- Forecast
- Maps
- Live
- Weather State
- Spot Information
Whale Watch Reef Surf Forecast
/ Kaikoura and Marlborough (12 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 5 am Wednesday 20 May 2026 NZSTForecast 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 slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at Whale Watch Reef today?
The current surf forecast for Whale Watch Reef at 10AM is: 0.6m 5s primary swell from a Northeast direction (forecast issued at 05:00am May 20). An open ocean swell of 0.3m 9s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy.
| Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (20 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 5s |
| Afternoon (20 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 6s |
| Evening (20 May) | 3.5ft (1.1m) | 7s |
Table - waves today at Whale Watch Reef. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu afternoon, min 10°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (calm on Wed afternoon, fresh winds from the SSW by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Sat 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 3 PM | 6 PM | 9 PM | 12 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
NNE 5 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NNE 6 | NE 6 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | NNE 5 | NE 4 | NE 6 | NE 4 | NE 4 | NE 5 | NE 4 | |
31 | 20 | 22 | 51 | 46 | 180 | 103 | 76 | 67 | 86 | 83 | 261 | 328 | 225 | 60 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 16 | 51 | 41 | 32 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-off | off | off | glassy | on | on | on | on | glassy | cross-off | |
High Tide | 7:23AM2.09m | 7:47PM2.25m | 8:21AM2.08m | 8:44PM2.18m | 9:17AM2.05m | 9:41PM2.09m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:13AM0.34m | 1:30PM0.31m | 2:10AM0.34m | 2:27PM0.32m | 3:06AM0.36m | 3:24PM0.35m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 |
 | — | — | — | — | 5:08 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:06 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 11 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
9 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NNE 6 | NE 6 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | SSW 9 | SSW 9 | SSW 9 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 |
 kJ | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 46 | 88 | 103 | 76 | 67 | 86 | 83 | 102 | 138 | 102 | 60 | 30 | 40 | 32 | 13 | 99 | 129 | 80 | 298 | 356 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | E 5 | ENE 9 | S 8 | S 8 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | S 13 | S 13 | S 10 | S 12 | S 11 | E 12 | S 10 | NNE 6 | S 10 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SE 11 | NE 4 |
| kJ | 19 | 17 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 54 | 127 | 5 | 21 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | E 14 | SE 13 | S 11 | SE 13 | E 13 | E 13 | E 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | S 18 | S 16 | S 10 | NNE 5 | S 9 | S 16 | SE 4 | SE 5 | — | NE 9 |
| kJ | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 5 | — | — | NNE 6 | — | NNE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | SSW 4 | S 5 | — | — | NE 4 | NE 6 | NE 4 | NE 4 | NE 5 | NE 4 |
| kJ | 31 | — | — | 51 | — | 180 | — | — | — | — | — | 261 | 328 | 225 | 17 | 45 | — | — | 1 | 14 | 16 | 51 | 41 | 32 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 158 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 175 | 0 | 12 | 131 | 131 | 0 | 11 | 131 | 61 | 11 | 11 | 131 | 25 | 139 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Kaikoura and Marlborough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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