Sounds like the beaches in New Jersey! 50 people on a 2 or 3 mile stretch is a busy day out here.
I hate when those damn alarms go off. These are the beaches that i go to when i head to Australia.
Surf Guide
The best breaks
Photo: Snapper Rocks - Gold Coast - One of the best right point in the world
Gold Coast, North NSW, Geelong
Surf in Australia: In the beginning of the 1900's, it was prohibited for anyone to swim in the sea between 6:00 in the morning and 8:00 in the evening. Whoever breached the law was imprisoned and not seen well by the community. One day, a gentleman, probably drunk decided to take a dip at noon. He was wearing a jacket and tie and many people came to watch him and decided to imitate the act. The police quickly came and everybody arrested and fined them! The two main reasons for this law was that farmers didn't like employers to leave the work during hot summers to refresh themselves at the beach, and secondly; Australia still had prisoners at that time who did forced work. It meant that if you had a tan, you might have looked like a prisoner. But as time passed, the law also lost its effect (VIP's were breaching the law anyway) and 1901 was the year it officially became legal for people to swim at Australian Beaches outside of those hours.
By 1950 the first imported wood surfboards had arrived in Australia. They were copied and adapted for Australian style and materials. Australian surfboards became lighter than their American and Hawaii counterparts, smaller in size and weight. By the 60's the Surf explosion had started and with it came friction between surfers and life savers. The biggest problem seems to be that surfers and swimmers were not happy sharing the same sand bar and life savers used to place the flags in their boundaries. Fights were inevitable. Later, a decision was made to distinguish areas between surfers and swimmers. At around the same time, the Council decided to charge a kind of surfboard license, which consists of a sticker glued on the board. This law and easy council revenue didn't last long either. By the 70's surfing was attracting multitudes to the beach, provoking a revolution and a new direction in the sport; becoming professional and profitable . Led by fantastic surfers such as!
Mark Richards, Rabbit Bartholomew, Terry Fitzgerald and many others who impressed the world with their surfing abilities, the sport was taken up professionally and practiced by a huge number of Australians.
Australia has many nice surfing beaches, both beach breaks and point breaks. Unfortunately we can't yet describe all Australian breaks on this website, but we will give you a good idea about the surfing beaches, considered top of the range for the quality of its waves.
Best Time for Waves = DECEMBER -> APRIL (Cyclone Season)
Water Temperature = 19 (winter) -> 26 (summer) Celsius.
Predominant winds = S/SE (winter) E/NE (summer)
Surf Spots on the Gold Coast
South Stradbroke Island -South Stradbroke Island - It is a sandy Island, very beautiful with gorgeous vegetation and waves. You get there by ferry (15 min crossing) or alternatively you can paddle (15 min) from the break water at the entrance of the bay. It is a beach break with nice sand bars and some point breaks. The beach break closes out when big but the point....[Back to Map]
The Spit, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Miami e Nobby - They are all beach breaks with nice waves when small and closing out when big. Shark nets protect these beaches..[Back to Map]
Burleigh Heads -Internationally famous, this right hand point break has dream waves but also nightmare crowds. Tip: get there very early to avoid the crowd. The wave is long and tubular especially after the drop.[Back to Map]
Palm Beach - The other side of Burleigh Heads Hill, it is another beach break with great fun waves when small and some isolated reefs that produce good peaks. [Back to Map]
Currumbin - Another great point break with nice waves. As with all of the Gold Coast, point breaks can get really crowded when waves are perfect. Long rides in front of river mouth driving always to Palm Beach. Also, a very beautiful location. Sometimes strong rips are formed depending on the tide. Has big swells as well..[Back to Map]
Tugun, Bilinga -By the north part of the beach there is a reef called Elephant Rock that produces tubular rights and lefts. The South part of the beach is open with a sand bottom ideal for learning how to surf when small. .[Back to Map]
Kirra -One of the best right points in the world, with express tubular waves. This place is one of the favourite surf spots of many professionals including Kelly Slater. 6- 8 feet is the ideal size, but it also gets very crowded when the waves are at their best.[Back to Map]
Greenmount, Rainbow Bay, Snappers Rocks - They are a set of beaches, all of them having point breaks 6-8 feet (the perfect size). Depending on size and direction of the swell, these 3 points are joined together forming one of the longest right waves in the world. When it is good it gets really crowded. I mean really, really, really crowded. Waves are fast, sometimes tubular and perfect, breaking on sand always in the bay.[Back to Map]
Officially here is the border between the states of Queensland & New South Wales. Shark nets finish here, and the water temperature gets a bit cooler. The angle of the coast also changes relating to the winds.
Crossing the New South Wales Border
Duranbah - This is one of the most popular beaches for Gold Coast surfers, simply because Duranbah will always have waves when everywhere else is flat. Duranbah will always have something good to be ridden. It holds big swells as well as small. Peaks are spread all over the beach extension and it always has a crowd.[Back to Map]
Cabarita ( 50km away) - If you driving south of the small village of Kingscliff, there is a great right point break called Cabarita (also name of the town). When it gets big it's is a very powerful wave that enters the short bay until it reaches the beach. Some times it gets crowded, but is much less than other northern points. When waves are big, Cabarita is tough to paddle out and the only way is walk back by the beach. On the other side of the hill a beach break has some good waves for the left handers. [Back to map]
Byron Bay (120 km away) - Surfie and Hippie Mecca during the 60's, Byron is an extraordinarily beautiful place. Today, Byron Bay is a must for anyone travelling Australia, surfie or not. The place is a meeting place of 3 smaller bays, with a hill and lighthouse on the top. The view from the top is fantastic and down below there are those beautiful and perfect waves rolling in onto a sandy bottom. It is inconsistent, and may take a while to break decently, but when it does, it really does. Very long rides, fast and tubular waves, clean and blue water that makes you feel like you are floating on air, and depending on the day, many Dolphins will share the waves with you.[Back to Map]
Lennox Heads, Ballina (140 km away) - South of Byron Bay, this right point is sometimes scary, but it is also perfect. Waves are heavy and powerful, breaking on rocks and sand. Water is clean but has a dark blue coloration because of the ocean depth. It is home to white pointer sharks also, and poisonous snakes on the hill. Easy to find, all you have to do is follow the road south, because the road passes in front of the point.[Back to Map]
