Surf Forecasts:
Cave Rock surf forecast from 5 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 12 Aug, 2PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 9s period, SE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 10 Aug, 2PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, S swell with 1,368 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 6 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cave Rock this week:
The surf forecast for Cave Rock over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 06) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cave Rock in the next 16 days are 3.0m 9s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 10) at 2PM. 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 Saturday (Aug 08) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Wed 12th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Mon 10th Aug) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cave Rock over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right then. Let’s have a proper look at what’s on the cards for Cave Rock. This is a reef setup, so it needs the right direction to really light up, and it’s an advanced wave for sure – no mucking around on these ledges.
The next week and a half is a bit of a tough watch, to be honest. There’s a big gap of nothing worthwhile right at the start. From August 6th all the way through to the morning of the 12th, the conditions are just not playing ball. Winds are swinging from the south and northeast, but mostly cross-onshore or strong, and the swell is either too small or gets gutted by the breeze. It’s pretty much a write-off.
Then, things start to look a whole lot more interesting. The first real standout is on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 12th. The wind drops right out, going *glassy*, and we’ve got a solid 7ft groundswell rolling in from the SE. The combined energy is cooking at 869 – that’s some proper punch for this reef. It’s going to be clean, powerful, and very, very tempting. This is the best wave of the whole window, so if you can get out there, do it.
The next morning, Thursday the 13th, is still a very good option. We get a light WNW offshore breeze with a 5ft ESE swell (energy 461). It’ll be clean again, a little bit smaller than the day before, but still quality. The NE wind picks up through the afternoon, but stays cross-off, so it stays workable.
After that, it drops back into mediocrity for a few days. The NE winds get stronger and more cross-shore, and the swell stays around the 3ft to 4ft mark. Not really worth stressing about until the morning of Sunday, August 16th. That morning, the wind goes *glassy* again with a clean 4ft E swell and energy at 308. It’ll be a nice, clean little session if you’ve got a log or a fish, but nothing like the big day we had mid-week.
So, to wrap it up: sit tight through the first week. Your date with destiny is the 12th and 13th of August for the biggest, cleanest waves. After that, there’s a few smaller windows of clean surf, but the star of the show is that Wednesday afternoon.
Stay frothing.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Fri morning. Warm (max 23°C on Sat afternoon, min 17°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the S on Thu morning, calm by Fri night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 22mm), heaviest during Mon morning. Warm (max 21°C on Sat night, min 13°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (light winds from the WSW on Sat night, gales from the SSW by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | ||||||||||||||
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 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 5 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | S 11 | S 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 154 | 120 | 121 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 87 | 92 | 79 | 117 | 93 | 1285 | 1367 | 1215 | 851 | 560 | 606 | 442 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 8:10AM1.47m | 8:52PM1.51m | 9:31AM1.34m | 10:33PM1.41m | 11:49AM1.33m | 00:34AM1.45m | 1:29PM1.48m | 1:51AM1.59m | 2:27PM1.68m | 2:43AM1.75m | 3:12PM1.86m | 3:25AM1.88m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:09AM0.65m | 2:21PM0.65m | 3:21AM0.77m | 3:49PM0.80m | 5:21AM0.80m | 6:06PM0.81m | 7:07AM0.68m | 7:39PM0.67m | 8:10AM0.50m | 8:36PM0.50m | 8:56AM0.33m | 9:21PM0.35m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |
 | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — |
 | 5:24 | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 8 | — | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
Temp °C | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
Feels °C | 19 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | ENE 7 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | SSE 9 | SSW 14 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 154 | 120 | 121 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 87 | 92 | 102 | 117 | 87 | 60 | 68 | 68 | 851 | 350 | 314 | 341 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 15 | E 10 | SSE 7 | SSW 15 | — | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 14 | S 11 |
| kJ | 34 | 27 | 17 | 9 | 33 | 15 | 49 | 25 | 79 | 66 | 21 | 91 | — | 24 | 43 | 90 | 89 | 331 | 442 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SE 5 | SSW 17 | SSE 7 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | NE 6 | — | — | — | SSW 12 | — | E 9 | E 10 |
| kJ | 23 | 61 | 99 | 49 | 71 | 67 | 6 | 57 | 16 | 79 | 37 | 5 | — | — | — | 52 | — | 62 | 118 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 2 | S 5 | S 6 | — | — | NE 5 | ENE 4 | ENE 6 | SSW 4 | S 6 | S 5 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SSW 9 | SSE 8 | S 11 | — |
| kJ | — | 1 | 49 | 67 | — | — | 4 | 13 | 80 | 25 | 39 | 93 | 1285 | 1367 | 1215 | 573 | 560 | 606 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 42 | 222 | 8 | 9 | 164 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 2617 | 1207 | 804 | 899 | 44 | 9 | 1236 | 9 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Cave Rock Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cave Rock provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cave Rock can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cave Rock 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 (Cave Rock) 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 Cave Rock 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 Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near Cave Rock, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, consider staying in Durban which is 6 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Glenwood which is 8 km (5 miles) away, Umlazi, Kwamashu and Umhlanga.
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