Surf Forecasts:
Waipaoa River surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 14s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 25 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 15s period, SSE swell with 1,646 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 20 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 8s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Waipaoa River this week:
The surf forecast for Waipaoa River over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 20) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 1.0m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Waipaoa River in the next 16 days are 1.9m 15s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 5s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 27) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Thu 20th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Mon 24th Aug) | 6ft (1.8m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Tue 25th Aug) | 6ft (1.9m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Waipaoa River over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks.
Right off the bat, things are looking pretty average. For a sandbar setup like Waipaoa River, we need the planets to align, and honestly, for the next week and a half, they’re not. There’s a bit of a gap to start with, but the first real surf that’s worth getting excited about is way off on Tuesday, the 1st of September.
The water temp is sitting at 55°, which is a bit colder than what’s normal for this time of year down here at Waipaoa River.
Let’s walk through it. Thursday the 20th has some waist-high, 7ft swell from the S, but the wind is a messy cross-off, and the combined energy is strong at 1242, but the quality just isn’t there. It’s marginal. Friday and Saturday are clean in the mornings with that light NW cross-off breeze and tiny waves around 2ft to 3ft from the SSE, but with such a long period of 16 seconds at that size, it’s barely breaking. The energy drops right off into the weak zone on Sunday and Monday.
We hit a quiet spell. From Sunday the 23rd right through to the end of the month, the swell is weak, the energy is low, and the scores are poor. Even with clean conditions, you’re looking at knee-high dribble. It’s a flat stretch of about a week with nothing worth paddling for.
Then, out of nowhere, the end of the forecast window swings open. Tuesday the 1st of September is the standout. This is the one to circle on the calendar. Solid 5ft to 5ft swell from the SSE, a very long period at 16 to 17 seconds, and light NNW cross-off winds. Combined energy is pumping at 1279, which is strong. This is a proper groundswell. The catch is that long-period SSE swell on a river mouth sandbar can be tricky—it might just wrap in a little too straight, and this spot is advanced-only anyway, so it’s definitely not for beginners. The morning and afternoon both look excellent for experienced surfers. Crowds are *sometimes* an issue here, so you might have company.
Wednesday the 2nd drops back a little, with chest-high 4ft swell and the same clean cross-off wind, but it’s not the same level of juice.
Overall, if you can wait, that Tuesday the 1st is your window. The rest of the run is a whole lot of nothing until then.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Sat afternoon, min 7°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Sun morning, min 8°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | S 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 16 | SSE 16 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 13 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 15 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | S 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 593 | 493 | 160 | 211 | 568 | 242 | 210 | 156 | 105 | 55 | 33 | 33 | 59 | 140 | 1646 | 595 | 283 | 133 | 72 | 67 | 132 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:39AM1.42m | 11:58PM1.38m | 12:27PM1.38m | 00:45AM1.33m | 1:15PM1.35m | 1:34AM1.29m | 2:04PM1.34m | 2:23AM1.27m | 2:54PM1.34m | 3:12AM1.26m | 3:43PM1.35m | 4:02AM1.27m | 4:31PM1.37m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:50PM0.29m | 6:10AM0.27m | 6:38PM0.34m | 6:57AM0.31m | 7:26PM0.37m | 7:44AM0.34m | 8:16PM0.40m | 8:33AM0.35m | 9:06PM0.40m | 9:22AM0.35m | 9:57PM0.38m | 10:11AM0.33m | 10:47PM0.35m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — |
 | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 12 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 14 |
Feels °C | 7 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | ESE 10 | SSE 16 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 13 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 15 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 14 | S 16 |
| kJ | 460 | 222 | 160 | 160 | 568 | 242 | 210 | 156 | 105 | 55 | 25 | 33 | 59 | 140 | 1646 | 595 | 283 | 133 | 54 | 67 | 132 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 14 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | SSE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | SSE 10 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 |
| kJ | 189 | 177 | 124 | 110 | 138 | 63 | 32 | 9 | 32 | 34 | 33 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 36 | 17 | 16 | 51 | 72 | 36 | 7 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 13 | SSE 17 | SSE 16 | — | SSE 16 | E 14 | E 14 | ESE 11 | SE 10 | — | NE 5 | S 18 | SSE 18 | — | NE 11 | NNE 5 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 |
| kJ | — | 98 | 58 | 211 | — | 98 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 4 | — | 1 | 6 | 30 | — | 5 | 2 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | S 8 | — | — | — | NNE 3 | NW 3 | — | — | — | NW 3 | WNW 2 | — | — | — | NNE 4 | — | — | WNW 2 | — | — |
| kJ | 593 | 493 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 50 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 Waipaoa River 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 Waipaoa River Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Waipaoa River provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Waipaoa River can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Waipaoa River 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 (Waipaoa River) 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 Waipaoa River 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 Gisborne and Mahia? If you are looking for accommodation near Waipaoa River, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Gisborne and Mahia, consider staying in Gisborne which is 7 km (4 miles) away.
Nearest