Wharariki Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get stuck into this one. We’ve got a single spot that’s our focus for the next sixteen days: Wharariki Beach. It’s an exposed NW swell magnet, consistent, and best for the intermediate crew. Water temps are sitting at a pretty average 57° for the time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The run starts off on Thursday, August 13th. We’re looking at a solid 5 ft of WNW swell, with a 12-second period that gives it some grunt. Combined swell energy is in the moderate to strong range (822). The wind is a light cross-off from the SSE, which should keep the surface pretty clean. It’s a decent kick-off, but not the standout.

Friday the 14th sees the swell drop a bit to 3 ft, but holy moly, check out that 17-second period from the W. That is some proper long-period groundswell. Combined energy drops to 589, but the quality for a spot like this could be something special, especially with that early SE cross-off wind keeping it tidy. The afternoon gets a bit messy with a cross-shore wobble, so the early session is the call.

Now, here’s the real highlight of this outlook. Saturday, August 15th. The morning is firing. We’ve got a clean 6 ft of pure W swell, with a solid 16-second period and a southwest cross-off breeze. The combined energy reading is a chunky 1759, telling you there’s some serious juice in the water. This is the best on offer for the first week – excellent conditions for experienced surfers. The afternoon stays clean at 6 ft but it’s a tad less punchy.

The run holds fairly consistent through to Monday the 17th with 5 ft to 6 ft waves, though the quality dips a bit on the Sunday and Monday afternoons as the wind swings onshore or goes lumpy. Tuesday the 18th is small and clean in the morning (3 ft), but the afternoon gets torched by a 12 mph westerly cross-chop.

We get another beauty on Wednesday, August 19th. The morning is glassy, with the wind swinging to a light WSW. Swell is a clean 4 ft at 16 seconds (746 combined energy). That’s a magic morning for a paddle. The afternoon gets a bit of a cross-onshore ruffle, but the morning session is pure gold.

After that, the second week gets a bit trickier. Thursday 20th through Saturday 22nd sees the surf dropping smaller (3 ft - 4 ft) but we’re dealing with building wind. Friday and Saturday get absolutely hammered by strong to gale-force westerlies, making it a total write-off for surfing. The break gets blown to bits.

The outlook turns more interesting again for Tuesday, August 25th. While we’re still dealing with very strong wind (28 mph - 25 mph), the swell is rebuilding. The morning shows a steep 7 ft from the NNW at a short 10 seconds, and the afternoon is a 8 ft NW windswell. The winds are cross-off, which keeps the surface clean despite the strength, but the wave quality is “questionable” according to the forecast. This setup is big and raw. Likely too big and messy for anything but a specialist, and it’s more interesting for a kite session than a traditional paddle.

We finish the period on Thursday, August 27th with a proper pulse. The morning brings a 7 ft W swell at an 18-second period, yielding a whopping combined energy of 2847. That is strong energy. The wind is a moderate cross-off from the ESE, keeping it clean. This is the big daddy of the second week, but it’s 14 days out – so treat it as promising but not locked in. The swell is long-period and big, so Wharariki being an exposed spot should handle it well, though the period is so long (over 15 seconds) it might wall up a bit, but generally, it’ll be rewarding for the experienced crew.

Overall, the first ten days have genuine highlights. Saturday the 15th and Wednesday the 19th are the standouts. The second week gets messy with wind, but that big swell on the 27th is worth keeping an eye on. If you don’t see waves for a few days in the middle there, don’t panic – it’s just the wind shutting us down, not a dead flat ocean.

Stay salty.
Rusty.

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