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Surf Forecasts:

Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 6 pm Friday 16 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
17.5° C
 (Which is 2.0°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 11PM is: 0.4m 7s primary swell from a East-northeast direction and 0.1m 10s secondary swell from a East direction (forecast issued at 06:00pm January 16). An open ocean swell of 2.1m 7s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be offshore.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (16 Jan)--
Afternoon (16 Jan)0.5ft (0.1m)10s
Evening (16 Jan)1.5ft (0.4m)7s

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
Friday
16
Saturday
17
Sunday
18
Monday
19
4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM4 PM7 PM10 PM1 AM4 AM7 AM10 AM1 PM
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.1
E
0.1
E
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
NE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
NE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.2
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.2
ENE
Period(s) (?)10107778887799998999997998
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)22162021232314111016323129282815151515515156
Wind
(km/h)
20
SSW
20
SSW
20
SW
20
WSW
25
WSW
25
WSW
25
SW
30
SSW
25
SSW
20
S
15
SSW
15
SSW
20
S
15
SSW
20
S
15
S
15
S
10
S
5
SSW
5
WNW
5
W
5
W
5
SE
10
ESE
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
offoffoffoffoffoffoffoffcross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		glassglasscross-
off		cross-
off		glasscross
High Tide
/ height (m)
3:59PM
1.79
4:23AM
1.90
4:43PM
1.80
5:07AM
1.91
5:26PM
1.80
5:49AM
1.91
Low Tide
/ height (m)
10:00PM
0.68
10:39AM
0.71
10:48PM
0.65
11:22AM
0.67
11:34PM
0.60
12:06PM
0.62
Friday
16
Saturday
17
Sunday
18
Monday
19
Sunrise-----6:07-------6:09-------6:09--
Sunset-9:01-------9:00-------9:00------
light rain
light rain
light rain
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
clear
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
cloud
rain showers
part cloud
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
Rain (mm)
331----1-----1----------
Temp. °C141413131312141414131313121213131313121211111315
Feels °C (?)11111098788991010889910111111991213
  • 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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