Surf-Forecast | Whale Watch Reef Surf Guide

Lat Long: 42.40° S 173.68° E

Issued: 6 am 03 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Whale Watch Reef sea temperature is

13.3°C

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

Whale Watch Reef Surf Guide

Whale Watch Reef in Kaikoura and Marlborough is an exposed beach and reef break that only works when conditions are just right with no particular seasonal pattern. The best wind direction is from the southwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northeast. There is no beach break and there is also a right hand reef break. Best around low tide when the tide is falling. Relatively few surfers here, even on good days. Beware of rips, rocks and sharks.

Whale Watch Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	inconsistent	13.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Whale Watch Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Whale Watch Reef occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Whale Watch Reef (for consistent clean waves)?

aprilBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Whale Watch Reef with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 11% of the time in April while 15% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 74% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

11%

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

blown out

15%

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

too small

74%

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

Explore Whale Watch Reef Location Map

Interactive Whale Watch Reef 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 Whale Watch Reef is Woodbourne Airport (BHE) in New Zealand, 99 km (61 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Whale Watch Reef is Nelson Airport (NSN), also in New Zealand, 128 km (80 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.

Whale Watch Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 3 November 2026, 09:36 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 03
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	NE	NE	NE	NNE
Period (s)	6	5	6	7
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross	cross- off	glass

Tides at Whale Watch Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Kaikoura, New Zealand, 2 km from Whale Watch Reef.

Next High Water: 12:23pm | 2.0m

Next Low Water: 06:43pm | 0.43m

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

Whale Watch Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.3 °C) at Whale Watch Reef is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (19.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 13.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite