Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Hickory Bay and it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s a proper gem hiding in there if you’re patient. The first week is mostly a write-off, but a solid run of clean, punchy swell kicks off around the end of July and into early August.

We start off pretty ordinary. Thursday the 23rd has tiny waves, only 1ft to 3ft, with cross-off winds that keep things clean but it’s just not enough to get excited about. The water is a touch warmer than normal at 51°, which is a nice little bonus if you’re keen for a paddle, but the wave energy is weak (71). Friday’s even smaller, so we’re burning through these days.

Then Saturday the 25th comes in and it’s a mess. A strong cross-on SSW wind at 25 mph whips up an 8ft swell, but it’s all junk. The energy ramps up to 835, but it’s a short-period, onshore disaster. The water temp anomaly is gone, but the vibe is just plain ugly. We lose Sunday and most of Monday morning to marginal conditions, though the swell direction starts shifting to ESE with a nice long period of 13-15 seconds, which is a good sign.

Now, here’s where it gets good. Monday afternoon the 27th, the wind shifts to a light NW breeze at 3 mph, cross-off, and we get 3ft of ESE groundswell at 12 seconds. The energy is building (673) and the conditions are clean. This is a solid little session, but it’s just the warm-up.

Tuesday the 28th is the standout. Morning brings a clean 6ft ESE swell at 14 seconds, with a light NNW offshore wind at 6 mph. The combined energy is pumping at 1282. This is proper, lined-up groundswell, and with the offshore wind, it’ll be glassy. The break is fairly consistent, but keep in mind it’s a beach setup, so that long period might make it a bit shifty. Still, for experienced surfers, this is the pick of the forecast. The afternoon holds up at 6ft with similar conditions.

Wednesday the 29th continues the run with a moderate offshore NNE breeze, 5ft of ESE swell, and energy at 1065. It’s still excellent, but the wind is a bit stronger at 12 mph. The crowd situation is “sometimes,” so expect a few others out, but it’s worth it.

We get a bit of a lull from Thursday the 30th into Friday, with smaller waves and some cross-on wind, but the energy is still there. Then Saturday the 1st of August pumps in a big 10ft SSW swell with a clean offshore N wind at 12 mph. The energy is massive at 1295, but the swell is too big for this break – it’s a beginner-friendly spot, so this one is for experts only, and even then, it might be a handful.

Sunday the 2nd onwards gets messy again with cross-on wind and lumpy conditions. There’s a small window on Friday the 7th of August with a glassy 4ft SSW swell and light wind – the energy is low (341), but it’s clean and could be a fun, quiet session to wrap things up.

Overall, the best on offer is Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th of July. Get out there for the morning sessions when it’s clean and the offshore wind is blowing. The rest of the time, you’re either getting skunked or dealing with onshore junk.

Rusty.

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