Kahutara, New Zealand

No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amberley, is 106 km away. Nearest airport: BHE (BHE), 104 km.

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About Kahutara

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces SE (145°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (325°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 350 m out (1 in 35). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 11°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 17°C in January, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually June, with about 4 good days in 7; in January, November and December, about 2. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amberley, is 106 km away. Nearest airport: BHE (BHE), 104 km.

Water about 12°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 28 h 45 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to CHC, changing at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
See flights MDW → CHC · Skyscanner from about £765 returnAd
Getting there. 2 h 50 from the airport to Kahutara.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amberley, is 106 km away. Nearest airport: BHE (BHE), 104 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Kahutara · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Kahutara · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Kahutara on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

The score for intermediates, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Kahutara, each day
Day	Score for intermediates	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	53, good	5 ft8 smushy	251kJ	wind from the south, 2 knots	14°C
Mon 19Oct	67, good	4 ft10 scrumbling	281kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 2 knots, offshore	17°C
Tue 20Oct	69, good	4 ft10 scrumbling	284kJ	wind from the east-south-east, 4 knots	14°C
Wed 21Oct	60, good	3 ft9 scrumbling	157kJ	wind from the south, 3 knots	17°C
Thu 22Oct	37, fair	2 ft9 scrumbling	87kJ	wind from the east-south-east, 1 knot	21°C
Fri 23Oct	41, fair	3 ft12 scrumbling	174kJ	wind from the south-east, 1 knot	17°C
Sat 24Oct	56, good	3 ft10 scrumbling	202kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 2 knots, offshore	21°C
Sun 25Oct	25, too small	2 ft9 scrumbling	50kJ	wind from the east-south-east, 3 knots	19°C
Mon 26Oct	21, too small	2 ft5 smushy	25kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 12 knots, offshore	21°C
Tue 27Oct	26, poor	4 ft6 smushy	87kJ	wind from the north-west, 4 knots, offshore	24°C
Wed 28Oct	36, fair	2 ft7 smushy	42kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 6 knots, offshore	14°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly MDW to CHC, changing at SFO, then 2h 50 by road. About 28h 45 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Kahutara
Best 13:00 to 16:00 local time: 4 ft at 10 s, wind 4 kn (8 km/h).
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Kahutara
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 3 ft at 9 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Kahutara
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 2 ft at 9 s, wind 1 kn (2 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Kahutara
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 3 ft at 12 s, wind 1 kn (1 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Surf Kahutara
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 3 ft at 10 s, offshore wind.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to CHC, changing at SFO, then 2h 50 by road. About 28h 45 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,230–£2,415 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return MDW to CHC, estimated from distance and season, changing at SFO, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£765–£1,585
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£100–£170
Food	7 days eating out	£230–£430
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£100–£165
Total		£1,230–£2,415

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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