Te Awanga Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let's break down what's on the cards for Te Awanga.

First thing to say – it’s a bit of a mixed bag, and there’s no real standout in the near-term. The water’s sitting at 53°F, which is a good 3°F cooler than average for this time of year. That’s enough to make you feel it, so you’ll want a good thick wetsuit.

We’re starting with Thursday the 13th, and honestly, it’s a no-go. Cloudy, onshore wind from the NNE at 12 mph, and weak swell energy (191). The waves are a messy 4ft with a short period, so it’s just blown-out and poor. Friday the 14th isn’t any better – light rain, still onshore, and the swell stays small and weak. A write-off.

Saturday the 15th is where things start to look interesting. The morning’s still junky – 7ft of E swell but with cross-onshore wind and moderate energy (711). It’s not clean, but it’s building. Then Saturday afternoon, the wind swings light SSE at 6 mph, giving us a cross-off breeze, clean lines, and the swell drops a touch to 7ft from the E with a 9-second period. That’s proper surfable. The combined energy is still solid (625), and the break is a point, so it should handle the direction well. Best of the first few days, for sure. Crowds can be a thing here sometimes, so don’t expect total solitude.

Sunday the 16th goes nuts, but not in a good way for paddling. The morning is clean but with gale-force SSW wind at 28 mph and a 5ft swell – that’s just messy. Then Sunday afternoon, the swell jumps to a massive 13ft from the S, with energy through the roof (3053) – that’s a very powerful swell. Even with clean wind, this is a wave for the experts only, and at Te Awanga it looks more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day.

Monday the 17th stays big and clean, but again, it’s big. 8ft in the morning, 10ft in the afternoon, both from the SSE/S, with strong breeze cross-off. This is serious, experienced-only territory.

Now, here’s the standout window. Tuesday the 18th morning – that’s your session. Moderate offshore wind from the SW at 16 mph, 7ft of SE swell with an 11-second period (957 energy), and clean conditions. That’s a proper groundswell with good shape, and at a point break, it’ll be holding up nicely. The wind is off, the waves are solid but not stupid, and it’s the best balance of size and quality across the whole outlook.

Wednesday the 19th is back to huge and offshore, with 10ft from the S (energy up to 3420), but that’s really for the big-wave crew only.

Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st pull back to a more manageable 7ft and 5ft from the S, with very long periods (13 and 16 seconds) and light wind. That’s clean, lined-up groundswell. But those super long periods mean it might break a bit straight on a beach, but at a point it should be magic. Excellent for experienced surfers.

From Saturday the 22nd through Tuesday the 26th morning, the swell drops away consistently, with period dropping and energy fading. There’s a big gap of nothing much here – small, weak, and often onshore. Not worth paddling out.

Then on Wednesday the 26th afternoon, a new NE swell builds quickly to 10ft (1492 energy), but with cross-shore wind and a short 8-second period. That’s another one that’s too big and too messy for a good paddle session – probably more for the kiters again.

The rest of the outlook fizzles out – small, weak, and predominantly onshore.

So, the call is simple: if you can, get out Tuesday morning the 18th for the best clean 7ft offshores at Te Awanga. The second pick would be Thursday 20th and Friday 21st for that longer-period, clean groundswell. After that, it’s a long wait until very late in the month, and that’s more promise than certainty.

Rusty.

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