Great Exhibition Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Northland, New Zealand)

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- 16 Day Forecast
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Great Exhibition Bay Surf Guide

Great Exhibition Bay in Northland is an exposed beach break that has quite reliable surf Offshore winds are from the west. Groundswells are more common than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northeast. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. It very rarely gets crowded here. Dangerous rips are a hazard of surfing here.

Great Exhibition Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	fairly consistent	18.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Great Exhibition Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Great Exhibition Bay occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Great Exhibition Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Great Exhibition Bay 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 4% of the time in January while 15% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 81% 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

15%

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

too small

81%

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

Explore Great Exhibition Bay Location Map

Interactive Great Exhibition Bay 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 Great Exhibition Bay is Kaitaia Airport (KAT) in New Zealand, which is 51 km (32 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Great Exhibition Bay is Kerikeri Airport (KKE), also in New Zealand, 105 km (65 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.

Great Exhibition Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 08:37 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9AM	12PM	3PM	6PM
Wave (m)	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE
Period (s)	8	8	8	8
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at Great Exhibition Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Great Exhibition Bay, 0 km from Great Exhibition Bay.

Next High Water: 10:33am | 1.79m

Next Low Water: 04:46pm | 0.33m

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

Great Exhibition Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (18.8 °C) at Great Exhibition Bay is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 19.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite