- Forecast
- Maps
- Live
- Weather State
- Spot Information
Whale Watch Reef Surf Forecast
/ Kaikoura and Marlborough (12 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 11 am Saturday 30 May 2026 NZSTForecast 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
12.8° C
(Which is 1.1°C warmer than normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at Whale Watch Reef today (30 May):
- Morning surf: Morning surf (30 May, local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 4s period with NE swell.
- Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (30 May, local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 6s period with NE swell.
- Evening surf: Evening surf (30 May, local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 7s period with NNE swell.
The current surf forecast for Whale Watch Reef at 6PM is: 2.2m 7s primary swell from a North-northeast direction and 1.5m 6s secondary swell from a Northeast direction (forecast issued at 11:00am May 30). An open ocean swell of 1.0m 11s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore and the swell rating is 11.
| Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (30 May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) | 4s |
| Afternoon (30 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 6s |
| Evening (30 May) | 6ft (1.8m) | 7s |
Table - waves today at Whale Watch Reef. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Very mild (max 18°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sat 30 | Sunday 31 | Monday 1 | Tue 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
NE 4 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 6 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 7 | NE 9 | |
39 | 65 | 104 | 431 | 278 | 233 | 298 | 374 | 527 | 343 | 469 | 453 | 427 | 412 | 485 | 452 | 553 | 530 | 437 | 467 | 384 | 427 | 556 | 965 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | |
High Tide | 4:08PM1.94m | 4:29AM1.82m | 4:53PM1.93m | 5:12AM1.81m | 5:35PM1.91m | 5:54AM1.79m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 9:49AM0.65m | 10:28PM0.68m | 10:34AM0.67m | 11:10PM0.69m | 11:18AM0.68m | 11:51PM0.69m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | | | | | |  |  | | |
 | 7:41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 |
 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | — | — | 5:00 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Temp °C | 12 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
9 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NNE 6 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 9 | SSW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | S 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 |
 kJ | 726 | 628 | 520 | 181 | 136 | 94 | 113 | 150 | 189 | 74 | 47 | 29 | 34 | 69 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 9 | — | S 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 14 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | — | 265 | 205 | 126 | 181 | 135 | 128 | 31 | 35 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 12 | — | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | E 5 | — | — | — | — | SSW 12 | — | SSW 15 | S 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 3 | — | 74 | 75 | 71 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | 21 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 4 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 6 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NE 7 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 7 | NE 9 |
| kJ | 39 | 65 | 104 | 431 | 278 | 233 | 298 | 374 | 527 | 343 | 469 | 453 | 427 | 412 | 485 | 452 | 553 | 530 | 437 | 467 | 384 | 427 | 556 | 965 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 160 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 88 | 9 | 9 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Kaikoura and Marlborough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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