
Surf Forecasts:
Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast from 4 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 9 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SSW swell with 3,875 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 4 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 13s period with SE 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 Saturday (Jul 04) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.2m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Buffalo Bay Wildside in the next 16 days are 3.0m 14s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 09) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 6s period and expected on Friday (Jul 10) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 7ft (2.2m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, folks, Rusty here. We’ve got a mixed bag coming in for the next two weeks at Buffalo Bay Wildside. The season is definitely making itself known, with some solid swells and some real nasty stuff too. Let’s break it down and see where the gems are hiding.
The real standout, the one you should clear your schedule for, is Wednesday, July 8th. We’ve got a strong, long-period swell arriving from the SSW, pumping in with a very strong wave energy (3062). The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the ESE, so the face will be smooth. The swell is 8 ft, which is getting up there for experts only. This spot is exposed and pulls in that energy well, but remember it’s an inconsistent break, so you might wait for your set, but when that 13-second groundswell lines up, it will be worth it.
Right before that, Saturday, July 4th and Monday, July 6th are also fantastic. Saturday morning is glassy with clean 7 ft ESE swell (1512), and Monday morning is glassy again with 6 ft from the SW (1073). The water is sitting at a normal 63°F for this time of year, so no surprises there.
The swell builds through the week, but the wind turns on it. Thursday, July 9th has a massive 10 ft SSW swell (3413) with clean cross-offshore wind, but that's too big for this break. It will be a heavy, expert-only day if you’re game to battle the massive energy. The period is a very long 14 seconds, so this will be a powerful groundswell that will work best as a reef or point setup, but this is a beach-and-reef setup, so it might throw up some close-out sections.
We then hit a big drop-off. From Sunday, July 12th through Tuesday, July 14th, the surf fades, with the energy falling into the mid to low hundreds. There’s a blank spell of a few days here with nothing memorable.
There is a last gasp on Wednesday, July 15th. Late in the day, we get clean glassy conditions again with a 6 ft short-period swell from the SSW (609). The wind goes dead calm, which is a rare treat for a session after the wind dies. It’s a good one if you can sneak out.
After that, the wheels come off. From Thursday, July 16th onwards, the wind goes onshore and howling, with the swell hitting 13 ft and an incredible 4815 energy. That is dangerous, stormy, messy stuff. It’s only for the kamikaze crew, and only if you have a death wish. The conditions are poor, and with 25 mph cross-onshore winds on the 18th and 19th, this is more of a kite-surfing playground than a paddling wave.
To sum it up: the best is Wednesday, July 8th with that powerful SSW groundswell and clean wind. Don't sleep on Saturday morning, July 4th, either.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sun afternoon, min 14°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue morning, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ESE 13 | SE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
1276 | 948 | 647 | 518 | 441 | 335 | 865 | 780 | 1006 | 1182 | 954 | 1136 | 2063 | 2081 | 3629 | 3403 | 2460 | 1738 | 1730 | 1491 | 1019 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | on | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:24PM1.59m | 6:29AM1.47m | 7:01PM1.57m | 7:10AM1.40m | 7:43PM1.53m | 7:59AM1.31m | 8:36PM1.48m | 9:05AM1.23m | 9:46PM1.44m | 10:33AM1.20m | 11:10PM1.43m | 12:05PM1.25m | 00:31AM1.50m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:05PM0.23m | 00:32AM0.38m | 12:39PM0.27m | 1:14AM0.41m | 1:18PM0.34m | 2:03AM0.46m | 2:05PM0.42m | 3:05AM0.50m | 3:08PM0.50m | 4:23AM0.51m | 4:29PM0.55m | 5:49AM0.47m | 6:00PM0.52m | ||||||||
7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | |
— | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:32 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
Feels °C | 14 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 13 | SE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 |
1276 | 948 | 647 | 518 | 441 | 335 | 865 | 780 | 1006 | 1182 | 954 | 1136 | 2063 | 2081 | 3629 | 3403 | 2460 | 1738 | 1730 | 1491 | 1019 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 9 | SW 9 | SW 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | SW 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | ESE 9 | SE 16 | SE 16 | E 10 | SE 13 | SE 13 | ESE 6 |
173 | 211 | 98 | 141 | 99 | 184 | 207 | 180 | 94 | 68 | 57 | 382 | 459 | 973 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 121 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 11 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | WSW 8 | S 8 | S 8 | E 6 | — | S 22 | SSW 20 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 10 | — | — | SE 15 | — | — | S 16 |
63 | 173 | 174 | 238 | 147 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — | 9 | 149 | 17 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 8 | — | — | 597 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 4 | ESE 4 | ESE 5 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | E 6 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 25 | 56 | 44 | 143 | 240 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 3 |
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.










