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I drove from Brisbane to Noosa Heads, one of my favourite slices of Queensland coast and the very place that introduced me to surfing in Australia. I spent half an hour driving impatiently in circles at the National Park entrance, hunting for the rarest of gems–a parking spot.
Eventually, a surfer departing from their morning rinse pulled out, and with a friendly g-day wave, I nipped in, unloaded the car and began pacing out along the famous boardwalks that line the edge of Noosa National Park.
Exploring Noosa National Park
The smell of Eucalyptus filled the crisp autumn air, and the sun cast glistening light beams through the gaps in the trees. I gazed out into the Pacific where longboarders danced along perfectly spinning waves, and beginners rode their first waves in the most stunning setting.
Surfing at Tea Tree Bay
On the right day, this particular stretch of Queensland is home to one of Australia’s best and longest waves–a pointbreak, meaning the waves peel along a headland in a uniform manner, offering rides of nearly 1km. I marched along the track that winds its way along the coast, past the section of the point known as Boiling Pot and then to Tea Tree Bay, my port of call for the morning surf.
The waves were fractionally larger here because the bay at Tea Tree lies further along the coast and so picks up more swell than Boiling Pot.
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Riding the Waves
I threw on my boardies, rubbed some wax into my board and ran out to the rocks, jumping into a tepid but refreshing Pacific. I bobbed there for a moment with two dozen others who had beaten me to it before. Eventually, a wave swung my way.
I paddled in, popped up and drove down the line, wrapping into a series of manoeuvres known as cutbacks to match the wave’s speed as it spun down the point. With one wave under my belt, I ran back to the top of the point for more, paddling for any wave I could get my hands on under the thick crowds.
The morning continued in much the same fashion, wait after wait, wave after wave, as the sun arched its way overhead and ramped things up to shade-seeking temperatures. So, with the happy contentment I can only achieve after riding waves, I hiked back to the car and made preparations to continue my trip along the coast, this time to the south.
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A Visit to Coolangatta
The next day, I drove to the Gold Coast, which is my favourite corner of it. Coolangatta. I’ve been here dozens of times, and it has gifted me with some of the best surfs of my life. But today, the swell was small, and the stretch of sand that usually plays host to one of the best waves in the world, The Superbank, had transformed into a playful, beginner-friendly point break.
I sat on a lovely boardwalk and sipped an Americano as longboarders and beginners on foamies trimmed along tiny spinning waves– emerald and sparkling under the morning light.
The skyline of Surfer’s Paradise (Gold Coast proper) stood in the distance and made for a wonderful backdrop. I love Coolangatta as it still has all the creature comforts life in the city affords you but positions you just far enough outside it so that you can enjoy some open space, without the hecticness of traffic and hordes.
Exploring Byron Bay
After an afternoon strolling around Coolangatta, I ventured further south still to the hustle and bustle but still wonderfully charming town of Byron Bay–Australia’s most famous surf town. I drove out through the centre of town, to The Pass, another one of Australia’s East Coast surfing gems.
Surfing The Pass and Tallows
When conditions align, The Pass is a world-class wave, tremendously long and breaking with perfect shape–enough to make any surfer weak at the knees. The swell was still small, but the conditions were calm, and a soft orange sunrise cast the sand in soft orange light. A gentle offshore breeze caressed the waves’ faces, and dozens of longboarders traded waves that reeled down the sandbar.
I opted out and instead went for a surf around the headland at a powerful but very sharky beach break known as Tallows. Here the waves were larger and came with fewer people but more wind, so I rode a few wobbly wind swell peaks before calling it a morning.
Discovering Crescent Head
The following day, I hit the road again. Yep, you drive a lot in these parts. This time, deeper into New South Wales and into a lesser-known, sleepy surf town called Crescent Head. I rolled into the car park in my rental alongside surfers who were just coming in from their morning fix.
Many were posted up in vans, brewing coffee and pointing back at the ocean from which they had just returned. The pace of life here is slow, dictated by the tides and the swell and the wind. I paddled out into the crowd and managed to sneak a few peelers under the hoards before returning once more to the rental car for a coffee and some swell-related small talk with my fellow car park patrons.
Ending the Journey at Manly Beach
I finished my trip in Sydney at Manly Beach. Manly is a long strip of golden sand backed by glistening apartments and towering pine trees. I arrived in the late afternoon as a new swell filled the famous Manly shores. I immediately waxed up, slapped on some sunscreen and paddled out at North Steyne, an area of the beach known for its powerful peaks for advanced surfers.
Surfing North Steyne
Once I had had my morning fill at North Steyne, I grabbed a coffee and sat on the sea wall at the southern end. Manly is an excellent option for beginners, as the further south you go, the more the swell becomes diluted, so even on the biggest days, you can find something safe for beginners.
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Author Bio: Dan Harmon is a surfer and travel writer from the UK. He travels the world extensively in search of the world’s best waves and spends any time out of the water writing about his experiences.
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