Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 6 pm Tuesday 17 Mar 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
15.6° 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 1AM is: 1.1m 5s primary swell from a Northeast direction (forecast issued at 06:00pm March 17). An open ocean swell of 0.7m 11s is not directed at the surf break, a second open ocean swell of 0.3m 14s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (18 Mar)3.5ft (1.0m)6s
Afternoon (18 Mar)2.5ft (0.7m)7s
Evening (18 Mar)2.5ft (0.7m)7s

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


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent
Tuesday
17
Wednesday
18
Thursday
19
Friday
20
4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
Swell
Height Map
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.4
ENE
0.6
NE
1.1
NE
1.1
NE
1.3
NNE
1
NE
1
NE
0.7
NNE
0.7
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.8
ENE
0.7
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.5
ENE
0.5
ENE
0.5
ENE
0.5
ENE
0.7
E
0.7
E
0.7
E
0.5
ENE
0.6
E
0.6
ENE
1.3
ENE
Period(s) (?)88455666777777666666671212
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)2245445587616929494956423726242322313231193394475
Wind
(km/h)
10
E
15
NE
20
NNE
10
NNW
5
NW
5
WNW
0
W
10
NNW
5
SE
20
SSW
20
SW
15
SW
5
SSW
0
S
5
E
10
E
15
E
15
NE
10
NNE
5
NNE
5
WSW
10
SW
15
SW
10
SSW
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
cross-
on
ononcross-
on
crosscross-
off
glasscrossglasscross-
off
offoffoffglasscross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on
ononglassoffoffoffoff
High Tide
/ height (m)
4:16PM
1.85
4:38AM
1.94
5:00PM
1.91
5:22AM
1.99
5:45PM
1.96
6:09AM
2.03
Low Tide
/ height (m)
10:28PM
0.51
10:52AM
0.48
11:15PM
0.45
11:40AM
0.44
12:02AM
0.40
12:29PM
0.41
Tuesday
17
Wednesday
18
Thursday
19
Friday
20
Sunrise------7:24-------7:24-------7:26-
Sunset-7:43-------7:42-------7:39------
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
cloud
cloud
light rain
Rain (mm)
-----------------------1
Temp. °C171616161717192121171514131315161616151514141514
Feels °C (?)161414151616181921141211121314141415141514131413
  • 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

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.


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