Little Waimea

Little Waimea is a reef break over rock, usually breaking in the 0.5–1.5m range, and how suitable it is for beginners really depends on the size and power on the day — not a fixed label. The rock bottom rewards some confidence in the water and awareness of what's beneath you, especially as the size picks up. Set the level to Beginner above and WaveCheck flags the smaller, cleaner hours worth paddling out for.

Different days call for different boards. Little Waimea handles a range of boards — a longboard or fish when it's small, a shortboard when there's more push. Tap through the boards above to see the live score for whatever you'll be riding.

Little Waimea tends to work best around high tide. The tide chart above shows the current stage plus the next high and low, so you can time your session.

Look for 0.5–1.5m of swell from the N with light offshore winds from the NE / E / SE. The 5-day forecast above scores every hour, so you can spot the window at a glance.