Waiwakaiho Surf Break

Waiwakaiho Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Lat Long: 39.04° S 174.11° E

Issued: 5 am 03 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Waiwakaiho sea temperature is
15.4° C

1.0°C warmer than normal for this time of year

Waiwakaiho surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Waiwakaiho surf forecast from 3 Jul 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 6PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 16s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 6 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 17s period, W swell with 5,800 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 5 Jul, 6PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 9s period with NW swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Waiwakaiho this week:

The surf forecast for Waiwakaiho over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 05) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 1.7m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 1.4m and 10s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Waiwakaiho in the next 16 days are 3.0m 17s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 06) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 7s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 04) at 9PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 6PM (Sun 5th Jul)5.5ft (1.7m) 9s
Best Surf 6PM (Mon 6th Jul)10ft (3.0m) 16s
Most Powerful 3PM (Mon 6th Jul)10ft (3.0m) 17s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Waiwakaiho over the next 16 days.


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent

Alright, Rusty here again, but I’m switching it up for the imperial folks. Waiwakaiho (sandbar) is the only spot we’re talking about. Water temp is about 60°, which feels a touch warmer than usual – about a degree and a half above normal for this time of year, nothing wild but you might feel it.

Friday morning, we’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the WSW with a long 13-second period. Wind is light and cross-offshore, so the surface is clean, but the wave energy is super weak (76) – hardly enough to push you along. It’s a slow start. Saturday morning picks up a little to 2ft from the west, but the wind swings cross-shore at 15 mph, making it choppy and messy. Saturday afternoon jumps to 5ft, but with a strong 25 mph cross-onshore, it’s blown out – not worth the drive.

Sunday the 5th sees the swell building to 7ft from the west, but the wind is onshore, and it’s rainy. The wave energy jumps to 1586, but the quality is poor. Sunday afternoon drops to 7ft with a lighter onshore breeze, but it’s still marginal. Monday the 6th brings a solid 10ft west swell with a 13-second period, but the wind is howling offshore at 31 mph – near gale force. That’s hard to paddle into and just dangerous for most. The energy is huge (3349), but it’s not a fun time for a surfer.

Now, Tuesday the 7th – this is the one. We’ve got a 8ft WSW swell with a 15-second period, and the wind swings to a light cross-offshore from the south at 6 mph in the morning. The energy is strong (2701). This is excellent for experienced surfers – clean, powerful, and the kind of day that gets the blood pumping. By afternoon, the wind drops to glassy at 3 mph from the south, with swell at 7ft and a 14-second period. That’s the standout of the whole forecast. Glassy conditions, solid groundswell, and the sandbar should hold. Might be too much for beginners, but for anyone who can handle it, this is it. Crowds are possible here sometimes, so keep that in mind.

Wednesday the 8th sees the swell drop to 6ft in the morning and 7ft in the afternoon, both from the WSW with 13 and 10-second periods. Wind is cross-offshore at 15-19 mph, so it stays clean, but the energy drops (958) and the quality is marginal – still worth a look. Thursday the 9th is similar, with 3ft to 4ft swells and a long 16-second period, clean but weaker energy (1355-1457). Not a standout, but if you’re itching to paddle, it’s there.

Friday the 10th – another beauty. Morning brings a 6ft WSW swell with an 18-second period and light offshore wind from the SSE. Clean, long-period groundswell, excellent for experienced surfers. Energy is solid (1645). By afternoon, it drops to 5ft with glassy conditions – very good surf. This is close to the Tuesday standout, just a bit smaller.

The weekend of the 12th and 13th offers consistent 3ft to 4ft WSW swells with 15-second periods, and offshore winds holding. Energy is moderate (500-800). Good surf, but not the size of the earlier days. Into the second week, Monday the 13th has 4ft swells with glassy afternoon conditions – nice but small. Tuesday the 14th drops off significantly to 2ft-3ft with cross-onshore wind, so not good. Wednesday the 15th is marginal at 2ft, Thursday the 16th sees a 3ft swell with a very long 17-second period but onshore wind – messy. Friday the 17th offers 5ft-5ft with fresh offshore winds, clean but energy is moderate (1261-911). Saturday the 18th rounds it out with 4ft-4ft and cross-offshore wind, clean but not firing.

Overall, the best days are Tuesday the 7th and Friday the 10th – those are your standouts. Tuesday has the size and glass, Friday has the long period and offshore flow. Don’t miss them. The rest of the window is a mix of clean small stuff and blown-out days, with a few gaps of poor surf around the 14th-16th. Keep watching the forecast, but if you can get out on those two days, you’ll be stoked.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Heavy rain (total 41mm), heaviest during Sun night. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat afternoon, min 8°C on Fri morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the NNE on Sat night, light winds from the WNW by Sun afternoon).

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Mon morning. Very mild (max 13°C on Mon afternoon, min 9°C on Mon night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ESE on Mon morning, calm by Tue afternoon).

