Big Hellfire Beach
Southland · New Zealand
Rating right now
Big Hellfire Beach is a SW-facing sand beach on the Tasman Sea coastline near Southland — it picks up S–W swell and turns cleanest in a N–E wind, with the most consistent surf through october–april.
Today's surf at Big Hellfire Beach
Updated 23:14 spot time
Big Hellfire Beach surf report for Friday 2 Oct: waves 3.0 m–4.0 m triple overhead+, 2.5 m WSW swell at 8.95 s. Wind up to 46 km/h WNW. Water 12°C. Best surf window around 23:00 — epic (4.5/5) with 29 km/h WSW wind.
Snapshot refreshed hourly — the live hourly forecast below updates in real time.
10-day forecast
Local time · updates hourly
Wave height & period
Wind
| Time | Rating | Waves | Swell | Wind | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Water temperature by month
This month: ~11.8°C (53.2°F) on average
Jan
14.2°C
57.6°F · 12.2–16.7°C
Feb
14.7°C
58.5°F · 13.4–17.8°C
Mar
14.6°C
58.3°F · 13.3–16.9°C
Apr
14.1°C
57.4°F · 12.3–16.2°C
May
13.3°C
55.9°F · 11.6–15.2°C
Jun
12°C
53.6°F · 10.8–14°C
Jul
11.7°C
53.1°F · 10.5–13.3°C
Aug
11.5°C
52.7°F · 9.8–12.4°C
Sep
11.7°C
53.1°F · 10.8–12.5°C
Oct
11.8°C
53.2°F · 10.8–12.9°C
Nov
12.7°C
54.9°F · 11.4–14.5°C
Dec
13.6°C
56.5°F · 12.3–16.1°C
25-year monthly averages from the NOAA OISST satellite record — typical range min–max, not a live reading.
Know before you go
Best swell
S–W
Best wind
N–E
Break type
Beach break
Best season
October–April
Safety: Friendly by surf standards, but rip currents and drop-in etiquette still apply. Shifting sandbars create moving rip currents — learn to spot them and use them to get out back.
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