
Surf Forecasts:
Lake Ferry surf forecast from 3 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 5 Aug, 12PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 12s period, S swell with onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 4 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 20ft (6.0m), 12s period, SSW swell with 10,088 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 5 Aug, 12PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 12s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Lake Ferry this week:
The surf forecast for Lake Ferry over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 05) at 12PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.5m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 18s. The wind is predicted to be onshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Lake Ferry in the next 16 days are 6.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 04) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.8m 6s period and expected on Friday (Aug 07) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12PM (Wed 5th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 12PM (Wed 5th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Tue 4th Aug) | 20ft (6.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Lake Ferry over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for Lake Ferry over the next 16 days.
First up, the water is running a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sitting at 51°F – that’s 3°F cooler than usual, so you’ll want a thicker wetsuit.
The first surfable window opens on Monday afternoon, August 3rd. Lake Ferry (Lake Ferry) is a sandbar set-up that’s fairly consistent when it gets the right mix. Early on, we’ve got a clean 4ft SSW swell pushing in with a 12-second period and a gentle cross-offshore breeze from the NNW. The combined energy is moderate at 660, and the conditions are looking clean. Not a massive swell, but it’s rideable and the wind is doing you a favour. This is the best on offer in the whole outlook – it’s a quiet, uncrowded session on a Monday arvo with a bit of soul.
Tuesday morning, August 4th, gets ugly. A strong 20ft SSW swell rolls in, but it’s accompanied by a 22 mph onshore wind and rain. The combined energy is massive at 10088 – way too much for a sandbar, and the wind is just trashing it. This is a close-out. Tuesday afternoon isn’t much better with 18ft and 19 mph onshore wind. Wednesday, August 5th, sees the swell dropping from 13ft to 10ft, but it’s still onshore, and the surf will be poor. The swell is too big for this break, and the wind is no help.
By Thursday, August 6th, the swell drops to 6ft in the morning and 5ft in the afternoon, but the wind is light cross-onshore, leaving small ripples. The energy is weak (918 and 560), and the conditions are marginal. Worth a look if you’re desperate, but it’s not clean.
Friday, August 7th, offers a bit more hope. The morning brings a 4ft S swell with a very long 16-second period and a clean cross-offshore breeze from the north. That’s a proper groundswell, and it’ll wrap in nicely at the sandbar – though the long period might make it a bit straight at a beach break, the sandbar here can handle it. The energy is moderate at 1165. The afternoon gets windy again with 22 mph, so the morning is the pick.
Saturday, August 8th, stays small with 4-5ft S swells and clean cross-offshore winds, but the energy drops off (486 and 399). Still surfable, but nothing special.
Sunday, August 9th, is glassy in the morning – zero wind, 4ft S swell, 10-second period, energy at 252. It’s clean, but it’s small. The afternoon turns to a 6ft SSW swell with a short 6-second period and onshore wind – not good.
From Monday, August 10th, onwards, it’s a long stretch of poor surf. The swell drops below 3ft, wind shifts around, and the energy is weak (between 25 and 139). There’s a few days of tiny, weak waves, and by the end of the second week, we’re looking at 0.7ft swells. The period is long, but there’s no size to push it. That’s a big gap of nothing from the 10th all the way through to the 18th.
So, to sum it up: the standout is Monday afternoon, August 3rd. It’s the only real window with clean, rideable waves and a gentle offshore breeze. After that, the morning of Friday, August 7th, is the next best bet for a clean, long-period groundswell, but it’s small. Everything else is either too big, too windy, or too small. A bit of a dry spell, but that’s Lake Ferry sometimes. Keep an eye on the forecasts – it can change quick.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Mon night. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon afternoon, min 5°C on Tue afternoon). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Tue morning, light winds from the WSW by Thu morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 3°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NW on Fri afternoon, calm by Sun morning). | |||||||||||||||||||
Mon 3 | Tuesday 4 | Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 16 | S 14 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 6 | S 6 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
519 | 1966 | 10088 | 7897 | 7391 | 4845 | 2888 | 1280 | 810 | 443 | 320 | 822 | 757 | 660 | 474 | 389 | 239 | 235 | 188 | 92 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 8:30PM1.18m | 8:54AM1.12m | 9:18PM1.18m | 9:43AM1.16m | 10:07PM1.18m | 10:34AM1.22m | 10:58PM1.19m | 11:26AM1.27m | 11:51PM1.21m | 12:20PM1.33m | 00:45AM1.23m | 1:16PM1.38m | 1:40AM1.25m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:51AM0.19m | 3:08PM0.19m | 3:36AM0.18m | 3:59PM0.17m | 4:23AM0.15m | 4:51PM0.15m | 5:11AM0.13m | 5:45PM0.12m | 6:01AM0.10m | 6:40PM0.10m | 6:54AM0.06m | 7:36PM0.07m | ||||||||
— | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | |
5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | |
mm | — | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
Feels °C | 11 | 6 | -2 | -3 | -3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 12 | SSW 14 | — | — | — | E 19 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 16 | S 14 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SW 14 | SSE 9 |
519 | 1966 | — | — | — | 7 | 2888 | 1280 | 810 | 443 | 320 | 822 | 757 | 660 | 474 | 389 | 239 | 235 | 8 | 92 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 10 | SE 11 | — | — | — | — | SE 18 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SE 10 | SE 11 | S 10 | S 10 | ESE 13 | SE 12 | S 16 | SSE 14 | NW 8 | NW 9 | SW 13 |
73 | 30 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 41 | 35 | 82 | 185 | 235 | 184 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 19 | NW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | SE 16 | S 10 | SE 15 | S 13 | SE 10 | SE 12 | — | S 18 | S 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SSW 14 | S 18 |
68 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 93 | 73 | 35 | 90 | 108 | 25 | — | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 6 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 3 | S 6 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 12 | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 3 | NW 5 | NW 6 | NW 5 | NW 4 | NW 4 | S 4 | SSW 6 | S 6 |
7 | 126 | 10088 | 7897 | 7391 | 4845 | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 146 | 145 | 49 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 188 | 80 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 42 | 224 | 258 | 224 | 112 | 153 | 34 | 27 | 23 | 9 | 9 | 82 | 82 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 42 | 34 |
Best forecast wave conditions in The Wairarapa | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Lake Ferry Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Lake Ferry provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Lake Ferry can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Lake Ferry 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 (Lake Ferry) 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 Lake Ferry 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.
Lake Ferry is 28 km (17 miles) from Lower Hutt. If you plan a holiday in The Wairarapa, look for hotels and other accommodation in Lower Hutt. Lower Hutt has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