Friday
3
Saturday
4
Sunday
5
Monday
6
Tuesday
7
Wednesday
8
Thursday
9
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
1
2
5
4
4
3
1
1
0
2
3
3
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
WSW
13
0.4
WSW
13
0.4
SW
14
0.7
W
12
1.5
W
11
3
NW
10
2
W
10
2.1
WNW
9
2
W
10
3
W
13
3
W
17
3
WSW
16
2.4
WSW
15
2.1
WSW
14
1.7
WSW
14
1.7
WSW
13
2
WSW
10
1.4
SW
11
1
WSW
16
1.2
WSW
16
1.5
SW
14
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
65
62
52
143
565
1915
755
686
873
2833
5800
3931
2627
1822
1127
958
842
455
493
671
915
Wind (km/h)
10
ENE
10
N
15
NE
20
NE
35
NNE
25
NNW
20
NW
10
NW
20
E
45
ESE
15
NNE
10
SE
10
S
5
S
10
S
30
SSE
30
SSE
40
SSE
30
SSE
20
S
15
SSE
Wind State
cross-off
cross-on
cross
cross
cross-on
on
on
on
cross-off
off
cross-on
off
cross-off
glassy
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
High Tide
11:45AM2.75m
00:06AM2.92m
12:23PM2.72m
00:43AM2.89m
1:03PM2.68m
1:22AM2.84m
1:46PM2.64m
2:05AM2.78m
2:34PM2.60m
2:54AM2.72m
3:31PM2.57m
3:52AM2.66m
4:35PM2.58m
Low Tide
5:54PM0.40m
6:22AM0.45m
6:32PM0.44m
7:02AM0.46m
7:13PM0.50m
7:44AM0.48m
7:57PM0.57m
8:30AM0.51m
8:48PM0.64m
9:23AM0.54m
9:46PM0.69m
10:22AM0.55m
10:51PM0.70m
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
mod rain
rain showers
heavy rain
thunderstorm
part cloud
light rain
rain showers
part cloud
rain showers
light rain
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:43
7:43
7:41
7:41
7:41
7:41
7:41
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:12
5:12
5:13
5:13
5:14
5:15
5:15
 mm
16
3
6
16
11
1
1
1
1
2
Temp °C
10
11
11
11
13
13
13
12
11
11
13
9
11
11
12
12
11
10
10
10
9
Feels °C
7
8
8
4
5
8
9
10
5
6
9
5
8
10
9
6
5
3
5
5
5
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
WSW
13
0.4
WSW
13
0.5
WNW
5
0.7
WNW
8
1.5
W
11
1.4
NNE
8
2
W
10
2.1
WNW
9
2
W
10
3
W
13
3
W
17
3
WSW
16
2.4
WSW
15
2.1
WSW
14
1.7
WSW
14
1.7
WSW
13
2
WSW
10
1.4
SW
11
1.2
WSW
12
1.2
WSW
16
1.5
SW
14
Energy kJ
65
62
14
75
565
214
755
686
873
2833
5800
3931
2627
1822
1127
958
842
455
371
671
915
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
SW
17
0.1
W
17
0.4
SW
14
0.7
W
12
0.2
WSW
17
0.4
WSW
20
1.6
NW
9
0.9
WSW
16
1.1
WSW
15
0.8
W
20
0.5
S
10
0.8
SSW
11
0.6
S
10
0.3
NNW
7
0.2
NNW
6
0.3
WSW
20
0.7
WSW
18
1
WSW
16
1
SW
11
1.1
WSW
19
Energy kJ
11
5
52
143
30
127
418
469
543
500
56
153
74
9
4
75
318
493
229
911
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
W
11
0.3
W
10
0.1
SW
13
0.1
W
22
0.3
WSW
16
0.8
WSW
18
0.6
W
11
0.1
W
23
0.3
SSW
9
0.3
SSW
8
0.1
W
24
0.4
WSW
22
0.6
WSW
20
Energy kJ
2
16
7
9
52
413
86
11
16
13
11
156
317
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
N
3
0.4
NNE
3
1.1
N
5
1.9
N
6
3
NW
10
1.3
NNE
5
0.3
SSE
3
0.4
SSE
3
0.8
SSW
8
1.3
SSW
10
1.1
SSW
10
0.3
SSW
8
Energy kJ
3
3
54
266
1915
91
2
3
92
335
240
13
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
2
4
3
8
5
4
4
3
2
4
2
4
5
4
Distance (km)
2
9
52
61
108
244
88
106
7
244
35
0
0
0
0
61
96
205
224
19
2
Best forecast wave conditions in Taranaki
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
3
4
8
9
4
4
3
4
4
5
5
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
2
3
4
4
4
4
5
8
9
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
9
5
9
5
5
6
5
9
7
5
8
9
8
6
8
9
6
9
5
5
9
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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Information about the Waiwakaiho Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Waiwakaiho provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Waiwakaiho can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Waiwakaiho 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 (Waiwakaiho) 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 Waiwakaiho 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 Taranaki? If you are looking for accommodation near Waiwakaiho, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Taranaki, consider staying in New Plymouth which is 4 km (2 miles) away.

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