Overview

Karekare is a wild black sand beach on Auckland's west coast, nestled at the foot of the Waitakere Ranges. Made famous by the film "The Piano", this spectacular beach is battered by powerful Tasman Sea swells. W, NW and SW winds are dominant. The spot is reserved for experts due to extremely dangerous currents, powerful rips and isolation. Access is limited by a narrow road through the forest. The wild beauty of the location makes it a hiking and surfing destination for the most experienced.

Suggest an edit

Spot forecast for Karekare

Sunrise 06:31 · Sunset 19:42

Open-Meteo

Premium weather models. Get the professional models (ECMWF, GFS, ICON, MeteoSwiss…) and a 16-day forecast. Without a subscription: Open-Meteo over 5 days.

Go Premium

< 7 kn7–12 kn13–20 kn21–30 kn31–40 kn41+ kn Gusts Your minimum: 7 kn

Forecasts provided by Open-Meteo

Swell and waves

Swell and tides over 8 days. Premium members see the swell and tides over 8 days. Without a subscription: 5 days.

Go Premium

Wave height: < 0.5 m 0.5–1 m 1–2 m 2–3 m ≥ 3 m

Swell data by Open-Meteo Marine

Tides

Heights above lowest astronomical tide, in the spot's local time. Computed 2.7 km from the spot.

Tuesday 20 October High tide 05:20 · 2.3 m Low tide 11:34 · 1.2 m High tide 17:56 · 2.5 m
Wednesday 21 October Low tide 00:18 · 1.1 m High tide 06:30 · 2.4 m Low tide 12:37 · 1.1 m High tide 18:56 · 2.6 m
Thursday 22 October Low tide 01:13 · 1 m High tide 07:26 · 2.6 m Low tide 13:30 · 1 m High tide 19:45 · 2.7 m
Friday 23 October Low tide 02:00 · 0.8 m High tide 08:12 · 2.7 m Low tide 14:16 · 0.8 m High tide 20:27 · 2.9 m
Saturday 24 October Low tide 02:42 · 0.6 m High tide 08:53 · 2.9 m Low tide 14:59 · 0.7 m High tide 21:07 · 3.1 m

Karekare: when to go?

Rideable days and hours computed for a minimum wind of 7 knots · log in to set your own (foil, twin-tip…)

Season · peak

272h

in March · 25.5 rideable days

Wind is uneven from month to month: the best months are September, October and March, at 26 rideable days and 17 °C. The low point is July, at 12.5 days.

Rideable days per month

Wind strength when it is rideable

7-12 knots · 60%13-20 knots · 37%21-30 knots · 3%

When the spot works, wind sits mostly between 7 and 12 knots — 60% of rideable hours. Big-kite territory. The coldest month is July, at 14 °C. The wettest month is July, with 184 mm.

Monthly averages: Karekare

Monthly averages — Karekare — averaged over 2 years of records — Weather data by Open-Meteo.com — How it is calculated
Month	Rideable days	Usable wind	Temperature	Rain
January	19.5	244 h	22 °C	99 mm
February	21.0	222 h	23 °C	49 mm
March	25.5	272 h	20 °C	86 mm
April	13.0	143 h	20 °C	163 mm
May	18.0	174 h	16 °C	98 mm
June	15.5	156 h	15 °C	145 mm
July	12.5	115 h	14 °C	184 mm
August	17.5	181 h	14 °C	124 mm
September	26.5	332 h	15 °C	145 mm
October	26.0	338 h	17 °C	154 mm
November	19.5	230 h	19 °C	119 mm
December	22.0	300 h	21 °C	130 mm

Photo gallery of Karekare

This spot is waiting for its first images

Ridden here? One photo or video, and the spot comes alive for everyone discovering it.

Technical details of Karekare spot

The spot works with winds from SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW.

Depending on conditions: S, SSW, NNW.

RideableDepending on conditions Not rideable

Spot opening date · Required level

Spot opening date: Open all year round
Required level: Expert

Something out of date? Suggest an edit

Live

Maori17.2 kmsource gowind

Readings reserved for Premium members

Readings from Maori weather station are reserved for Premium members.

Real-time readings
Last 48 hours history
Custom alerts
Extended weather forecasts

Discover Premium

Already a Premium member? Log in

Additional stations

Maukatia17.1 km

Readings reserved for Premium members
source gowind
DW0000 Auckland NZ19.7 km

Readings reserved for Premium members
source madis - NOAA

All the details of your session on windtracker.app

Webcams near Karekare

Webcams provided by Windy.com

Nearby spots

All spots: Auckland

Comments 0

No comments yet.

Log in to comment

Karekare kitesurf and surf spot