Te Araroa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and we're looking at Te Araroa.

First off, the water's sitting at 62°, which is a touch warmer than what you'd normally expect for this time of year. Not a huge deal, but nice.

This stretch starts out a bit slow, but there's a real gem coming our way. On Sunday the 17th, Friday morning is the standout. We've got a solid 5ft groundswell rolling in from the ESE with a very long 15-second period. The energy is pumping, clocking in at 1117 (moderate wave energy). What really seals the deal is the glassy conditions with a light southerly breeze. It's clean, it's got punch, and it's going to be excellent for experienced surfers. The swell direction from the ESE lines up nicely with the optimum from the NE, making for some proper, well-shaped waves.

Leading up to that, Thursday the 16th will be a bit of a teaser. Morning has a small 2ft ESE swell with a very long 14-second period, building to 3ft with an 18-second period in the afternoon. The energy jumps to 495 (moderate wave energy) in the afternoon, and it's clean with a light cross-offshore breeze. It’s surfable and clean, but nothing compared to Friday.

Saturday the 18th morning keeps the quality high with a 6ft ESE swell, still a long 14-second period, and a solid 1142 energy (strong wave energy). The wind is offshore from the SSW, so it’ll be clean and powerful. Definitely another good session, but the Friday morning is the pick.

Now, after that, things get a bit messy. Sunday the 19th through Tuesday the 22nd see the wind turning onshore or cross-onshore, and the waves get smaller and choppy. There’s a couple of clean moments on Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st, but the swell is small and the conditions are ordinary.

Then, from Wednesday the 22nd through Friday the 24th, we get a massive pulse of swell, but it’s too much of a good thing. We're looking at 18ft to 20ft swells with energy readings over 9000 (very strong wave energy). That's way too big for Te Araroa. Even though the wind is favorable, the forecast says it's too big for the break. This is expert-only territory, and honestly, at that size and with the wind, it might be more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

The last few days of the outlook, from Saturday the 25th onwards, the swell drops back down but the wind stays messy and the conditions are marginal at best. There's a bit of a swell on the 25th, but the wind is cross-shore and choppy, so not worth getting too excited about.

So, to wrap it up: the clear winner is the Sunday the 17th, Friday morning. Get on it. The Saturday morning is a solid second. The rest is a mix of small stuff, onshore slop, or waves that are just plain too big.

Rusty, signing off.

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