Te Araroa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Te Araroa over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty grim. A real flat spell is on the cards. We’ve got a solid gap from now until around Tuesday, the 8th of September, where there’s just nothing worth paddling out for. The wind is messy, the swell is junk, and it’s just one of those periods where you’re better off cleaning the wax off your boards.

Things start to twitch a little on Tuesday the 8th. The morning is still a bit lumpy with a cross-shore wind, but into the afternoon, the wind swings around to a cross-offshore breeze from the west at 9 mph. That cleans things right up, and we get a 7ft swell from the NNW with a 9-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 766, and it’s the first time we see a score worth mentioning. It’s “marginal,” but it’s the best we’ve seen in a while.

Wednesday the 9th keeps the hope alive. A clean cross-offshore wind from the SSE at 9 mph, and a 5ft NW swell with an 8-second period. The energy is 241, and it’s the first time we get a “good surf conditions” comment. It’s not huge, but it’s rideable and clean.

Then we hit another patch of small, weak, and mostly wind-affected waves from the 10th to the 14th. It’s a long stretch of nothing special.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. On Tuesday the 15th of September, we get a proper offshore wind from the south, gusting to 22 mph. The swell is 5ft from the NW at 8 seconds, and the energy is 303. It’s offshore and clean, but it’s still rated as “poor surf conditions” – the wind is strong, making it a bit of a battle.

The real standout, the one you’ve been waiting for, is the following weekend. Friday the 18th of September morning, the wind is cross-offshore from the west at 16 mph, and we’ve got a 10ft swell from the NNW with an 8-second period. The combined energy is a massive 1133, and it’s clean. This is expert territory – over 8ft – so it’s for the big dogs only. The afternoon gets messy with a strong cross-shore and the swell jumping to 13ft and energy of 2547, making it a washing machine.

But the absolute best window of the whole outlook is Saturday the 19th of September. Morning brings a cross-offshore breeze from the WSW at 9 mph, with a 12ft NW swell (9-second period) and energy of 2467. It’s clean. The afternoon is even better: glassy conditions, with the wind dropping to nothing from the WSW at 3 mph, and a 13ft NW swell at 10 seconds. The energy is astronomical at 3385. The guide says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break, but for a confident, experienced surfer, this is a session you’ll remember. The direction is from the NW, matching the guide’s optimum swell direction for Te Araroa. This is a short window of pure, raw power and perfect conditions. Don’t miss it.

Rusty.

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