Overview

Curio Bay is a kitesurf spot located on the southeast coast of Southland, in the Catlins, on the South Island of New Zealand. This bay is famous for its Jurassic petrified forest, visible at low tide, and for the yellow-eyed penguins that frequent its shores. It is a wild and isolated spot, exposed to the powerful winds from the south and the Southern Ocean. The prevailing winds come from the southwest and south, regular thanks to the influence of the Roaring Forties. The spot is suitable for advanced kitesurfers due to its isolation, potential currents and exposure to ocean waves. The water is very cold and a 5/3 wetsuit is recommended. Please respect the local wildlife, especially penguins and sea lions.

Suggest an edit

Spot forecast for Curio Bay

Sunrise 06:39 · Sunset 20:17

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 3.5 km from the spot.

Tuesday 20 October Low tide 04:18 · 0.8 m High tide 10:45 · 2 m Low tide 16:49 · 0.8 m High tide 23:07 · 2 m
Wednesday 21 October Low tide 05:10 · 0.7 m High tide 11:31 · 2 m Low tide 17:38 · 0.7 m High tide 23:51 · 2 m
Thursday 22 October Low tide 05:58 · 0.6 m High tide 12:13 · 2.1 m Low tide 18:22 · 0.6 m
Friday 23 October High tide 00:31 · 2.1 m Low tide 06:43 · 0.6 m High tide 12:52 · 2.2 m Low tide 19:04 · 0.5 m
Saturday 24 October High tide 01:11 · 2.2 m Low tide 07:25 · 0.5 m High tide 13:32 · 2.2 m Low tide 19:44 · 0.4 m

Curio Bay: 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

197h

in October · 23 rideable days

The season runs from October to March, peaking in October: 21 rideable days a month and 197 hours of usable wind, at 15 °C. The low point is July, at 7.5 days.

Rideable days per month

Wind strength when it is rideable

7-12 knots · 46%13-20 knots · 44%21-30 knots · 10%31+ knots · under 1%

When the spot works, wind sits mostly between 7 and 12 knots — 46% of rideable hours. Big-kite territory. The coldest month is June, at 10 °C. The wettest month is October, with 220 mm.

Monthly averages: Curio Bay

Monthly averages — Curio Bay — averaged over 2 years of records — Weather data by Open-Meteo.com — How it is calculated
Month	Rideable days	Usable wind	Temperature	Rain
January	23.0	225 h	17 °C	133 mm
February	19.5	192 h	17 °C	112 mm
March	20.0	195 h	15 °C	137 mm
April	16.0	119 h	14 °C	94 mm
May	17.5	153 h	11 °C	97 mm
June	10.5	77 h	10 °C	125 mm
July	7.5	65 h	10 °C	55 mm
August	12.0	91 h	10 °C	79 mm
September	15.0	119 h	11 °C	190 mm
October	23.0	197 h	12 °C	220 mm
November	22.5	200 h	15 °C	128 mm
December	20.0	203 h	15 °C	171 mm

Photo gallery of Curio Bay

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 Curio Bay spot

The spot works with winds from SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW.

Depending on conditions: ESE, SE, W.

RideableDepending on conditions Not rideable

Spot opening date · Required level

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

Something out of date? Suggest an edit

Live

Currently, there is no weather station at this spot. If you want to change this, help us fund one: Weather Station Project

All the details of your session on windtracker.app

Webcams near Curio Bay

Webcams provided by Windy.com

Nearby spots

All spots: Southland

Comments 0

No comments yet.

Log in to comment

Curio Bay kitesurf and wingfoil spot