Surf Forecasts:
Te Araroa surf forecast from 18 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 10s period, SE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 10s period, SE swell with 1,070 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 10s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Te Araroa this week:
The surf forecast for Te Araroa over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.4m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Te Araroa in the next 16 days are 2.4m 10s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 9PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.5m 10s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 8ft (2.4m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 8ft (2.4m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 9PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 8ft (2.4m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Te Araroa over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s break it down in feet and miles per hour.
Honestly, mate, it’s a tough run for Te Araroa. The first real surf worth paddlin’ for doesn’t show up until Thursday, August 20th, so you’ve got a couple days of flat and poor conditions to sit through.
Thursday the 20th is where it finally lights up. Thursday afternoon is the clear standout early on—dead glassy conditions, a 5ft swell out of the SE, and moderate wave energy (397). The water temp is about normal for this time of year, just a touch warmer than average at 60°. That afternoon, the wind is glass, the waves are clean, and Te Araroa is a consistent spot, so it’ll hold that swell nicely. Friday morning the 21st keeps the glassy feel with 4ft SE swell, but energy is lower (248). By Friday afternoon, it gets a bit bumpy with cross-shore wind, and then it really fades.
From Saturday the 22nd through Wednesday the 26th, it’s mostly tiny, messy, or basically flat. You’re stuck with knee-high slop and cross-shore winds for nearly a week, with energy readings in the 30s and 40s. Not worth the hassle.
Then around Thursday the 27th of August, the swell starts climbing again, but the winds are all wrong—cross-shore and cross-onshore—so even though you see 6ft to 8ft NNW swells (energy up to 846), the quality is rubbish. Choppy and lumpy. That carries into the weekend, and on Sunday the 30th of August, a massive 10ft to 12ft NW swell rolls in (energy up to 1487), and we finally get offshore winds and clean conditions. That’s expert-only territory though—too big for anyone but the brave. The afternoon gets so clean it’s glassy, but it’s just way too heavy.
After that, it drops off quick into September with small, ordinary surf.
So, bottom line: Thursday the 20th afternoon is your best shot—glassy, clean, head-high and fun. After that, you’re waitin’ till the end of the month, and that’s only for the big-wave crew.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 14°C on Fri morning, min 6°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the S on Wed morning, calm by Fri morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Sun morning. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat morning, min 10°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WNW on Sat night, light winds from the W by Mon morning). | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | WNW 6 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 895 | 457 | 336 | 262 | 250 | 204 | 110 | 41 | 29 | 238 | 34 | 33 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 33 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | off | off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:03PM2.04m | 11:28AM1.97m | 11:46PM1.99m | 12:17PM1.92m | 00:29AM1.93m | 1:07PM1.88m | 1:13AM1.87m | 2:00PM1.85m | 2:02AM1.81m | 2:56PM1.84m | 2:58AM1.78m | 3:55PM1.84m | |||||||
Low Tide | 5:24AM0.43m | 5:39PM0.55m | 6:08AM0.50m | 6:27PM0.64m | 6:53AM0.57m | 7:20PM0.72m | 7:40AM0.65m | 8:17PM0.78m | 8:34AM0.71m | 9:14PM0.80m | 9:33AM0.72m | 10:06PM0.79m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | |  | | | |  | | |  |  | | | | | |
 | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
Feels °C | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 11 | W 5 | W 5 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 |
| kJ | 1081 | 8 | 5 | 895 | 457 | 336 | 262 | 250 | 204 | 110 | 41 | 45 | 40 | 22 | 33 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 33 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 10 | — | — | SSE 17 | N 10 | ESE 13 | W 3 | S 8 | S 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 12 | SE 9 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 9 | NE 11 | S 8 |
| kJ | 2 | — | — | 28 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 34 | 33 | 21 | 46 | 29 | 16 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | S 14 | N 10 | S 19 | SSE 18 | SSE 18 | SE 17 | NE 15 | E 14 | SE 9 | NE 13 | NE 13 | NE 12 | NE 12 | S 9 | SE 16 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 184 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 30 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 11 | SSW 10 | S 9 | — | WNW 3 | WNW 4 | W 4 | W 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | 4063 | 1924 | 1761 | 1029 | 680 | 419 | — | 1 | 16 | 12 | 42 | 94 | 238 | 359 | 515 | 383 | 161 | 161 | 64 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 6 | 243 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 91 | 67 | 18 | 0 | 121 | 18 |
Best forecast wave conditions in East Cape | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Te Araroa surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Te Araroa Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Te Araroa provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Te Araroa can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Te Araroa surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Te Araroa) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Te Araroa may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in East Cape? If you are looking for accommodation near Te Araroa, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in East Cape, consider staying in Gisborne which is 119 km (74 miles) away.
Nearest