Surfing the NSW North Coast

From Newcastle (which is two hours’ drive north of ) 680km north to the /Queensland border, Pacific swells shape around headlands and rocky points, across offshore reefs and over sandbanks to become classic surf breaks. The two culturally distinct surf here are the Mid North Coast and – home of the world renowned Byron Bay.

Mid North Coast (Newcastle to )

The mid north coast revels in a kind of “poor relation” status compared to the Northern Rivers, and board-riding communities from Newcastle to Coffs couldn‟t be happier. Some of the state‟s most pristine, least crowded waves can be found along here. There‟s also little by way of nightspots, no glitzy dining strips, no unchecked tourism booms and no discernible fashion sense. This is true “soul surfer” territory, where there‟s nothing to do tomorrow but get up, paddle out and do it all again.

The city of Newcastle

Newcastle area beaches have sheltered spots for learners and families, fun corners protected from the summer sea breeze and offshore reefs to tempt the best and bravest. Newcastle boy and four-time world surfing champion Mark Richards (“MR”) put this place onto the world surfing map, and in 2012 will again lend his name to Surfest (www.surfest.com), a 12-day event held in March and now in its 27th year.

Seal Rocks to Crescent Head

Further north, the 43km of coast between Seal Rocks and Forster encompasses some of the most beautiful yet unheralded surfing spots in NSW. Lighthouse Beach and Treachery Beach at Seal Rocks are known for generating epic waves, and the campgrounds here have remained defiantly no-frills, which suits the east coast surf-safari crowd fine.

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Just 22km up the road at Pacific Palms, Boomerang Beach and Bluey’s Beach are blessed with not just magical surf, but also have resident pods of dolphins that seem to get a kick out of showing the board-riders how surfing should really be done. You then have to leave the Pacific Highway to reach Crescent Head, accessed via Point Plomer Road which ribbons the coast for 25kms north from . The point-break at Crescent Head is revered by long-boarders, and some of the world‟s best have been filmed here cross- stepping the length of their 10-foot planks.

Coffs Harbour

Largest of the mid-north coast population centres, Coffs Harbour has several beaches offering sandy bottomed point-breaks and sandbank rollers to suit everyone from grommets to superstars. A half-century of surfing tradition is evidenced by three strong board-riders clubs based here, and on any day there‟s a fair chance of being in the line-up beside a few old long-boarders who were their clubs‟ inaugural members five decades ago.

There are few better all-round water activity destinations than this too – whether for sea- kayaking, paddling up the estuary into Bongil Bongil National Park or getting out to Solitary Islands Marine Park, which has some of ‟s best temperate ocean diving and snorkelling. Being the hub of “the Coffs Coast” , the city has a range of hotels and holiday resorts, bars & pubs, surf shops, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls and cinemas plus its own regional airport.

Seven-day wind, wave, tide and weather forecast for the Mid North Coast (updated every 6 hours), see www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/nsw4.asp

Northern Rivers

When the surfing counter-culture took hold in Australia in the late 1960s, the Northern Rivers coast quickly became the Promised Land for anyone with a board and a dream of spending their days communing with the waves. Fifty years on, the region is wildly popular during school holidays and once humble beach shacks now change hands for millions. Steeped in surf culture and ideals of personal freedom, this region remains a must-visit for the international surfing fraternity.

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“Discovered” in the early 1970s by the hippie surfer crowd, the point-break at Angourie remained largely unheralded for the next two decades. Famous nowadays as home break of 1966 world surfing champion Nat Young, Angourie remains a pristine environment as it‟s bordered by a national park. The swell needs only be a metre for the point to start breaking, at which stage it‟s rideable for surfers of all abilities, but anything bigger is for confident board-riders only. The local surfing tribes are protective of their patch, but adherence to surfing etiquette is all that‟s required of visitors who want to join in.

Byron Bay

Many believe the essence of Byron Bay – Kombi vans, dreadlocked hippies, spiritual healers and drumming circles – is doomed to extinction, yet its spirit miraculously lives on. The town takes in a cluster of surf beaches to the north and south of Cape Byron, which is the most easterly point in Australia. No matter whether your preferred surfing spot is Tallow Beach, Watego‟s, Main Beach, Clarkes Beach, the wreck at Belongil Beach or round at Cosy Corner, echoes of the „60s freedom counter-culture are still to be found at Byron, and probably always will.

