Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 6 pm Thursday 12 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
16.3° C
(Which is 1.0°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 12AM is: 1.9m 8s primary swell from a Northeast direction and 1.6m 7s secondary swell from a North direction (forecast issued at 06:00pm March 12). An open ocean swell of 1.1m 12s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (13 Mar)8ft (2.5m)7s
Afternoon (13 Mar)4.5ft (1.4m)8s
Evening (13 Mar)4.5ft (1.4m)9s

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


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent
Thursday
12
Friday
13
Saturday
14
Sunday
15
4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM4PM7PM10PM1AM4AM7AM10AM1PM
Rating
(10 max)
0
!
!
2
2
!
!
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
Swell
Height Map
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
2.5
NE
2.3
NE
2.5
NE
1.9
NE
1.8
NE
2.4
NNE
2.5
NNE
1.7
NE
1.4
NE
1.4
NE
1.4
ENE
1.3
ENE
1.2
ENE
1.2
ENE
1.2
ENE
1.1
ENE
1.1
ENE
1
ENE
0.9
ENE
1
ENE
0.9
ENE
0.9
ENE
0.9
ENE
0.9
ENE
Period(s) (?)777887788899999999999999
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)567466647392388555581328274288293286232237242188188154143151140113111111
Wind
(km/h)
20
NE
10
N
10
WNW
10
NW
10
N
5
WNW
5
NNW
5
NNW
5
WSW
15
S
20
SSW
25
SSW
20
SW
20
SW
15
SW
15
S
10
SE
10
ENE
15
NE
10
NNE
10
NNE
5
NNW
15
SSW
15
S
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
oncross-
on
cross-
off
crosscross-
on
cross-
off
crosscrossoffcross-
off
offoffoffoffoffcross-
off
crosscross-
on
ononcross-
on
glasscross-
off
cross-
off
High Tide
/ height (m)
12:38AM
1.82
1:03PM
1.74
1:29AM
1.82
1:53PM
1.74
2:20AM
1.83
Low Tide
/ height (m)
6:23PM
0.74
7:01AM
0.74
7:10PM
0.72
7:51AM
0.71
7:58PM
0.67
8:37AM
0.65
Thursday
12
Friday
13
Saturday
14
Sunday
15
Sunrise------7:18-------7:18-------7:20-
Sunset-7:52-------7:50-------7:49------
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
rain showers
cloud
light rain
light rain
cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
Rain (mm)
----------1-11----------
Temp. °C212119181919192021191614131314151414141414151616
Feels °C (?)17191716181919212218131091012131312121212141313
  • 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.


Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest