Whangara Surf Break

Lat Long: 38.58° S 178.21° E

Whangara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 11 am 21 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Whangara sea temperature is
13.7° C
0.8° 

Whangara surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Whangara surf forecast from 21 Jul 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 13s period, S swell with offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 27 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, SSE swell with 3,748 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 21 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 11s period with ESE swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Whangara this week:

The surf forecast for Whangara over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 11s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Whangara in the next 16 days are 3.5m 13s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 27) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.5m 10s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 9PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 9PM (Tue 21st Jul)2ft (0.6m) 11s
Best Surf 6AM (Wed 22nd Jul)4.5ft (1.4m) 13s
Most Powerful 3PM (Mon 27th Jul)11ft (3.5m) 13s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Whangara over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Right folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for us.

Alright, the next 16 days are a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s some real magic hiding in there if you’re patient. We’ve got a proper run of clean, solid groundswell locking in, but we have to get through a bit of dross first.

Whangara is our only spot on the radar, a beach and reef setup that’s fairly exposed to the swell. We’re starting off with a bit of a whimper. Tuesday the 21st is a write-off with small, ordinary 2ft swell from the SE and a cross-off breeze. Not worth getting wet for. Wednesday the 22nd morning is where it starts to get interesting – a clean 4ft southerly swell showing up, with a light offshore wind from the WNW. That’s a solid improvement, and the energy is picking up (554). The water is sitting at 57°, which is about 1° cooler than usual for this time of year, so not a major anomaly, just a bit fresh.

Thursday and Friday are small again, with the swell dropping right away. The real action is building towards the weekend. Saturday the 25th morning has a clean 3ft easterly swell with a moderate offshore from the WNW, worth a look. But Sunday the 26th is a standout. The morning glass-off with a light NNW breeze is a beautiful thing, and that 3ft ESE swell has a long period of 14 seconds (590 energy). The afternoon is even better – glassy conditions, 4ft ESE swell, a period of 13 seconds, and the energy is pumping up to 965. That’s a proper window of clean, long-period groundswell. This is the pick of the first week.

Monday the 27th is a total blowout. A strong cross-onshore wind from the SSW and a big, messy 6ft to 12ft swell (6823 energy) – that’s for the experts only, and even then the wind will make it ugly. Tuesday the 28th is still big at 8ft but cross-off wind, so it’s a bit cleaner. Still, that’s big for most.

Now, the second week really delivers. Wednesday the 29th morning is a gem: 6ft ESE swell, 13-second period, and a light offshore from the W. Clean, punchy, and the energy is a strong 1209. Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st both have consistent 6ft to 5ft SE swell with offshore winds, giving us clean, solid surf for days. The best of the bunch is Thursday the 30th morning with a cross-off breeze and 949 energy, but Friday the 31st morning is also a top contender with a moderate offshore and 1197 energy.

The absolute standout of the whole forecast is Tuesday the 4th of August. It’s a future date, but it looks incredible. We’ve got a 8ft SE swell, a 12-second period, a light cross-off breeze, and the energy is huge at 1625. That’s a big, powerful groundswell and it’s clean. That’s for experienced surfers only, but it’s a dream run. Wednesday the 5th of August morning is chopped by heavy rain and strong wind, but the afternoon cleans up beautifully with a 8ft SE swell, a 10-second period, and a gentle offshore from the NNW. That’s another 2459 energy event – another big one for the experienced crew.

Remember, with that long period (12-14 seconds), these swells are groundswells. They’ll have more energy and better shape, but the sets will be spaced out. At a beach and reef setup like Whangara, that’s a good thing – it’ll make paddling out easier between sets.

Rusty out.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 13°C on Thu afternoon, min 8°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Heavy rain (total 25mm), heaviest during Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri morning, min 6°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun afternoon, strong winds from the SSW by Sun night).

Tuesday
21
Wednesday
22
Thursday
23
Friday
24
Saturday
25
Sunday
26
Monday
27
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
1
0
1
2
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
2
3
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.7
SE
11
0.7
ESE
11
0.6
ESE
11
1.3
S
12
1.2
S
12
0.7
SSE
11
0.5
S
9
0.5
S
12
0.4
SSE
11
0.5
ENE
6
0.7
ENE
9
0.5
E
12
1
E
11
1.1
E
11
0.7
SE
16
0.9
ESE
14
1.3
ESE
13
1.5
ESE
13
1.9
ESE
13
3.5
SSE
13
2.4
ESE
14
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
123
109
78
510
407
119
41
71
38
22
86
75
244
287
251
362
569
782
1170
3748
2222
Wind (km/h)
10
SW
5
S
10
NW
5
WNW
5
ENE
10
W
5
NNW
20
NNE
10
NW
10
NW
10
NW
25
N
20
WNW
20
WSW
25
WSW
5
NNW
5
WNW
35
SSW
45
SSW
40
SSW
25
SSW
Wind State
cross-off
cross-on
off
off
cross
cross-off
off
cross-off
off
off
off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
glassy
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
High Tide
11:25AM1.44m
11:45PM1.47m
12:16PM1.40m
00:34AM1.40m
1:06PM1.37m
1:23AM1.35m
1:55PM1.34m
2:12AM1.31m
2:44PM1.33m
3:01AM1.29m
3:32PM1.34m
3:49AM1.28m
4:20PM1.35m
Low Tide
5:35PM0.19m
6:04AM0.16m
6:26PM0.25m
6:51AM0.22m
7:15PM0.31m
7:38AM0.27m
8:04PM0.35m
8:25AM0.31m
8:53PM0.37m
9:12AM0.32m
9:42PM0.38m
9:59AM0.32m
10:32PM0.37m
part cloud
clear
part cloud
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
clear
rain showers
part cloud
light rain
rain showers
cloud
mod rain
light rain
cloud
cloud
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:18
7:16
7:16
7:16
7:15
7:13
7:13
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:08
5:08
5:09
5:10
5:12
5:12
5:13
 mm
4
2
4
10
5
1
Temp °C
11
11
9
11
11
10
12
13
10
15
15
12
13
12
10
9
8
10
10
10
10
Feels °C
8
9
6
9
9
8
8
9
7
11
12
8
8
7
4
7
7
1
-1
1
3
  • 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
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Whangara:

join our community of surf reporters

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 Whangara 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.


Information about the Whangara Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Whangara provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Whangara can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Whangara surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Whangara) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).

Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Whangara may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.

Are you planning a holiday in Gisborne and Mahia? If you are looking for accommodation near Whangara, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Gisborne and Mahia, consider staying in Gisborne which is 22 km (14 miles) away.

Nearest locationNearest