Lennox Head

Endlessly photographed, filmed and fawned over, the right-hand point-break at Lennox Head is one of Australia‟s most famous waves, consistently ranked by readers of Tracks surf magazine in Australia‟s Top Ten. It‟s beautiful to look at but to ride it you need to find space among dozens of red-hot local surfers, so not the place for beginners. The town itself gets talked up as the “new Byron Bay”, but there aren‟t too many signs yet of Lennox losing its relaxed atmosphere. In 2008 Lennox Head was declared a National Surfing Reserve, the fourth site in Australia to be recognised for its significance to recreational surfing (www.lennoxsurfingreserve.com).

Seven-day wind, wave, tide and weather forecast for the Northern Rivers (updated every 6 hours), see www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/nsw3.asp

Accommodation sydney.com visitnsw.com nswevents.com

The Byron at Byron luxury accommodation and spa surrounded by rainforest www.thebyronatbyron.com.au Atlantic Guesthouse a charming guesthouse in the middle of Byron. Stay in the Airstream Caravan for something unique www.atlanticbyronbay.com.au Seascape Units 1950‟s Aussie beachside apartments in Yamba www.seascapeunits.com.au Bangalow Waters boutique Balinese style bure accommodation just north of Coffs Harbour www.bangalowwaters.com.au The Observatory great beach views over with apartment and hotel accommodation available in Port Macquarie www.observatory.net.au Sebel Newcastle Beach less than a two-minutes walk from the centre of Newcastle. www.mirvachotels.com/the-sebel-newcastle-beach

Dining

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay sprawling beachfront pub that‟s a local institution www.beachhotel.com.au The Pass Café (Cape Byron Walking Track) leased by the National Parks Service, a defiantly old-world café serving breakfast, burgers, sandwiches & milkshakes The Pacific Hotel, Yamba (claims the best view of any pub in Australia) www.pacifichotelyamba.com.au The Corner sample local produce including oysters, Ricardoes tomatoes and cheese at this Port Macquarie favourite www.portmacquarierestaurant.com.au Carrington Place the former derelict Oriental Hotel in Newcastle has undergone an amazing transformation to become Carrington Place, offering premium quality “Guesthouse” accommodation, restaurant and wine bar. www.carringtonplace.com.au

Surf culture

Former world surfing champion Nat Young was one of the first to ride Angourie‟s famous point-break in the early 1970s. Nat‟s life is vividly recounted in his autobiography, “Nat‟s Nat and that‟s that” (Nymboida Press, 1998). sydney.com visitnsw.com nswevents.com

Among the first generation of surfers who migrated to Byron Bay, few have had a greater influence on the sport than board shaper Bob McTavish, pioneer of short, manoeuvrable boards in the mid-1960s. His boards are today in high demand around the world, but home base is still McTavish Surfboards Global HQ, Byron Bay www.mctavish.com.au

Accredited surf schools

Surfest Surf School (Newcastle area) www.surfestsurfschool.com Redhead Mobile Surf School (Newcastle area) www.redheadsurfschool.com.au Trent Munro Surf Academy (Scotts Head) www.trentmunro.com Great Lakes Surf School (Forster to Pacific Palms) www.greatlakessurfschool.com.au Lee Winkler’s Surf School (Coffs Harbour) www.leewinklerssurfschool.com.au Mojo Surf (Arrawarra/Coffs Harbour) www.mojosurf.com Rusty Miller Personalized Surfing Instruction (Byron Bay) www.rustymillersurf.com Black Dog Surfing (Byron Bay) www.blackdogsurfing.com Style Surfing (Byron Bay) www.stylesurfingbyronbay.com Byron Bay Surf School www.byronbaysurfschool.com Sunrise Surfing Byron Bay www.sunrisesurfing.com Surfing Byron Bay www.gosurfingbyronbay.com Surfaris (Crescent Head) www.surfaris.com.au Summerland Surf School (Ballina, Lennox Head, Evans Head) www.summerlandsurfschool.com.au Cheyne Horan School of Surf (Lennox Head) www.cheynehoran.com.au Yamba-Angourie Surf School www.yambaangouriesurfschool.com.au

Note: these surf schools are great media contacts – all run by people who are passionate about their local beach (some run by retired pro tour surfers) and happy to help journalists & visitors get acquainted with the waves and local surf culture.

For more information go to www.sydney.com For images go to www.images.tourism.nsw.gov.au For media information on Sydney and NSW go to www.destinationnsw.com.au

Media Contacts: Diane Glasson Manager Destination Publicity and Promotion Tel: +61 2 9931 1475 Email: [email protected] sydney.com visitnsw.com nswevents.com

Elissa Tyrrell Destination Publicity Specialist Tel + 61 2 9931 1426 Email: [email protected]

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