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Surf Forecasts:

Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 12 pm Monday 12 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
17.9° C
 (Which is 2.6°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 6PM is: 0.1m 10s primary swell from a Northeast direction and 0.1m 8s secondary swell from a Northeast direction (forecast issued at 12:00pm January 12). An open ocean swell of 2.2m 10s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be onshore.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (12 Jan)1.5ft (0.4m)6s
Afternoon (12 Jan)0.5ft (0.2m)13s
Evening (12 Jan)0.5ft (0.1m)8s

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
Monday
12
Tuesday
13
Wednesday
14
Thursday
15
10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.4
NNE
0.4
NNE
0.2
ENE
0.1
NE
0.1
E
0.7
NNE
0.9
NNE
0.8
NE
1.1
NNE
0.9
NNE
0.9
NE
1
NE
0.9
NNE
0.8
NNE
0.8
ENE
0.8
ENE
0.8
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.7
NE
0.8
NE
0.8
NE
1
NE
1.1
NE
Period(s) (?)671310133445556677777887445
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)1115184310312254403968695659616646515965163663
Wind
(km/h)
10
SE
15
SE
5
SE
10
NE
20
NE
20
NNE
15
NNE
5
W
10
S
10
SE
10
SE
10
SSW
15
SW
10
SW
10
SW
5
SW
10
S
5
ESE
15
ENE
20
ENE
10
NE
10
NE
20
NE
5
NE
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
crosscross-
off		glassonononcross-
on		cross-
off		cross-
off		crosscrosscross-
off		offoffoffoffcross-
off		crosscross-
on		ononononon
High Tide
/ height (m)
12:49PM
1.83
1:16AM
1.88
1:37PM
1.80
2:05AM
1.89
2:25PM
1.79
2:52AM
1.89
Low Tide
/ height (m)
7:04PM
0.63
7:38AM
0.74
7:48PM
0.68
8:29AM
0.75
8:30PM
0.70
Monday
12
Tuesday
13
Wednesday
14
Thursday
15
Sunrise-------6:03-------6:03-------6:05
Sunset---9:02-------9:02-------9:01----
part cloud
cloud
cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
cloud
Rain (mm)
------------------------
Temp. °C151313131313131316171818171717161716171716161515
Feels °C (?)1310121099101115151717151515151515151415151315
  • 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

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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

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