Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 11 am Saturday 16 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
13.2° 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 6PM is: 0.4m 11s primary swell from a East-northeast direction (forecast issued at 11:00am May 16). An open ocean swell of 1.2m 11s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy.

Time (NZST) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (16 May)1.5ft (0.4m)11s
Afternoon (16 May)1.5ft (0.4m)11s
Evening (16 May)1.5ft (0.4m)11s

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 12°C on Mon afternoon, min 7°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Sat
16
Sunday
17
Monday
18
Tue
19
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
3 AM
6 AM
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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)
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
9
0.3
ENE
9
0.5
NE
4
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
39
42
42
41
40
40
39
39
38
37
36
35
34
34
33
33
33
32
31
18
18
17
17
8
Wind (km/h)
0
S
5
SE
5
SE
5
ESE
5
ENE
5
NNE
5
N
5
N
10
N
10
ENE
15
ENE
15
NE
10
NE
10
NNE
10
NNE
10
NNE
10
NNE
15
ENE
15
ENE
10
NE
5
N
5
W
5
W
5
WNW
glassy
cross
cross
glassy
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
on
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
on
on
on
on
glassy
glassy
glassy
glassy
High Tide
3:55PM2.15m
4:24AM2.07m
4:53PM2.22m
5:23AM2.09m
5:52PM2.27m
Low Tide
9:40AM0.40m
10:17PM0.42m
10:37AM0.37m
11:14PM0.38m
11:35AM0.34m
00:14AM0.35m
cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:28
7:30
7:31
7:31
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:12
5:10
5:10
5:09
Temp °C
8
9
9
9
8
8
7
7
8
10
11
9
9
9
8
8
9
11
12
10
10
10
10
10
7
7
7
8
6
6
5
5
5
7
8
6
6
6
5
5
6
8
9
8
9
8
8
8
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.4
S
11
1.3
S
11
1.2
S
11
1.2
S
11
1.2
S
11
1.1
S
10
1.1
S
10
1
S
10
1
S
10
1
S
10
1
S
10
0.9
S
9
0.9
S
9
0.8
S
9
0.8
SSE
9
0.8
SSE
8
0.8
SSE
8
0.6
SSE
8
0.6
SSE
9
0.7
S
10
0.7
S
10
0.7
S
10
0.6
S
9
0.6
S
9
Energy kJ
476
403
342
329
317
257
247
196
192
190
186
136
127
101
103
96
78
55
58
96
92
88
61
59
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
11
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.4
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
10
0.3
ENE
9
0.4
ENE
4
0.4
ENE
4
Energy kJ
39
42
42
41
40
40
39
39
38
37
36
35
34
34
33
33
33
32
31
18
18
17
6
6
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.1
S
22
0.1
S
21
0.1
S
20
0.1
S
19
0.1
S
20
0.2
S
18
0.2
S
18
0.4
SSW
16
0.4
SSW
16
0.4
SSW
16
0.4
SSW
16
0.4
SSW
16
0.4
SSW
16
0.3
SSW
15
0.3
SSW
14
0.2
SSW
14
0.3
SSW
13
0.3
SSW
13
0.3
SSW
11
0.2
SSW
12
0.2
SSW
12
0.1
S
16
0.3
ENE
9
0.2
ENE
9
Energy kJ
9
9
8
7
7
24
25
82
83
84
85
83
81
42
40
19
34
33
25
15
15
5
17
8
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.3
ENE
2
0.2
NNE
2
0.3
NE
2
0.4
NE
3
0.5
NE
3
0.4
NE
3
0.5
NE
3
0.5
NE
4
Energy kJ
1
1
1
2
5
4
6
7
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Distance (km)
9
35
35
0
0
9
9
9
9
25
25
25
25
15
9
9
25
25
25
25
9
9
9
9
Best forecast wave conditions in Kaikoura and Marlborough
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
5
5
5
5
4
5
6
6
5
4
5
4
7
9
9
4
4
4
4
5
4
4
4
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