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Motunau Beach Surf Forecast
/ Canterbury (28 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Motunau Beach surfForecast / Canterbury / New Zealand
12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 5 am Thursday 21 Aug 2025 NZST
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Motunau Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Motunau Beach over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 22) at 12PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 16s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Motunau Beach in the next 12 days are 0.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 21) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 28) at 9AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12PM (Fri 22nd Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 12PM (Fri 22nd Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Thu 21st Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Motunau Beach over the next 12 days.
Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Very mild (max 10°C on Thu afternoon, min 6°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 3-6 Weather Summary Mostly dry. Very mild (max 11°C on Sun afternoon, min 6°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sunday 24 | Monday 25 | Tuesday 26 | Wednesday 27 | |||||||||||||||
| AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Rating (10 max) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Wave Height (m) & direction (?) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period(s) (?) | 16 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
Wave (?)Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Energy (?) | 167 | 153 | 105 | 71 | 70 | 51 | 75 | 42 | 20 | 27 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 10 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy | cross- on | on | cross- on | cross | glass | cross- off | cross- off | cross- off | off | cross | glass | glass | cross | cross | glass | cross- off | cross- off | cross | cross- off | cross- off | cross- off |
High Tide / height (m) | 2:57PM 1.89 | 3:18AM 1.74 | 3:47PM 1.88 | 4:08AM 1.73 | 4:35PM 1.85 | 4:56AM 1.72 | 5:22PM 1.82 | 5:44AM 1.70 | 6:09PM 1.77 | 6:31AM 1.67 | 6:55PM 1.71 | 7:20AM 1.64 | 7:42PM 1.65 | ||||||||
Low Tide / height (m) | 9:15PM 0.19 | 9:30AM 0.12 | 10:06PM 0.18 | 10:20AM 0.13 | 10:55PM 0.18 | 11:10AM 0.15 | 11:42PM 0.19 | 11:58AM 0.18 | 12:28AM 0.21 | 12:46PM 0.23 | 1:14AM 0.25 | 1:35PM 0.28 | 2:00AM 0.29 | ||||||||
Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sunday 24 | Monday 25 | Tuesday 26 | Wednesday 27 | |||||||||||||||
| Sunrise | 7:13 | - | - | 7:11 | - | - | 7:09 | - | - | 7:07 | - | - | 7:05 | - | - | 7:05 | - | - | 7:03 | - | - |
| Sunset | - | 5:49 | - | - | 5:50 | - | - | 5:51 | - | - | 5:52 | - | - | 5:52 | - | - | 5:53 | - | - | 5:54 | - |
 |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Rain (mm) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Temp. °C | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 12 |
| Feels °C (?) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
- Map Icons:
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Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for Canterbury
Recent on-shore wind 62 km from Motunau Beach has fallen light (light winds from the WSW at Christchurch International Airport). Waves cleaning up. 1.8m 7s swell from the SSE with a 0.5m 7s swell from the SE. 2 swells combining to make bigger set waves.
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Motunau Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Motunau Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Motunau Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Motunau Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Motunau Beach 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 (Motunau Beach) 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 Motunau Beach 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Canterbury? If you are looking for accommodation near Motunau Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Canterbury, consider staying in Christchurch which is 64 km (40 miles) away.
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