Woodpecker Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(West Coast South Island, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Woodpecker Bay Surf Guide

Woodpecker Bay in West Coast South Island is a sheltered beach break that has pretty consitent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the south southeast with some shelter here from south southwest winds. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the southwest. No beach break here and there are also left and right reef breaks (left is best). An uncrowded break, even when it is working. Rocks are a hazard.

Woodpecker Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	fairly consistent	15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Woodpecker Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Woodpecker Bay occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Woodpecker Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Woodpecker Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 22% of the time in June while 31% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 47% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

22%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

31%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

47%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Woodpecker Bay Location Map

Interactive Woodpecker Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Woodpecker Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 16:26 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07			Fri
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	NNW	NNW	NNW	NNW
Period (s)	9	9	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Woodpecker Bay look like?

Latest photos from Woodpecker Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Woodpecker Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Fox River, 1 km from Woodpecker Bay.

Next High Water: 02:32am | 2.27m

Next Low Water: 08:22pm | 0.76m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Woodpecker Bay Sea Temperature

The Woodpecker Bay water temperature is rather cool (15.8 °C) and the air temperature will feel about the same. A good quality spring wetsuit with optional neoprene boots should suffice. No need for wetsuit gloves.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit and neoprene boots.