Surfing Australia

Surfing The Pass at Byron Bay Australia
'The Pass' Byron Bay

Australia is 'The Lucky Country' when it comes to surfing. It is the largest island in the world with 12,500 kilometres of coastline, and a large proportion of it being surfable.

A lot of the surf-spots in Australia are easily accessible, but many are not and some surf spots still remain secret. You can spend months travelling around this huge island surfing somewhere different every day. You may even be lucky enough to find out of the way locations which have never been surfed before.

If you are interested in Facts about Australia and about Australia's Distinctive Landscape try the Australian Government's Geoscience Website. Being familiar with Australia's weather and layout will make it easier to judge at what time of year and where you will find the best surfing waves.

To start this surfing Australia section let's take a look at New South Wales. Which is Australia's most populated state with over 6.2 million people and over 2,000 kilometers of surfable coastline to explore.

Perfect Waves Back Lennox Head

Surfing Pictures of Australia

New South Wales - Region by Region

There are 5 different regions along the coast. Which are the South Coast which starts from the Victoria and New South Wales border and goes north to Sydney, the Central Coast which is from Sydney to Newcastle. From Newcastle to Port Macquarie is known as the the Lower North Coast. Port Macquarie to Grafton is the Mid North Coast and from Grafton up to Tweed Heads, or the NSW-Queensland borders is known as the Far North coast.

South Coast - New South Wales

The south coast region still has many secret surf spots. The very southern region is mostly undeveloped and has small coastal towns some being quite isolated. Places such as Ulla Dulla, Merimbular, Jarvis Bay have some of the more well known breaks. Further north from Shell Harbour to Wollongong there are some classic point and reef breaks including Sandon Point and Boneyards holding over 12 feet when the southern swells roll in and the off-shore wind in August starts to blow.

Aerial View of Sandon Point Sandon Point

Surfing Windang Island


Video of Surfing Windang Island

The South Coast finishes at Sydney. Sydney's localism is one of the biggest hazards of surfing here. It goes without mentioning surf breaks such as Bondi, Narabeen, Manly, Ferry Bower and the infamous Shark Island are all in the Sydney beaches area.

Surfing Maroubra Beach Maroubra Beach

Central Coast - New South Wales

North of Sydney is the Central Coast region home to breaks such as Avoca Beach (Right reef/point break behind the pool and beach breaks), Soldiers Beach (left point break and beach breaks) and the home of Mark Richards, Newcastle. Some areas in this region are also quite difficult to get to, but the area has become much more populated and it won't be long before all surf spots in this region are discovered. This area is far enough south to pick up the remnants of some of the bigger swells coming from the south.

Aerial View of Avoca Beach Avoca Beach

Mid North Coast - New South Wales

The Mid North Coast has some classic breaks such as Cresent Head (long fat right point break), Saltwater point, Scotts Head and the beaches and headlands of Coffs Harbour. This area has some lesser known surf breaks such as Seal Rocks (back beach) and Hawks Nest (isolated beach breaks). Many beaches in this region are difficult to access without a 4-wheel drive, but are definitely worth exploring.

Big Waves at Trapdoors Sawtell Surfing Trapdoors Sawtell

Far North Coast - New South Wales

The Far North Coast is the most northern region of New South Wales and is home to many world class surfing breaks. Some of the better known surfing spots are Ballina, Angourie Point (right hand point/reef break), Lennox Head (long right hand point break), Broken Head (sand bottom point break-doesn't work all the time, depends on the banks), The Pass and Tallows at Byron Bay. Being world class surf breaks and better known makes the locals in these areas sometimes difficult to deal with. In the northern cyclone season the surf in these areas can get quite big.

Classic Surf at Lennox Head Australia A good day at Lennox Head

Surfing Pictures of Australia

Surfing Sandon Point

Hotels in Australia

Hotels in Wollongong



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