Goat Island Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Northland, New Zealand)

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Goat Island Reef Surf Guide

Goat Island Reef in Northland is an exposed beach and reef break The best wind direction is from the south with some shelter here from south winds. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the northeast. A reef breaks right. Even when there are waves, it's not likley to be crowded. Beware of rocks and sharks.

Goat Island Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	3	rarely breaks	18.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Goat Island Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Goat Island Reef occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Goat Island Reef (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Goat Island Reef with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 1% of the time in January while 3% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 96% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

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

too small

96%

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

Explore Goat Island Reef Location Map

Interactive Goat Island Reef 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 Goat Island Reef is Whangarei Airport (WRE) in New Zealand, 68 km (42 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Goat Island Reef is Auckland International Airport (AKL), also in New Zealand, 82 km (51 miles) away.

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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.

Goat Island Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 15:59 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05			Wed
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE
Period (s)	8	8	8	8
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross	cross	cross

Tides at Goat Island Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Daniels Reef, 4 km from Goat Island Reef.

Next High Water: 09:57pm | 2.13m

Next Low Water: 04:18am | 0.47m

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

Goat Island Reef Sea Temperature

The Goat Island Reef water temperature is reasonably warm (18.9 °C) and the air temperature will similar (windchill forecast 16.0 °C). A good quality summer wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Goat Island Reef

Surf stats for Goat Island Reef, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Goat Island Reef

Wind stats for Goat Island Reef, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Goat Island Reef Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 5 votes.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.0
Consistency of Surf:2.2
Difficulty Level:2.5
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.0
Crowds:3.2
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Moggy from Australia

“Goat Island is rock bottomed reef set up that favours mid to high tide. The main wave is a right, with a shorter left.
As the break faces North it also works in stormy SE conditions while the rest of the East Coast is blown out. Usually crowded, especially in these conditions.”

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