Mangawhai Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Mangawhai Heads.

Overall, it's a quiet start followed by a proper blast of late-winter energy. The next week and a half are pretty average, with a lot of small, wind-affected days. The real standout is way out there, a solid pulse of swell that's worth waiting for.

The first few days from Thursday the 9th through to the middle of next week are pretty lacklustre. We're looking at small, weak waves with a lot of onshore or cross-shore breeze. The energy is low, with combined swell energy readings mostly under 200 (moderate wave energy). The water temp is sitting around 61°F, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing to write home about there. It's a bit of a write-off for a proper session, to be honest.

You'll see a few small windows on Monday the 13th morning and Tuesday the 14th with some clean conditions and a small cross-off breeze, but the swell is tiny and the period is short. It's surfable, but you won't be rushing.

Then we hit a real flat spell from the 15th to the 18th. Nothing doing. A few days of absolute doldrums with tiny, weak waves.

Now, the big news. Hold onto your board. Sunday the 19th of July is the one. The morning is looking glassy with a 12ft swell from the NE, and the afternoon goes off with a 13ft NNE swell, glassy and clean. The combined energy readings are massive, you're talking 1894 and 3762 (very strong wave energy). This is a serious, powerful, long-period groundswell. For a beach and reef setup like Mangawhai Heads, that long period (8-10 seconds) means it'll be big, powerful, and probably a bit straight for the beach, but the reef could be absolutely pumping. This is for experienced surfers only – it's way too big for beginners. The crowd profile says "sometimes", so you might have some company, but with that size, it'll thin out.

Monday the 20th keeps the energy going with another 10ft+ swell and clean conditions, but it's a bit more on the cross-off wind. Still a solid day for the big-wave crew. Tuesday the 21st starts glassy again with a 8ft swell, so a bit more manageable, but still a serious paddle.

The whole run from the 19th to the 21st is the highlight. After that, the wind turns nasty with a strong onshore flow from the 22nd, and the swell gets chopped up and messy. It's a short-lived but potent window of excellence.

So, to sum it up: the first week and a half is a bust. The 19th and 20th of July are the absolute standouts, but it's a big, powerful swell for experts only. The 21st is still a great option for the experienced. Everything else is a pass.

Rusty.

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