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Australia

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  • 03-01-2011 7:20pm
    #1
    mac123
    Registered Users Posts: 709 ✭✭✭


    So I might be going to Australia for a couple of months next year. Just wondering if anyone here knows much about the best place to be in terms of surfing from around March to June/July.

    I think id prefer more of a town vibe to cities and il be looking for some work while im there too.

    Anyway....any advice would be great!


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    #2
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    Margaret River, or further on down South Western Australia. Lovely spot...


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    #3
    mac123
    Registered Users Posts: 709 ✭✭✭mac123


    Thanks man...looks like a nice spot alright. Did you actually live there though? If you did, was it easy to find work?


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    #4
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    I didn't live there at all, sorry, but an ex of mine worked around there. Margaret River is a real tourist spot, so you may be able to get something in a pub maybe?
    Or if you needed to work in the city, you could try and get something in Fremantle, or south of Fremantle, in Bunburry or Rockingham, so you wouldn't be too far away (in Aussie distances) from Margs.
    I was way down south in Denmark too, and there were some sweet waves there, probably not as challenging as Margaret RIver, so would depend what you want.....
    I did surf up in Lancelin/Cervantes. That was pretty cool and within my ability at the time...


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    #5
    ourfi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22 ✭ourfi


    WA a great option plenty of good surf spots, especially southern end. Perth a place to start looking work wise then spread yourself out. Good luck !


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    #6
    bagus
    Registered Users Posts: 101 ✭✭bagus


    March/April in NSW is a great time of year. I lived in Sydney for 6 years, and it was my favourite time of year.

    The weather is perfect, and the surf is usually good too. NSW has an amazing coastline, most beaches come with a point break! There is plenty of quiet top quality reefs around too if you get away from the city (at the weekends).

    Peak times in Sydney are busy alright (i.e. weekends especially, and before and after work). You'll get waves, but it's not that enjoyable surfing around people constantly. I was lucky, my job allowed me to surf anytime so I avoided the peak times. Cleanup sets around 8am used to flush out all the workers, and it'd be quiet for the day :)

    In May the weather starts to get a bit crap, and by June it's cold.
    Winter in Sydney can go to 0 degrees overnight, so it's proper cold.
    You could head north at that point. North NSW is quality, but jobs will be scarce, and probably only pay peanuts.

    I lived in Melbourne for 6 months too (October to March so it was not the relevant months). I wouldn't recommend that option. Melbourne is 100kms from the surf coast, so it's weekends only. It's quiet down there, but it was very inconsistent in my experience. Torquay (town near Bells Beach) is a pretty boring town too.

    Wherever you go, enjoy it. It's a great country.


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    #7
    lorcan122
    Registered Users Posts: 151 ✭✭lorcan122


    I know you said you wanted a town but Sydney has great beaches, Bondi, Tamera, Bronti and they are all patrolled by lifeguards during the winter so it is safer, also jobs might be more plentiful in the city.


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    #8
    mac123
    Registered Users Posts: 709 ✭✭✭mac123


    What about Queensland? I hear the weather is better up that way in the winter months.

    Im probably only going to have 3-4 months and il need to be working for at least two of them so I doubt il have time to do much traveling and I dont really want to be in Sydney in May/June if the weathers going to be cold.

    Hmmm I best do some more research...


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    #9
    FlashD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 865 ✭✭✭FlashD


    I spent some time in Noosa a few years back while travelling Australia, mellow longboard waves, great weather and really nice small town vibe.

    It's possible to get away from eveything if you want but there are also plenty of backpackers about too if you want to party.

    Regardless of the time of year this is where I would go back to if I was going to surf in Australia. I'm hopeful that I will get back there in the next few years.

    Regards :)


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    #10
    AnonymousPrime
    Registered Users Posts: 196 ✭✭AnonymousPrime


    seachto7 wrote: »
    Margaret River, or further on down South Western Australia. Lovely spot...

    Margaret river gets the swell, but just north (about 20 mins) is Dunsborough.

    It gets a little less swell but the variety of breaks is staggering. And the peninsula means there is something for all wind/wave directions.

    Plenty of work in tourism and vineyards/flowers. But this is obviously seasonal.

    If you are looking for a professional job, Sydney and Perth both get swell but you will come back to Ireland laughing at our definition of a crowd.
    (Bells beach is about an hour from Melbourne also, but I never got that far)


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    #11
    andreic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭andreic


    Hi,

    I am originally from Sydney but have spent the last 2 years in Dublin, and the 2 before that in Melbourne. I concur with some of the above comments that March through June is absolute prime time for Sydney surf. I am about to move back to Sydney and am frothing at the thought of being close to the beach again, and coming into the best time of the year for surfing (with a month or so of surfing summer slop to get some surf fitness back first).

    I have also lived in Wollongong, south of Sydney, where there are a number of awesome point and reef breaks within 30 minutes drive up and down the coast. Some of these points absolutely fire up on a cranking winter's south swell. I have some fond memories...

    Its going to depend on what sort of time you want to have in Aus... if the prime reason is to go surfing then at least you have picked the right months for a lot of Australia.

    cheers


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    #12
    Decos
    Registered Users Posts: 243 ✭✭Decos


    If you are looking for a professional job, Sydney and Perth both get swell but you will come back to Ireland laughing at our definition of a crowd
    Truth. It will make you appreciate how good we have it here crowdwise. It is actually laughable. Bondi on a busy day is an experience!

    Lived in sydney for 7 months and then headed up the east coast hitting up most of the spots on the coast. As someone said, sydneys great if you're looking for a professional job, lots of beaches to choose from and the northern beaches are meant to be excellent too.

    Personally, i loved Byron Bay. The town has a great liittle atmosphere, really chilled out and we got some lovely waves on the beach there. Didnt get to stay long but if i was going back sometime id defo try to visit there again.


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    #13
    FlashD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 865 ✭✭✭FlashD


    Personally, i loved Byron Bay. The town has a great liittle atmosphere, really chilled out and we got some lovely waves on the beach there. Didnt get to stay long but if i was going back sometime id defo try to visit there again.

    +1 for Byron Bay also, teeming with surfshops too, but as a town it's a bit more full on than Noosa.


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