Snow-ForecastSnow-ForecastMountain-ForecastMountain-ForecastTide-ForecastTide-ForecastWeather-ForecastWeather-Forecast
Search by country, region, or break
Search by country, region, or break

Quick Links

Surf Forecasts:

Whale Watch Reef surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 6 pm Saturday 17 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 1.9°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: 0.4m 9s primary swell from a East-northeast direction (forecast issued at 06:00pm January 17). An open ocean swell of 0.2m 12s is not directed at the surf break, a second open ocean swell of 1.9m 8s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (NZDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (18 Jan)1.5ft (0.4m)8s
Afternoon (18 Jan)1.5ft (0.4m)9s
Evening (18 Jan)1ft (0.3m)9s

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
Saturday
17
Sunday
18
Monday
19
Tuesday
20
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 (?)
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
ENE
0.4
NE
0.4
NE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.2
ENE
0.2
ENE
0.2
ENE
0.9
SE
0.9
SE
0.9
SE
0.2
ENE
0.3
ENE
0.5
E
0.5
E
0.5
E
0.5
E
Period(s) (?)779999898999888777996668
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)11101632312928191815151566600081520202034
Wind
(km/h)
25
S
20
S
15
SSW
20
SSW
20
SSW
20
SSW
20
SSW
15
S
15
S
15
S
10
S
5
SW
5
WNW
5
WNW
5
E
10
ESE
10
ESE
10
E
5
ENE
5
N
5
W
5
WNW
5
SSE
10
ESE
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		cross-
off		glassglassglassglasscross-
on		cross-
on		cross-
on		glassglassglassglassglasscross
High Tide
/ height (m)
4:43PM
1.80
5:07AM
1.91
5:26PM
1.80
5:49AM
1.91
6:08PM
1.80
6:30AM
1.91
Low Tide
/ height (m)
10:48PM
0.65
11:22AM
0.67
11:34PM
0.60
12:06PM
0.62
12:19AM
0.54
12:51PM
0.56
Saturday
17
Sunday
18
Monday
19
Tuesday
20
Sunrise-----6:09-------6:09-------6:11--
Sunset-9:00-------9:00-------9:00------
part cloud
rain showers
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
light rain
rain showers
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
Rain (mm)
-1-1111-----------------
Temp. °C141313131312131314131312111113151514121211111315
Feels °C (?)991099799101011119911131312111110101213
  • 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

The World’s Most Inconsistent Waves
Ben Mondy

The World’s Most Inconsistent Waves

Huntington, Dribbleton, Virginia, Holland and the Superbank! We recently had a look at the world’s most consistent waves. This was based on the combination of swells and wind directed at 7,000 surf spots, as compiled from our data since 2006. Those stats, represented in easy-to-read graphics, are located under each wave’s spot guides, with historical swell and wind breakdowns available by month, season, and year. There is also an offshore filter, which shows how often the swells come with clean

Read more

Read more

Discover more articles and updates in the Greenroom.

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

Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest