Rabbit Island Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Nelson – Tasman Bay, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Rabbit Island Surf Guide

Rabbit Island in Nelson - Tasman Bay is a reasonably exposed beach break that only works when conditions are just right with no particular seasonal pattern. The best wind direction is from the south southwest with some shelter here from southwest winds. Easily blown out by an onshore breeze Groundswells and windswells are equally likely and the ideal swell direction is from the north northwest. The beach breaks consists of lefts. Best around high tide. It very rarely gets crowded here.

Rabbit Island Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	inconsistent	16.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Rabbit Island:

The best conditions reported for surf at Rabbit Island occur when a North-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Rabbit Island with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 1% of the time in June while 6% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 93% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

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

too small

93%

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

Explore Rabbit Island Location Map

Interactive Rabbit Island 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 Rabbit Island is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 8 km (5 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Rabbit Island is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 67 km (42 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.

Rabbit Island Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 23:54 Local Time

m, °C	Mon	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	N		N	N
Period (s)	5	-	4	4
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	off	glass	off

What does Rabbit Island look like?

Latest photos from Rabbit Island. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Scott Bailey Credit: OR Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Rabbit Island

Current tide and informaton

For Mapua, New Zealand, 4 km from Rabbit Island.

Next High Water: 11:57am | 3.65m

Next Low Water: 05:22am | 1.07m

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

Rabbit Island Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.3 °C) at Rabbit Island is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (13.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.