Oreti Beach Surf Guide

Oreti Beach in Southland is an exposed beach break that does not work very often with no particular seasonal pattern. Offshore winds are from the southeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the west. Waves at the beach are both lefts and rights. Best around mid tide. Rarely crowded here. Watch out for sharks/rips.

Oreti Beach Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach2inconsistent
13.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Oreti Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Oreti Beach occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.

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

februaryBest Season: summer
The best time of year for surfing Oreti Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer  and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 32% of the time in February while 67% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 1% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.
clean
32%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
67%
Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).
too small
1%
Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Oreti Beach Location Map

Interactive Oreti Beach 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 Oreti Beach is Invercargill Airport (IVC) in New Zealand, 7 km (4 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Oreti Beach is Manapouri Airport (TEU), also in New Zealand, 110 km (68 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)
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Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.
Oreti Beach Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 14:07 Local Time
Thursday 07Fri
3PM6PM9PM0AM
Wave (m)
0.2
WSW
0.3
WSW
0.3
WSW
0.2
WSW
Period (s) 14 14 14 14
Wind (km/h)
10
20
10
0
Wind State cross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on
glass

Swell History at Oreti Beach

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

Wind History at Oreti Beach

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


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