Whangamata Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the surf ahead for our stretch of coast.

We’ve got a bit of a slow burn to start, but the back half of this outlook is where the real story is. The first few days are pretty average, but if you’re keen, there’s a little window of clean waves early on.

Thursday the 13th is a write-off. It’s bumpy, messy, and small. You’re better off doing anything else. Friday the 14th isn’t much better, with light rain and cross-shore winds chopping things up. It clears up on Saturday the 15th though, and that’s your first real chance. The morning sees some clouds and a light SSW cross-offshore breeze, with surf around 5ft from the E at 8 seconds. The afternoon is where it’s at – clear skies, light SW offshore wind, and clean 5ft ENE swell. The wave energy is moderate (305), and it’s going to be clean and rideable. For a beginner-friendly spot, this is a good day to get out.

Sunday the 16th starts with a bit of lumpy, ordinary surf, but the wind swings southerly and picks up hard in the afternoon, killing it off. By Monday the 17th, the swell has dropped to almost nothing, and we enter a flat spell.

And I mean flat. From Monday the 17th right through to Tuesday the 25th, it’s gutless. You’ve got some clean, glassy mornings with long-period energy, but there’s just no size – we’re talking less than 1ft. It’s a long, frustrating stretch of nothing. The energy levels in the water are negligible (3 to 27), so it’s not even worth paddling out unless you've got a longboard and zero expectations.

Finally, on Wednesday the 26th, things start to stir. The swell builds a little, but it’s still rough and messy. The energy gets going (151) but the period is short and the wind is cross-shore, so it's not pretty.

Then, hold onto your board. Thursday the 27th rolls in with a proper pulse. The swell jumps to 10ft early and keeps building to 12ft by the afternoon, coming from the NE with a period of 9 seconds. This is a lot of water. The energy is absolutely thumping – 1442 in the morning and 2065 by the afternoon. This is way too big and powerful for the Whangamata Beach (Coromandel) setup. That kind of size closes out a beach break and turns it into a washing machine. This is expert-only territory, and even then, it’s dicey. It’s a stand-out for raw power, but not for quality. Friday the 28th backs it down to a more manageable 5ft from the NE, but with a 20 km/h W cross-off, it might be a bit walled.

So, here’s the bottom line: your best window for clean, user-friendly surf is Saturday the 15th. And for sheer size and drama, you can’t ignore Thursday the 27th, but that’s for experienced heads only, and even then, it’s more about survival than style. The long-range stuff looks promising, but a week out, don't book your flights just yet.

Rusty out.

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