Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 5 pm Saturday 23 May 2026 NZST
Forecast update in hr  min  s Forecast update imminent
Whale Watch Reef surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Whale Watch Reef sea temperature is
13.1° C
(Which is 1.0°C warmer than normal for this time of year)

How big are the waves at Whale Watch Reef today?

The current surf forecast for Whale Watch Reef at 1AM is: 0.4m 11s primary swell from a Northeast direction (forecast issued at 05:00pm May 23). An open ocean swell of 1.3m 15s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be onshore.

Time (NZST) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (24 May)1.5ft (0.4m)10s
Afternoon (24 May)1.5ft (0.4m)10s
Evening (24 May)2ft (0.6m)9s

Table - waves today at Whale Watch Reef. (Swell directed towards the surf break)


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat afternoon, min 10°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Sat
23
Sunday
24
Monday
25
Tue
26
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
Swell
Height Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
NE
12
0.3
NE
12
0.3
NE
12
0.4
NE
11
0.4
NE
11
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
11
0.6
NE
9
0.6
ENE
11
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.7
NE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
6
22
21
31
29
27
25
24
23
33
64
79
73
72
71
72
71
69
102
57
56
56
56
56
Wind (km/h)
10
NE
10
NE
10
NE
5
NE
10
ENE
10
NNE
5
NE
10
ENE
15
ENE
15
NE
15
NE
15
NNE
10
NNE
5
N
5
WSW
5
S
5
S
5
WNW
5
WNW
5
WSW
10
SW
10
WSW
5
SW
20
SSW
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
glassy
glassy
glassy
glassy
glassy
cross-off
off
cross-off
off
cross-off
High Tide
10:39PM2.01m
11:03AM1.95m
11:33PM1.95m
11:56AM1.90m
00:25AM1.90m
Low Tide
4:20PM0.39m
4:57AM0.44m
5:15PM0.45m
5:52AM0.48m
6:10PM0.52m
6:43AM0.51m
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
cloud
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:37
7:37
7:39
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:06
5:06
5:05
5:04
Temp °C
15
14
12
11
11
10
11
12
11
10
10
10
11
10
11
13
13
12
13
12
12
12
13
12
12
11
9
9
9
8
9
10
8
7
7
7
9
8
10
12
12
11
12
10
9
9
10
8
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.9
S
11
0.8
S
11
1
S
13
1.2
SSW
15
1.4
SSW
15
1.5
S
14
1.4
SSW
14
1.3
SSW
14
1.3
S
14
1.4
S
15
1.5
S
15
1.5
S
15
1.6
S
15
1.6
S
14
1.6
S
14
1.7
S
14
1.6
S
13
1.6
S
13
1.5
S
13
1.5
S
12
1.4
S
12
1.4
S
12
1.4
S
12
1.3
S
12
Energy kJ
188
143
366
666
857
925
765
665
703
882
1065
1010
1087
1042
1014
1063
888
865
737
692
575
563
547
464
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
NE
12
0.5
S
13
0.3
NE
12
0.4
NE
11
0.4
NE
11
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
10
0.4
NE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.6
ENE
11
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.6
ENE
10
0.7
NE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
0.5
ENE
10
Energy kJ
6
92
21
31
29
27
25
24
23
33
48
79
73
72
71
72
71
69
102
57
56
56
56
56
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
NE
5
0.3
NE
12
0.3
SE
4
0.1
SE
11
0.1
NE
13
0.2
ENE
13
0.2
ENE
12
0.2
ENE
12
0.4
NE
9
0.4
NE
9
0.5
NE
4
0.4
ENE
4
0.4
NE
4
0.5
NNE
5
0.4
NE
5
0.4
NE
5
0.2
NNE
4
0.1
NE
4
Energy kJ
1
22
2
5
7
17
14
14
21
20
8
7
6
13
6
5
2
1
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
NE
3
0.6
NE
9
0.8
NE
4
0.8
NE
4
0.7
NE
4
0.5
NE
4
0.4
SW
2
0.5
SW
3
0.4
SSW
3
Energy kJ
2
64
17
18
15
8
2
5
4
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Distance (km)
25
25
25
15
19
19
9
25
25
25
25
25
9
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
145
Best forecast wave conditions in Kaikoura and Marlborough
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand
Rating
(10 max)
4
6
7
8
7
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
3
4
4
4
4
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
5
6
7
8
7
8
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
4
4
5
5
4
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder

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 Whale Watch Reef 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.


Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest