Te Araroa Surf Break

Lat Long: 37.63° S 178.38° E

Te Araroa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 11 am 20 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Te Araroa sea temperature is
15.2° C
0.5° 

Te Araroa surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Te Araroa surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 20 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period, SE swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 20 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period, SE swell with 336 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 20 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s 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 Thursday (Aug 20) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.5m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Te Araroa in the next 16 days are 1.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 20) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 23) at 6PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 6PM (Thu 20th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 9s
Best Surf 6PM (Thu 20th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 9s
Most Powerful 6PM (Thu 20th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 9s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Te Araroa over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what the next few weeks are serving up for us at Te Araroa. This is a consistent spot, a beach and point setup, and right from the get-go we've got a small window of clean surf to start the period.

We kick off on Thursday the 20th of August with a solid start. Thursday morning is showing clean, 5ft surf from the SE with a light offshore breeze. By the afternoon, it goes glassy – dead flat calm – with the swell dropping a touch to 5ft. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined energy is moderate (384), but with those light winds, it's going to be a nice, tidy wave.

Friday the 21st sees the swell back off to 3ft. The morning is glassy again, but it's a bit ordinary. The afternoon gets a cross-shore wind that messes with the shape. Not the best, but you could scratch a few.

Then we hit a long, dry spell. From Saturday the 22nd of August all the way through to Tuesday the 2nd of September, the surf quality just tanks. There's a whole lot of nothing worth paddling out for – messy winds, tiny waves, and a few days of weak, choppy junk. The combined energy drops to pitiful numbers, often below 100. You’re looking at over a week of poor surf conditions. It’s a real bummer.

But hold onto your leash, because things get seriously interesting at the end of the outlook. On Thursday the 3rd of September, the swell machine wakes up. Morning brings a massive 12ft groundswell from the NW with a 9-second period and a light offshore. The combined energy is absolutely pumping at 1903. Let me be clear: 12ft is too big for most, and the file says it's predicted to be too big for this break. This is expert territory only at Te Araroa. In the afternoon, it backs off to a still-heavy 8ft, with a clean offshore wind (gentle breeze) and excellent conditions. That afternoon session is the standout of the entire 16-day run for the big-wave crew.

Friday the 4th of September looks like a good follow-up. The morning has 4ft clean surf from the NW with glassy conditions. The swell energy is still respectable at 311. It’ll be a much more manageable size for the average surfer after the previous day's bomb.

So to sum it up: get on it this Thursday and Friday if you can, because after that, the surf goes dead for over a week. The real prize is hiding way out in the forecast, on Thursday the 3rd of September afternoon and Friday the 4th, but that big day is one for the experienced surfers only.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Sat afternoon, min 9°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun afternoon, min 9°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WNW on Sun morning, light winds from the ENE by Mon afternoon).

Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.6
SE
9
1.5
SE
9
1.1
SE
9
1
SE
9
1
SE
10
0.7
SE
10
0.5
SE
9
0.4
SE
9
1.7
WNW
6
0.3
ESE
13
0.3
ESE
13
1.5
NNW
8
0.3
ESE
13
0.2
ESE
13
0.6
NW
6
0.8
WNW
4
1.3
WNW
5
0.3
SE
14
0.3
SE
13
0.3
SE
13
1.1
WNW
5
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
384
336
206
145
212
96
41
20
181
34
34
260
33
17
27
19
74
29
28
28
61
Wind (km/h)
10
SSW
5
SSW
5
SW
5
S
5
NW
15
W
25
W
20
W
25
WNW
30
WNW
35
NW
20
W
10
WSW
10
ESE
15
NNW
20
WNW
20
WNW
20
WNW
20
W
25
WNW
15
W
Wind State
off
glassy
glassy
glassy
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross
cross-off
High Tide
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
3:55AM1.79m
4:50PM1.86m
4:49AM1.83m
5:37PM1.90m
Low Tide
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
10:28AM0.70m
10:56PM0.75m
11:17AM0.64m
11:43PM0.69m
clear
part cloud
clear
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
light rain
rain showers
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:45
6:43
6:41
6:41
6:39
6:37
6:37
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:35
5:35
5:36
5:37
5:37
5:38
5:39
 mm
2
3
Temp °C
13
13
11
12
12
11
13
14
13
13
14
14
14
13
11
13
14
11
14
14
13
Feels °C
10
11
10
11
10
9
7
9
9
7
8
8
11
9
9
8
9
7
9
9
10
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Te Araroa:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest