Riet River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s get into it. This is Riet River we’re talking about – a classic South African point break that's exposed to the south and loves a solid SSW swell. It’s an inconsistent wave, so when it fires, you gotta be on it. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

We’ve got a bit of a slow start, but don’t stress. Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th are just small and messy, not worth paddling out for. The real story kicks off on Sunday the 30th. The morning looks good – clean with an offshore wind, small but workable 3ft SSW swell with a period of 11 seconds. The energy is moderate (201). It's not a stand-out, but it’s a nice little window.

Monday the 31st is the first proper highlight. The morning session is the pick: a clean 5ft SSW swell (543 energy) with light offshore winds. That’s clean, groomed waves at Riet River. Wind stays light, and that offshore will keep the faces smooth. This is the one to aim for.

Now, hold onto your board for Wednesday the 2nd of September. The afternoon is a monster: 13ft of SSW groundswell rolling in with an 18-second period – that’s proper long-period energy ripping up from the deep south. The wave energy is massive (9278). This is expert territory, way too big for anyone but the experienced crew. That south exposure will make Riet River a freight train of a wave, but it’s also going to feel the full brunt of a strong breeze. It’s clean-ish, but that size and power will demand all your respect. The morning of that same day is also big (5ft) but blown out by 28 mph cross-off winds – not great.

The big swell hangs around through Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th, but the wind is an absolute mess – onshore, gale-force on Friday, just blown to pieces. Saturday the 5th is flat and not worth talking about.

Sunday the 6th sees a tiny, weak swell, and it’s not really surfable. The next real blip is Monday the 7th – a 4ft SW windswell with strong offshore wind (25 mph). The note says “strong offshore and clean but hard to paddle into” – and that’s exactly it. It’ll look perfect from the beach but you’ll be fighting to get out.

Then we get a gem on Tuesday the 8th of September. The morning is glassy – dead calm wind, 3ft of SSW groundswell with a 14-second period (334 energy). That’s clean, smoooth, and great for a longboard or a fish. Very chilled, very quiet.

Skip ahead to Thursday the 10th of September. This is another standout. Morning is glassy again – 7ft of SSW groundswell (1446 energy). That’s a solid size, with an 11-second period, and glassy conditions. This is for experienced surfers only – it’s a punchy wave at that size, but if you’ve got the skills, you’ll be having the session of the trip. After that, the swell fades out and the wind turns onshore again through Friday and into Saturday the 12th, which is basically flat.

So, the best two sessions? Lock in Monday the 31st of August morning for clean, fun, intermediate-friendly waves, and then Thursday the 10th of September morning for the glassy, powerful sets for the experienced crew. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or just too inconsistent.

Rusty.

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