The shape of the advancing wet front beneath an experimental recharge area can be attributed to the distribution of entrapped air above it. The apparent rise of the water table prior to the arrival of the wet front results from a localized response of observation wells to pressures associated with air movements between the water table and wet front. The curvature of the wet front and the premature response of the observation wells make it difficult to determine, from observation well hydrographs, the initial position of the ‘static’ water table and the time that recharge commences. (Key words: Groundwater recharge; vadose air and water movements; wet front shapes.)