New Zealand / Tasman District
Wharariki Beach
Wharariki Beach is a 1.0 km-long beach facing north-north-west, 40.0 km north of Takaka (Tasman District, New Zealand). The sea averages 18.5 °C in February, its warmest month, and 13.1 °C in September; it never reaches 21 °C on average.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Reference
Wharariki Beach is a beach on the Tasman Sea, west of Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of the South Island of New Zealand.
Wikidata item Q24189757.
Month by month
October at Wharariki Beach
Beach-day index 1.8/10 · New Zealand median 2.4
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 17.5 °C | 18.5 °C | 18.0 °C | 17.0 °C | 15.7 °C | 14.4 °C | 13.6 °C | 13.2 °C | 13.1 °C | 13.6 °C | 14.6 °C | 16.1 °C |
| High °C | 18° | 19° | 18° | 17° | 15° | 14° | 13° | 13° | 13° | 14° | 15° | 17° |
| Low °C | 16° | 17° | 16° | 15° | 14° | 12° | 11° | 11° | 12° | 12° | 13° | 15° |
| Rain mm | 72 | 57 | 81 | 106 | 118 | 138 | 106 | 116 | 104 | 116 | 77 | 93 |
| Cloud % | 66 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 72 |
| Wind m/s | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 6.8 |
| Daylight h | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.4 | 15.0 |
| Record high/low | 22°/12° | 22°/14° | 21°/13° | 20°/9° | 19°/8° | 16°/7° | 15°/6° | 15°/5° | 15°/7° | 16°/7° | 19°/9° | 20°/10° |
| Beach index | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
No month reaches 5.5 on the beach-day index; the best is February at 4.3/10, held back mainly by cool air (highs of 19 °C) and cold water (18.5 °C).
At its warmest the water here is 1.1 °C cooler than the New Zealand median for February (19.6 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 15.4 °C, cooler than 72% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
June is the wettest month (138 mm) and February the driest (57 mm); the yearly total is about 1,180 mm.
Daylight runs from 9.3 hours in June to 15.0 hours in December; in mid-February the sun rises at 06:53 and sets at 20:33 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces north-north-west (340°). Open water fills about 47% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in March–October; in mid-June it goes down at 17:08 local time on a bearing of 300°.
Sunrise is over the sea in June–July.
Straight out to the north-north-west there is open water for more than 2,000 km, so the beach is exposed to long ocean swell. The beach is on an island of about 168,366 km².
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 11 m deep and 71 m at 3 km. Behind the beach the ground is about 32 m above sea level 500 m inland and 54 m at 1.5 km.
Within 1 km, the land is 56% grassland, 31% tree cover and 11% bare ground, sand or rock (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a largely natural setting. Water makes up 41% of that circle.
- Grass 56%
- Tree 31%
- Bare 11%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
The sea peaks at 18.5 °C in February. Most swimmers find water below 20 °C cold; a wetsuit is common here.
Average wind speed at 10 m reaches 7.6 m/s in September, the windiest month.
Photos
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 1Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 1Public toilets
- –Showers
- 1Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 1Campsites
- 1Viewpoints
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 1 café.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Islands in view
- Archway Islands 460 m NW
Campsites
- Wharariki Beach Holiday Park 900 m SE
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Airport Nelson | NSN | 99.5 km | south-east |
| Woodbourne Airport Blenheim | BHE | 151 km | south-east |
| Westport Airport Westport | WSZ | 165 km | south-west |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 1 mapped car park within 1 km.
When people look it up
The EN Wikipedia article was read 15,106 times in the 12 months to August 2026. Interest peaks in August (2,006 views), 3.1× the quietest month.
Map
Loading map…
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 14.9 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w148634069; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Water body, status and length: Wikidata (CC0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2C_59GPR_20260318_0_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 10 Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.