Little Wanganui Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(West Coast South Island, New Zealand)

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Little Wanganui Surf Guide

Little Wanganui in North West Coast is an exposed beach/river bar break that does not work very often with no particular seasonal pattern. Works best in offshore winds from the east. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the west northwest. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. Even when there are waves, it's not likley to be crowded. Be wary of rips - they make surfing here dangerous.

Little Wanganui Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach/river bar	5	inconsistent	16.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Little Wanganui:

The best conditions reported for surf at Little Wanganui occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Little Wanganui with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of August. Clean surfable waves are typically found 42% of the time in August while 54% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 4% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

42%

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

blown out

54%

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

too small

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

Explore Little Wanganui Location Map

Interactive Little Wanganui 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 Little Wanganui is Westport Airport (WSZ) in New Zealand, 55 km (34 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Little Wanganui is Nelson Airport (NSN), also in New Zealand, 98 km (61 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.

Little Wanganui Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 18:44 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Period (s)	15	16	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	off	off	off

What does Little Wanganui look like?

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

Credit: Peter Crowley Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Little Wanganui

Current tide and informaton

For Little Wanganui, 0 km from Little Wanganui.

Next High Water: 01:28am | 2.62m

Next Low Water: 07:19pm | 0.66m

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

Little Wanganui Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.1 °C) at Little Wanganui is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (18.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 16.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Little Wanganui

Surf stats for Little Wanganui, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Little Wanganui

Wind stats for Little Wanganui, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Little Wanganui Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 2 votes.

Overall:5.0
Quality on a good day:3.5
Consistency of Surf:2.0
Difficulty Level:2.5
Wind and Kite Surfing:2.0
Crowds:4.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Andy from New Zealand

“I watched it for 4 days and it seems to be very fickle here. A lot of sand moving and big messy swells and SW wind make it very changeable. It would probably have its day but we didn't see it. Scored Tauranga bay good thou. Cheers”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Little Wanganui. Click below to view there surf guides.