Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at the next 16 days for Tawharanui (New Zealand). I’ll be straight with you – it’s a quiet stretch. The forecast shows a long run of tiny surf and poor conditions, so there’s no real standout period to get excited about. We’re looking at a gap of over a week with very little on offer, so patience is the name of the game.

From Wednesday afternoon, 22 July, through to the end of the month, the swell is tiny. We’re talking ankle-snappers at best, with most days showing 0.7 ft to 1 ft from the north or northeast. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting between 4 and 65 – that’s barely enough to keep a log afloat. The water temp is 58°, which is about 0.9° cooler than average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

The best chance of anything remotely surfable comes on Sunday morning, 26 July. It’s only 1.0 ft from the east, with a period of 11 seconds, and the wind is glassy – dead calm. That’s as clean as it gets, but you’ll be fighting for scraps. The energy is still weak (45). It’s a beach and reef setup, so with that longer period, it might offer a couple of little peelers on the reef, but don’t expect much.

The rest of the period is a write-off. Strong offshore winds on 25 July (28 mph) make paddling into 3 ft of messy swell a nightmare. Then from 27 July onward, it’s consistent 1.0 ft to 1 ft from the east, but all with “poor surf conditions” stamped on them. The odd morning with clean conditions, like 28 July, still only gives you 1 ft – not worth the wetsuit struggle.

Into the first week of August, nothing changes. The swell stays tiny, 0.3 ft to 1.0 ft, all from the north or northeast, with clean but tiny surf. The combined energy barely cracks 45. There’s a glassy moment on the morning of 5 August, but with 0.7 ft from the north, it’s a flat spell.

Honestly, for a spot that’s exposed to the northeast, this is a blank run. The forecasts can shift, but right now, there’s nothing to recommend. If you’re desperate, the Sunday morning glass-off on 26 July is your only nod, but keep your expectations on the floor. For a beginner, the swell is too small to learn on, and the bigger days (like 24 July with 3 ft) are too choppy and messy. It’s not even worth it for the kite surfers – the wind is either too strong and offshore or too light.

Rusty.

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