Surf Forecasts:
Waipaoa River surf forecast from 20 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 27 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 11s period, S swell with 3,036 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 21 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 16s 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 Tuesday (Jul 21) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 11s. 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 3.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 6AM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 6s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9AM (Tue 21st Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Mon 27th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 6AM (Tue 28th Jul) | 11ft (3.5m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Waipaoa River over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s ahead for the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a quiet start, but there’s some real quality if you can wait. The first real session is on Tuesday, July 21st, and the best of that early run is Tuesday morning. Waipaoa River is the only break in play – it’s an advanced sandbar wave.
Tuesday morning, July 21st, is a standout. There’s a clean 5ft swell from the SSE, with a long 16-second period – that’s proper groundswell. The wind is light offshore from the WNW at 3 mph, so it’ll be glassy clean. The combined energy is strong at 1379, and it’s excellent for experienced surfers. The water temp is about average for this time of year.
Tuesday afternoon, July 21st, drops to 5ft, still SSE, 15-second period, with glassy wind from the SE. Very good surf, but the morning has the edge.
Wednesday, July 22nd, sees the swell drop to 3ft Wednesday morning, with a cross-offshore WNW wind, clean but smaller. Wednesday afternoon is 3ft with a cross-on wind, marginal.
From Thursday, July 23rd, through the end of the week, it’s small. Thursday morning is 2ft, and by Saturday, July 25th, it’s down to 0.7ft. There’s a gap of several days with no real recommendations – just tiny, weak waves. The energy stays low, in the double digits or low hundreds.
Then things pick up. Sunday, July 26th, has a 3ft ESE swell in the afternoon, with a clean offshore wind from the W at 9 mph. The energy jumps to 622, and it’s very good. Monday, July 27th, is a proper standout. Monday morning has 6ft from the ESE, 13-second period, light offshore wind, and energy at 2205 – excellent for experienced surfers. Monday afternoon pushes to 6ft, still ESE, with a moderate offshore, and energy at 2819. That’s the pick of the first week.
Tuesday, July 28th, gets big. The morning shows 12ft from the S – too big for this break, only for experts. Energy is massive at 4914. The afternoon drops to 8ft, but it’s cross-shore and marginal.
The rest of the week into early August is a mix. Wednesday, July 29th, and Thursday, July 30th, have 6ft and 4ft ESE swells, clean winds, very good quality. Friday, July 31st, has 4ft in the morning, clean offshore. Saturday, August 1st, is small at 2ft. Sunday, August 2nd, has a glassy 4ft in the morning, and a glassy 4ft in the afternoon with a 14-second period – a nice end to the weekend.
Now, from Monday, August 3rd, it gets wild. The swell jumps to 16ft from the S and later SSW, with cross-on winds. The energy is massive – 15459 on Monday morning, 16464 on Monday afternoon. Too big for Waipaoa River, and messy. Tuesday, August 4th, is the same – 16ft to 18ft, choppy, only for the brave. Wednesday, August 5th, drops to 8ft from the SSE, but it’s cross-shore and marginal.
So, the standout session is Monday, July 27th, with the 6ft ESE swell and clean offshore winds. Tuesday morning, July 21st, is also a cracker. The long-range stuff from August 3rd is big but too much for this spot, and a bit uncertain.
Signing off, Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu afternoon, min 6°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 14mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri afternoon, min 6°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 18 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | ESE 11 | NE 6 | ESE 12 | SE 17 | SSW 8 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | S 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2503 | 1310 | 856 | 421 | 257 | 167 | 189 | 85 | 56 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 58 | 15 | 76 | 634 | 293 | 317 | 609 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:54PM1.55m | 11:25AM1.46m | 11:44PM1.48m | 12:16PM1.42m | 00:33AM1.41m | 1:06PM1.38m | 1:22AM1.35m | 1:54PM1.36m | 2:11AM1.31m | 2:43PM1.35m | 2:59AM1.29m | 3:31PM1.35m | |||||||
Low Tide | 5:13AM0.11m | 5:33PM0.20m | 6:01AM0.17m | 6:23PM0.27m | 6:49AM0.23m | 7:13PM0.32m | 7:35AM0.28m | 8:03PM0.36m | 8:22AM0.31m | 8:52PM0.38m | 9:10AM0.33m | 9:42PM0.39m | |||||||
 |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | |  |  |  | |
 | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:08 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 10 | 17 |
Temp °C | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
Feels °C | 7 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | -2 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 18 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 8 | E 12 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | ESE 13 | SSE 7 |
| kJ | 2503 | 1310 | 856 | 421 | 257 | 167 | 189 | 85 | 56 | 23 | 19 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 72 | 280 | 107 | 317 | 329 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | SSE 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 12 | SE 17 | ESE 16 | ESE 14 | SSE 8 | ESE 14 |
| kJ | 100 | 69 | 69 | 64 | 42 | 36 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 76 | 164 | 293 | 91 | 504 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | E 4 | — | — | E 4 | E 4 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | SE 9 | SE 18 | S 14 | E 11 | S 16 | S 15 | S 14 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 58 | 5 | 18 | 16 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ENE 4 | NE 4 | — | — | — | NE 6 | NW 2 | WSW 3 | SSW 8 | — | S 8 | S 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | 58 | 1 | 3 | 634 | — | 196 | 609 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 41 | 44 | 5 | 57 | 50 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 101 |
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