Dinner Plates Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Catlins, New Zealand)

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Spot Information

Dinner Plates Surf Guide

Dinner Plates in Catlins is an exposed reef break that is usually a safe bet and works all around the year. Works best in offshore winds from the north. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the south. There is no reef break. The location means that it never gets crowded. Sharks may be a hazard at this break.

Dinner Plates Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	4	very consistent	13.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Dinner Plates:

The best conditions reported for surf at Dinner Plates occur when a South swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Dinner Plates (for consistent clean waves)?

julyBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Dinner Plates with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of July. Clean surfable waves are typically found 38% of the time in July while 53% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 9% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

38%

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

blown out

53%

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

too small

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

Explore Dinner Plates Location Map

Interactive Dinner Plates 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 Dinner Plates is Invercargill Airport (IVC) in New Zealand, 62 km (39 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Dinner Plates is Dunedin Airport (DUD), also in New Zealand, 123 km (76 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.

Dinner Plates Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 15:51 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	15	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Dinner Plates look like?

Latest photos from Dinner Plates. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Dini Credit: Mick

Tides at Dinner Plates

Current tide and informaton

For Dinner Plates, 0 km from Dinner Plates.

Next High Water: 05:32pm | 1.9m

Next Low Water: 11:51pm | 0.65m

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

Dinner Plates Sea Temperature

The Dinner Plates water temperature is rather cool (13.4 °C) and the air temperature will feel about the same. A good quality spring wetsuit with optional neoprene boots should suffice. No need for wetsuit gloves.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit and neoprene boots.