
Surf Forecasts:
Karekare surf forecast from 9 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 16 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 14s period, WSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 16 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 14s period, WSW swell with 5,557 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 11 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 14s period with WSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Karekare this week:
The surf forecast for Karekare over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 11) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 1.0m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Karekare in the next 16 days are 3.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 16) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 12) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Tue 11th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 6PM (Sun 16th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Sun 16th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Karekare over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what the ocean’s got for us over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s break it down.
The surf window starts off a bit slow, with the first few days being pretty marginal. We’re looking at a couple of days of onshore breezes and cross-chop, with the swell a bit jumbled. The water temp is sitting around 56°F, which is just about average for this time of year, so nothing crazy there.
The first real chance to get excited about is Tuesday, August 11th. The wind swings around to the east-northeast, and it’s light, making for clean conditions. The swell is a touch under 4ft, coming from the west-southwest with a nice long 14-second period. The energy is moderate, with a combined value of 872. It’s not a massive day, but it’s clean and should be fun for a paddle.
Things go a bit quiet again on Wednesday with the swell dropping, but then we get a standout on Thursday, August 13th. The wind goes completely glassy in the afternoon, with the swell picking back up to 4ft from the west-southwest at an 18-second period. That’s a long-period groundswell, which is going to groom the lines nicely. The energy is moderate at 1205. This is looking like the cleanest, most classic conditions we’ll see in the first week. This is one of the top picks.
We get a bit of a pulse on Friday, with the swell pushing up to 7ft in the afternoon, but the wind is cross-offshore. It’s still clean, but the size is getting more serious. The energy is getting stronger too, at 1988. That’s a good size for a solid intermediate, but it might be pushing it for beginners.
Then the ocean turns a bit nasty. Saturday, August 15th the wind goes strong onshore from the west-southwest and the swell jumps to 10ft. That’s a messy, blown-out mess, and the energy is strong at 3656. This is not a day for a paddle; it looks more like a day for the kite surfers to have a field day. Sunday is even bigger, with 12ft swell and strong onshore winds, and the energy is very strong at 4828. Monday the 17th looks even bigger again, with 13ft surf and strong onshore winds. This is big, unruly, and just for the experts if they’re keen, but the wind is going to make it pretty tough. The energy is through the roof, hitting 5761 on Monday morning.
After that big pulse, things start to settle down. Tuesday, August 18th the wind goes light and cross-offshore, with the swell backing down to a much more manageable 7ft. The energy is still strong at 1661, but the conditions are much cleaner. This would be a good day for experienced surfers to get out there while the swell is still solid.
The rest of that week looks pretty consistent. Wednesday, August 19th the wind goes glassy again, with the swell at 5ft. It’s clean, but the energy is moderate. The following days see the swell pulse up and down, but the wind stays mostly light or offshore. The latter part of the week into the weekend and the following week looks like a period of clean, consistent waves, with the wind mostly from the east and offshore, keeping the surf clean. The swell stays in the 3ft to 6ft range, with periods around 13-15 seconds. The energy is moderate. It’s not huge, but it’s clean and should be fun.
The standout from this whole stretch is probably Thursday, August 13th for the clean, glassy conditions and the long-period swell. The other one to keep an eye on is Tuesday, August 18th for the bigger, cleaner swell after the storm blows through. Both days are looking like the best on offer. The long-range stuff looks promising, but as always, it’s less certain.
Alright, that’s the look. Stay safe out there.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Sun morning. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Sun afternoon, fresh winds from the ENE by Tue night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 34mm), heaviest during Fri morning. Very mild (max 17°C on Thu afternoon, min 12°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WSW 15 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 19 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 16 | SW 14 | WSW 10 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
1422 | 880 | 486 | 643 | 1199 | 899 | 672 | 615 | 637 | 480 | 422 | 387 | 321 | 943 | 981 | 1697 | 1972 | 1117 | 1241 | 3468 | 2541 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 6:55PM2.79m | 7:26AM2.71m | 8:03PM2.95m | 8:31AM2.87m | 9:02PM3.12m | 9:28AM3.04m | 9:54PM3.26m | 10:19AM3.17m | 10:41PM3.34m | 11:04AM3.24m | 11:24PM3.36m | 11:47AM3.25m | 00:05AM3.32m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:34PM0.71m | 1:22AM0.71m | 1:49PM0.61m | 2:31AM0.53m | 2:54PM0.46m | 3:28AM0.33m | 3:48PM0.30m | 4:17AM0.18m | 4:35PM0.20m | 5:02AM0.09m | 5:19PM0.17m | 5:43AM0.08m | 6:00PM0.21m | ||||||||
7:13 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | |
— | 5:42 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:46 | — | |
mm | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 5 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
Feels °C | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | NW 10 | WSW 14 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | W 11 | W 10 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 16 | WSW 18 | WSW 15 |
1422 | 738 | 467 | 643 | 1199 | 899 | 672 | 615 | 346 | 480 | 422 | 195 | 204 | 943 | 981 | 1697 | 1972 | 1117 | 1241 | 188 | 1871 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 19 | WSW 15 | NW 8 | WSW 13 | NW 8 | SW 7 | SW 7 | SW 7 | WSW 19 | SW 12 | W 13 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | W 10 | W 11 | WSW 20 | NW 8 | NW 7 | WNW 7 | — | — |
1111 | 880 | 139 | 434 | 14 | 137 | 77 | 57 | 637 | 152 | 55 | 387 | 321 | 231 | 326 | 218 | 16 | 8 | 5 | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 19 | — | WSW 18 | WSW 9 | SW 10 | NNW 7 | SW 22 | WSW 21 | SW 7 | — | SW 6 | SW 20 | SW 18 | W 13 | — | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
332 | — | 486 | 154 | 23 | 5 | 123 | 294 | 22 | — | 1 | 102 | 266 | 31 | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SSW 3 | — | SW 8 | — | — | — | NE 3 | NE 4 | NE 3 | NE 3 | NE 3 | — | NE 3 | — | — | WSW 9 | WSW 5 | SW 14 | WSW 10 |
— | — | 3 | — | 147 | — | — | — | 3 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 2 | — | 2 | — | — | 101 | 44 | 3468 | 2541 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 127 | 49 | 6 | 49 | 77 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 90 | 49 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Auckland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Karekare Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Karekare provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Karekare can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Karekare surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Karekare) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Karekare may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Karekare is 14 km (9 miles) from the city of Auckland. If you plan a holiday in Auckland, look for hotels and other accommodation in Auckland. Auckland has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











