Kahutara Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Kaikoura and Marlborough, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Kahutara Surf Guide

Kahutara in Kaikoura is an exposed reef and point break that has quite reliable surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Works best in offshore winds from the west northwest. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the best swell direction is from the south southeast. Best around low tide when the tide is rising. It's sometimes crowded here. Beware of rips, rocks and sharks.

Kahutara Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef and point	2	fairly consistent	13.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Kahutara:

The best conditions reported for surf at Kahutara occur when a South-southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Kahutara with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 30% of the time in June while 47% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 23% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

30%

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

blown out

47%

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

too small

23%

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

Explore Kahutara Location Map

Interactive Kahutara 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 Kahutara is Woodbourne Airport (BHE) in New Zealand, 104 km (65 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Kahutara is Nelson Airport (NSN), also in New Zealand, 130 km (81 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.

Kahutara Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Sunday, 24 May 2026, 15:56 Local Time

m, °C	Sunday 24			Mon
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	S
Period (s)	16	16	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross	cross	cross

What does Kahutara look like?

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

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Kahutara

Current tide and informaton

For Kaikoura, New Zealand, 9 km from Kahutara.

Next High Water: 11:33pm | 1.95m

Next Low Water: 05:15pm | 0.45m

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

Kahutara Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.0 °C) at Kahutara is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (11.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

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