Waiaha Rivermouth / Honls Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cooking over the next couple of weeks.

The overall vibe is pretty mellow, to be honest. For a spot that can really turn it on, this stretch looks like a long, drawn-out run of small, clean-ish waves rather than any single epic day. There are no big, powerful swells forecast, so we’re looking at a very extended period of marginal surf. The key here is patience and a longboard, because there are some windows where the wind plays nice and the conditions get clean, but the size is modest.

We’ve got a bit of a flat gap right at the start. The first real chance to get a wetsuit on is Thursday morning, the 27th. It’s not much to write home about – a 2ft south swell at a long 18 seconds. That long period will put some shape into the wave face, but it’s small. The water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year, so it’s a touch warmer than average.

Friday the 28th is more of the same, with a 2ft south swell. Wind is on it, so it’ll be rideable but nothing special.

The whole weekend (29th and 30th) is poor. The swell drops even more, and the wind turns cross-on or cross, creating chop. It’s a write-off for paddle surfing; might be worth looking at for a kite session though.

Monday the 31st through to Thursday the 3rd of September is a long stretch of the same story: swell hovering between 1ft and 3ft, with light wind and mostly cross-onshore or onshore conditions. The combined swell energy sits in the moderate range (between 253 and 570), but the wave comment is consistently “marginal.” It’s surfable for a patient surfer on a bigger board, but you’ll be working for every wave.

Now, there is one standout session in this whole outlook, and it comes on Wednesday the 9th of September. The afternoon session looks the best on offer. It’s only a 3ft swell from the SSW with an inconsistent 14-second period, but the wind goes glassy. That’s a massive positive. For this break, Waiaha Rivermouth / Honls (a reef setup that works best on a SSW swell), having glassy conditions is a treat. The combined swell energy is moderate (317), but the “expect good surf conditions” note is the only one in the entire 16-day forecast. If you can pick your window, that Wednesday afternoon is your best bet for clean, peelable little waves with no wind chop.

After that, the swell looks like it fades out towards the end of the second week, with sizes dropping to 2ft and the wind turning cross or offshore, but the energy drops way off (down to 141).

So, the final call: There are no big swells coming, and no classic Honls pumping days. But for a smaller-wave crew, the best of the bunch is the glassy window on Wednesday afternoon, 9th September. Everything else is just a longboard cruise with very low expectations.

Early days are the most reliable; that far-off Wednesday session has promise, but it’s a long way out, so keep an eye on the forecasts as it gets closer.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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