Snow-ForecastSnow-ForecastMountain-ForecastMountain-ForecastTide-ForecastTide-ForecastWeather-ForecastWeather-Forecast
Search by country, region, or break
Search by country, region, or break

Quick Links

Surf Forecasts:

Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 12 am Saturday 31 Jan 2026 NZDT
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
16.9° C
 (Which is 1.2°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 4AM is: 0.6m 10s primary swell from a East-northeast direction and 0.7m 5s secondary swell from a East-northeast direction (forecast issued at 12:00am January 31). An open ocean swell of 1.1m 12s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (31 Jan)2.5ft (0.7m)11s
Afternoon (31 Jan)2.5ft (0.7m)11s
Evening (31 Jan)2ft (0.6m)11s

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

Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent 
12 DaysHourly
Print Table
Saturday
31
Sunday
01
Monday
02
10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
!
2
Swell
Height Map
See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.6
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.7
NNE
0.6
ENE
0.5
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.8
ENE
1.1
NE
1.5
NE
1.7
NE
1.1
NE
1.6
NE
1.1
NE
1.2
NE
2.2
NNE
1.8
NE
Period(s) (?)11101010111111111171010101010456667888
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)8886868699101101997540715867671253910217280188106164587398
Wind
(km/h)
5
ENE
5
WSW
5
WSW
5
WNW
5
S
10
SSE
5
SE
5
SSE
10
SW
10
SW
10
SW
5
SSW
5
ESE
10
E
15
ENE
25
ENE
25
NE
10
N
10
NW
5
NW
0
ENE
5
ENE
5
E
5
S
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
glassoffglassglasscross-
off		cross-
off		crossglassoffoffoffglasscrosscross-
on		onononcross-
on		crosscrossglassonglassglass
High Tide
/ height (m)
3:32AM
2.13
4:02PM
2.01
4:26AM
2.14
4:55PM
2.03
5:20AM
2.14
5:46PM
2.03
Low Tide
/ height (m)
9:14PM
0.37
9:54AM
0.38
10:11PM
0.33
10:46AM
0.34
11:08PM
0.29
11:40AM
0.33
Saturday
31
Sunday
01
Monday
02
Sunrise---6:24-------6:26-------6:28----
Sunset-------8:50-------8:49-------8:47
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
cloud
Rain (mm)
------------------------
Temp. °C151515151719191917161515161718191717181822232423
Feels °C (?)151515151718191917151415161616151416171621222423
  • 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

Latest Updates

Save Up to 20% on SIXT Rental Cars Worldwide – Exclusive Surf-Forecast Deal
travel
Surf Forecast

Save Up to 20% on SIXT Rental Cars Worldwide – Exclusive Surf-Forecast Deal

Surf road trips just got even better. Surf-Forecast users can now save up to 20% on SIXT rental cars worldwide during the promotional period until March 31, 2026. Whether you’re planning a legendary California road trip, chasing waves along Europe’s coasts, or exploring remote surf destinations, this exclusive SIXT offer helps you travel smarter and cheaper. And if you want some inspiration on where to go, check out our article Five Iconic Surf Road Trips. Click and get your SIXT discount

The World’s Most Inconsistent Waves
Ben Mondy

The World’s Most Inconsistent Waves

Huntington, Dribbleton, Virginia, Holland and the Superbank! We recently had a look at the world’s most consistent waves. This was based on the combination of swells and wind directed at 7,000 surf spots, as compiled from our data since 2006. Those stats, represented in easy-to-read graphics, are located under each wave’s spot guides, with historical swell and wind breakdowns available by month, season, and year. There is also an offshore filter, which shows how often the swells come with clean

Read more

Read more

Discover more articles and updates in the Greenroom.

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.

View detailed surf forecast for Whale Watch Reef at:
surf-forecast.com

Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest