Staying Home Sucks, home
Eastborne and Petone, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, 3rd. Dec. 2010 - Flickr - PhillipC
Lower Hutt, the nearest town, 45 km away. Photo: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ning Nong

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

29Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: 4 ft swell at 10 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 smushy
Energy
84kJ
Wind
NW 26 kn
Temp
15°C

Tue 3 · 8 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
49kJ
Wind
NW 13 kn
Temp
16°C

Wed 4 · 57 out of 100

Swell
4 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
313kJ
Wind
NW 4 kn
Temp
16°C

Thu 5 · 56 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
156kJ
Wind
SW 4 kn
Temp
16°C

Fri 6 · 10 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 smushy
Energy
36kJ
Wind
NNW 19 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 14 out of 100

Swell
1 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
41kJ
Wind
NNW 3 kn
Temp
17°C

Sun 8 · 12 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 shollow
Energy
39kJ
Wind
NNW 11 kn
Temp
18°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 19, poor
  2. Mon 27, too small
  3. Tue 38, too small
  4. Wed 457, fair
  5. Thu 556, fair
  6. Fri 610, too small
  7. Sat 714, too small
  8. Sun 812, too small
  9. Mon 927, too small
  10. Tue 1030, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–10 ftof swell
  • Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number

Ning Nong does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Ning Nong, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov9, poor5 ft10 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)377kJwind from the north-west, 24 knots14°C
Mon 2Nov7, too small2 ft9 smushy3 ft at break (est.)84kJwind from the north-west, 26 knots15°C
Tue 3Nov8, too small2 ft10 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the north-west, 13 knots16°C
Wed 4Nov57, fair4 ft10 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)313kJwind from the north-west, 4 knots16°C
Thu 5Nov56, fair3 ft9 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)156kJwind from the south-west, 4 knots16°C
Fri 6Nov10, too small2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)36kJwind from the north-north-west, 19 knots18°C
Sat 7Nov14, too small1 ft10 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)41kJwind from the north-north-west, 3 knots17°C
Sun 8Nov12, too small1 ft11 shollow2 ft at break (est.)39kJwind from the north-north-west, 11 knots18°C
Mon 9Nov27, too small2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)65kJwind from the east, 6 knots, offshore17°C
Tue 10Nov30, too small2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)88kJwind from the north-north-west, 10 knots18°C
Wed 11Nov22, too small2 ft9 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)46kJwind from the north-west, 12 knots15°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 04:18 −0.7 mHigh 10:36 +0.8 mLow 17:01 −0.8 mHigh 23:07 +0.6 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:15 −0.7 mHigh 11:33 +0.8 mLow 17:57 −0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:03 +0.6 mLow 06:13 −0.7 mHigh 12:31 +0.8 mLow 18:52 −0.7 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ning Nong

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SW (241°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (61°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 42). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 17°C in February, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). The town to stay in is Lower Hutt.

Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,760–US$3,320 each

about US$1,760–US$3,320 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to WLG, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$844–US$1,750
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$134–US$228
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$342–US$563
Food7 days eating outabout US$301–US$563
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$134–US$221
Totalabout US$1,760–US$3,320

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 2 towns

Closest

Waipawa

52 min by car

about US$127/nightcountry average

See places to stay in Waipawa · Booking.com

About Waipawa its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest beds: Lower Hutt, 45 km (about 1h 20m by car)

About US$127 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 29h 45m

About 29h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → WLG, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 1h 05m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.