Mount Maunganui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, with a look at what’s cookin’ for your local stretch.

Honestly, I gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are looking pretty ordinary for a proper paddle. For the first week, the swell is tiny and the wind is just all over the shop. We’re talkin’ a solid week of clean, but tiny, waves that are basically a non-event. Then around Monday the 7th, we get a bit of a pulse, but it’s a messy one.

Let’s talk about Mount Maunganui. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, fairly exposed to the swell, but it needs a clean swell from the NNE to really work. The whole first week, from the 3rd to the 9th, is a write-off. We’re seeing tiny waves from 0.7 ft to 2 ft, and even when it’s clean, there’s just no energy – the combined energy is in the teens and twenties. Friday the 4th sees a bit of a bump, but it’s a short-period, 5-second windswell from the NNW with a cross-onshore wind, so it’s just a choppy, messy mess.

The first real sign of life shows up on Monday morning, September 7th. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the NNW, but it’s a short 7-second period. The combined energy is up at 940, which is moderate-strong, but the wind is a cross-shore and the forecast says “marginal” at best. That’s a lot of water moving around for not much wave quality. It’s likely gonna be a big, bumpy, and difficult paddle for anyone. The afternoon drops to 5 ft, but still a cross-shore wind keeps it ugly.

After that, the rest of the window is a slow burn of tiny, clean waves, but nothing that’ll get your heart racing. The water temperature is sitting at 58°F, which is dead average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The one little glimmer, and I mean a tiny glimmer, is on Thursday morning, September 17th. We get a 2 ft swell from the N with a 7-second period, a light offshore wind, and it’s clean. The combined energy is 61 – weak, but it’s the best we’ll see. It’s surfable, but it’s very ordinary. The wind is light and from the west, so it’ll be a clean little wave, but you’ll be searching for any sort of push.

So, what’s the best of the lot? Honestly, there’s no standout. The only day that even gets a “surfable” call is the 17th morning. If you’re itching for a paddle, that’s your window. Don’t expect much, but you might get a clean little waist-high wave to yourself.

Rusty.

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