Surf-Forecast | Cooks Cove Reefs Surf Guide

Cooks Cove Reefs Surf Guide

Cooks Cove Reefs in East Cape is an exposed beach and point break that has consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the south southwest with some shelter here from south winds. Easily blown out by onshore winds Clean groundswells prevail and the best swell direction is from the east. There is no beach break and there are also left and right hand reef breaks on offer. Best around low tide. Rarely crowded here. Beware of rips and rocks.

Cooks Cove Reefs Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and point	4	consistent	14.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Cooks Cove Reefs:

The best conditions reported for surf at Cooks Cove Reefs occur when a East swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Cooks Cove Reefs (for consistent clean waves)?

marchBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Cooks Cove Reefs with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of March. Clean surfable waves are typically found 24% of the time in March while 38% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 38% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

24%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

38%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

38%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Cooks Cove Reefs Location Map

Interactive Cooks Cove Reefs surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Cooks Cove Reefs is Gisborne Airport (GIS) in New Zealand, 45 km (28 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Cooks Cove Reefs is Whakatane Airport (WHK), also in New Zealand, 135 km (84 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Cooks Cove Reefs Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Sunday, 21 June 2026, 17:10 Local Time

m, °C	Sunday 21			Mon
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	NE	NE	NE	NE
Period (s)	8	8	8	8
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	off	off	cross- off

What does Cooks Cove Reefs look like?

Latest photos from Cooks Cove Reefs. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Cooks Cove Reefs

Current tide and informaton

For Tolaga Bay (Cooks Cove), New Zealand, 1 km from Cooks Cove Reefs.

Next High Water: 11:48pm | 1.71m

Next Low Water: 05:52am | 0.36m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Cooks Cove Reefs Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.9 °C) at Cooks Cove Reefs is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 14.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite