore 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 6s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 12) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 11ft (3.5m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days.
Alright, let me have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.
First off, Buffalo Bay Wildside is a bit of a beast, and it’s inconsistent – it doesn’t fire all the time. Right now, we’ve got a gap at the start of the forecast. The first surf we can really talk about doesn’t kick in until Saturday, July 11th. Before that, Thursday and Friday see a massive 10ft swell from the SSW, but with the combined energy hitting over 3500 (3573), that’s just way too much juice for this break. It’s a miss for paddle surfing.
So, the real start is Saturday morning, July 11th. The swell has dropped to a still-chunky 8ft from the SSW, with a period of 12 seconds. The combined energy is still strong at 1854. The wind is light and offshore, ESE at 3 mph, so it’s going to be clean. That’s a solid option for experienced surfers only. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual.
Saturday afternoon, the wind picks up to 12 mph from the ESE, still offshore, but that breeze will make it a bit more challenging. The swell holds at 8ft.
Sunday, July 12th, things settle down. Morning sees a 5ft SSW swell (11 sec period, 1051 energy) with a nice 6 mph ENE offshore wind. Clean and a much more manageable size. Afternoon drops to 5ft.
Monday, July 13th, is looking like a standout. The morning is glassy – no wind at all, 0 mph from the S. The swell is 4ft from the SSW, with a 10-second period. The energy is a moderate 512. It’s not huge, but with those perfect conditions, it’ll be a really fun, clean day for anyone. The afternoon stays glassy with 4ft from the S.
Tuesday, July 14th, is another glassy morning, with a shift in swell direction to ESE at 4ft, but the period is short at 8 seconds. That’s more of a windswell, so shape won’t be as good, but with no wind, it’ll still be a pleasant paddle.
Now, we hit a bit of a lull from Wednesday, July 15th, through to Thursday, July 16th. The wind turns onshore and the conditions get messy. Thursday afternoon, though, sees a massive 10ft SW swell with a 14-second period and 3595 energy, but the wind is cross-shore and the setup is for experienced surfers only. The waves will be there, but it’s a big, powerful beast.
The first true standout in the second week looks like Saturday, July 18th. The morning is glassy, with a 8ft SE swell pushing in. The energy is moderate at 1054. The wind is calm, WSW at 3 mph. That’s clean, decent-sized, and a good challenge for the more experienced crew. The afternoon sees it jump to 10ft from the ESE, but with a short 8-second period, and the wind is light offshore, so it’s still clean but a bit too big for most.
Monday, July 21st, is worth mentioning. The afternoon has a 7ft SSW swell with a 14-second period and glassy winds from the S. That’s a long-period groundswell, so it’ll have plenty of power and shape, but it’s best for the point or reef setups. The energy is strong at 1758.
The absolute best of the whole run, though, is Wednesday, July 22nd, in the afternoon. We’re looking at a 8ft SSW swell with a very long period of 16 seconds, and the combined energy is a massive 4777. The wind is cross-offshore from the NNW at 6 mph, and it’s clean. That’s a serious, powerful groundswell for experts only. It’s the kind of day you wait for.
Then Thursday, July 24th, ends the forecast nicely with a glassy afternoon, a 7ft SW swell, and a 16-second period. Clean and powerful.
So, overall, the standout is that Wednesday afternoon, July 22nd. If you’re an expert, that’s the one to circle. The Saturday morning, July 18th, is a close second for a bit smaller, still clean fun. The first week has some good, clean days, but the real power shows up in the second week.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Sat afternoon, min 12°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 14°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | SW 18 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
3562 | 3024 | 3708 | 3123 | 2601 | 2094 | 1854 | 1728 | 1227 | 631 | 452 | 400 | 274 | 296 | 131 | 196 | 186 | 216 | 205 | 173 | 781 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | glassy | cross | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 10:33AM1.20m | 11:10PM1.43m | 12:05PM1.25m | 00:31AM1.50m | 1:19PM1.36m | 1:38AM1.60m | 2:17PM1.51m | 2:34AM1.69m | 3:08PM1.65m | 3:23AM1.77m | 3:53PM1.76m | 4:08AM1.79m | 4:37PM1.83m | 4:50AM1.77m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:29PM0.55m | 5:49AM0.47m | 6:00PM0.52m | 7:05AM0.37m | 7:18PM0.42m | 8:06AM0.25m | 8:21PM0.30m | 8:57AM0.13m | 9:15PM0.19m | 9:43AM0.05m | 10:03PM0.12m | 10:24AM0.00m | 10:48PM0.10m | ||||||||
7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | |
— | 5:32 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:36 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 14 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | S 10 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 9 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | SW 18 |
3562 | 3024 | 3708 | 3123 | 2601 | 2094 | 1854 | 1728 | 1227 | 631 | 452 | 186 | 208 | 296 | 123 | 196 | 60 | 216 | 205 | 173 | 781 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 17 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SE 14 | — | — | W 12 | W 12 | W 13 | SE 7 | SSE 7 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | ESE 7 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SSW 9 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 16 | E 9 |
11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | — | — | 11 | 3 | 13 | 171 | 88 | 400 | 274 | 77 | 131 | 87 | 34 | 72 | 52 | 66 | 136 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 18 | W 12 | SSW 16 | W 11 | S 13 | S 12 | SW 10 | SSW 10 | SW 13 | S 9 | S 8 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 30 | 11 | 100 | 63 | 56 | 14 | 21 | 36 | 164 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | — | — | — | — | ESE 8 | — | W 3 | WSW 4 | SW 7 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 132 | 249 | 66 | 254 | — | — | — | — | 186 | — | 2 | 11 | 258 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.










