Te Araroa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Looks like we’ve got a bit of a slow burner for the next couple of weeks, but there are some real gems tucked in there if you’re patient. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a nice little bonus to start.

Te Araroa has a solid run of clean surf kicking off this Saturday morning, July 11. The swell is 7ft from the SE with a 9-second period, and the wind is a clean offshore from the S. The wave energy is moderate (745). It’s a consistent spot, so you can expect good, punchy waves. Saturday afternoon the swell picks up to 8ft (energy jumps to 1434), still from the SE with the same offshore wind. This is getting into the territory where it’s more suited to experienced surfers, so keep that in mind.

Sunday morning, July 12, the swell drops to 5ft from the SE, wind is light offshore from the S – clean and fun. The energy dips to 334. Sunday afternoon, the wind swings to a cross-offshore from the SE, swell at 4ft, still clean. Good, easy waves for a range of abilities.

The best of the lot, though, is looking like Friday morning, July 17. The swell is 5ft from the ESE, but the period jumps to a very long 15 seconds. That’s proper groundswell. The wind is glassy from the SSW, and the energy is strong at 847. This is a standout – clean, powerful, and those long-period lines will wrap nicely around the point. It’s a consistent break, so the sets will be solid. The water is still a touch warmer than normal, so it’s all lining up.

The next day, Saturday morning, July 18, is also excellent – 6ft from the ESE, 14-second period, cross-offshore wind from the WSW, and energy at 1140. This is again for the more experienced crew, but the quality is there.

There’s a long gap of pretty ordinary conditions after that, with nothing really worth highlighting until the end of the second week. The swell gets huge from July 23 onwards, with waves over 12ft and up to 16ft, but the wind is cross or cross-on, and the energy is extreme (over 5000). It’s simply too big for this break, and the conditions look messy. Kite surfers might have a field day, but for paddle surfing, it’s a pass.

In summary, your best bets are Saturday July 11 for a solid session, and the absolute standout is Friday morning July 17 – glassy, groundswell, and clean. Saturday July 18 is also a cracker for the experienced lot. The second week is a write-off, but those first two days in the second week are worth waiting for.

Rusty.

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