ISO 24444 / ISO 24443 EU COLIPA and SANS 1557 Verified Broadspectrum Sunscreens
Umhlanga Surf Report
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SURF RATING
FAIR
★★★☆☆
Fair — worth a paddle: waist-to-chest-high waves on moderate-period swell, with a little cross-shore texture.
WAVE
1.4 m
SWELL
1.1m @ 10s
WIND
7 km/h Cross-shore
WATER
21.5°C
★★★☆☆
Fair — worth a paddle: waist-to-chest-high waves on moderate-period swell, with a little cross-shore texture.
Swell: 1.1 m @ 10 s (S)
Wave height: 1.4 m
Wind: 7 km/h NNE Cross-shore
Sea temp: 21.5 °C · Wetsuit: Shorty / springsuit
Best window today: 18:00–20:00 (lightest wind)
🧬 Break DNA
16% match
Today: off its ideal window today
🌊 Wave type
Beach & reef
🧭 Best swell
E groundswell, 11–16s
💨 Best wind
W offshore
🏄 Board
Shortboard
📈 Skill
Intermediate–advanced
Ideal wind & swell are derived from the way this coast faces; break type is local knowledge. Match blends today’s swell angle, wind & period.
🌊 Why it’s reading like this right now
- Mid-period S swell at 10s is hitting at an angle
- 7 km/h cross-shore wind gives some texture
- Not fully aligned today — pick your moment on the timeline above.
🏄 When to paddle out today
🏄 Reading today’s surf…
■ epic ■ clean ■ fun ■ marginal ■ flat ■ dawn/dusk · tap an hour
🎒 Pack for this session
🏄 Board
Shortboard
🤿 Wetsuit
Shorty / springsuit
🧴 Bring
Reef-safe sunscreen
🌅Dawn window:Best quality, coolest — usually the quietest crowd
Crowd estimate is a comfort/timing proxy from conditions & day of week — not a live crowd count.
Swell & wind
■ swell in ■ wind (green=offshore/good) offshore zone
Spot match
5-day wave & wind forecast
■ wave height (m) ── wind (km/h, right)
7-Day Surf Forecast
| Day | Rating | Wave | Period | Swell | Midday wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 3 Sep | ★★★★☆ | 1.7 m | 9 s | S | 19 km/h Cross |
| Fri 4 Sep | ★★★☆☆ | 2.4 m | 8 s | S | 27 km/h Cross |
| Sat 5 Sep | ★★☆☆☆ | 2.2 m | 7 s | SSE | 10 km/h Onshore |
| Sun 6 Sep | ★★★☆☆ | 1.6 m | 8 s | S | 11 km/h Onshore |
| Mon 7 Sep | ★★★★☆ | 2.6 m | 13 s | S | 22 km/h Onshore |
| Tue 8 Sep | ★★★☆☆ | 2.1 m | 9 s | SSE | 23 km/h Onshore |
| Wed 9 Sep | ★★☆☆☆ | 2.1 m | 6 s | E | 19 km/h Onshore |
Daily peak wave height, mean swell period & direction, midday wind. Rating is our surf-quality score.
🌊 Today's tide (nearest station)
☀️ Sun & skin — out on the water all day
Sunrise 06:07 · Sunset 17:42 · Peak UV 6
Surfers & anglers get the highest UV dose of anyone. Recommended: SPF 50, reapply every 2 hours and after every session.
Shop SPF 50 sunscreen →Surf/wave: Open-Meteo Marine. Sun/UV/pressure: Open-Meteo. Tides: Stormglass model. Solunar is an approximate guide. Generated Thu, 03 Sep 2026 06:13 SAST.
Aerial map — Umhlanga
Main Beach
Bronze Beach
Peak
Hand-styled from NGI 0.25 m national aerial. Markers show the peak, channel & hazards — indicative local knowledge, not live conditions or navigation advice; tides, banks, rips & hazards change, so use your own eyes on the day.
About Umhlanga — Surf Local Knowledge
Umhlanga Rocks is an upmarket coastal town just north of Durban, its palm-lined promenade and landmark red-and-white lighthouse fronting a warm-water beach on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. It is a busy, well-developed holiday and residential hub with a Blue Flag main beach and an easygoing subtropical atmosphere.
The surf is a beach break, offering consistent, generally user-friendly waves that suit beginners and intermediates, with punchier days when a solid swell arrives. It works on south to south-east swell with offshore winds from the west, and the water stays warm year-round. As a managed KZN bathing beach it has lifeguards and shark nets, which are lifted during the winter sardine run. Crowds are common in the main bathing area, so surfers spread to the quieter banks; watch for rip currents and the rocky sections that give the town its name.