Wainakarua River Mouth Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Otago, New Zealand)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Wainakarua River Mouth Surf Guide

Wainakarua River Mouth in N Otago is an exposed beach reef and point break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds blow from the west. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the south southeast. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Even when there are waves, it's not likley to be crowded. Sharks have been reported here.

Wainakarua River Mouth Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach reef and point	3	fairly consistent	13.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Wainakarua River Mouth:

The best conditions reported for surf at Wainakarua River Mouth occur when a South-southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Wainakarua River Mouth (for consistent clean waves)?

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Wainakarua River Mouth with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 47% of the time in June while 30% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 23% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

47%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

30%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

23%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Wainakarua River Mouth Location Map

Interactive Wainakarua River Mouth surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Wainakarua River Mouth is Oamaru Airport (OAM) in New Zealand, 38 km (24 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Wainakarua River Mouth is Dunedin Airport (DUD), also in New Zealand, 89 km (55 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Wainakarua River Mouth Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 21:35 Local Time

m, °C	Tue	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	SSE
Period (s)	16	15	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

Tides at Wainakarua River Mouth

Current tide and informaton

For All Day Bay, 8 km from Wainakarua River Mouth.

Next High Water: 06:13am | 1.47m

Next Low Water: 12:16am | 0.48m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Wainakarua River Mouth Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.0 °C) at Wainakarua River Mouth is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (10.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.