Queensland

Granite Bay

Noosa

I decided to drive up to Noosa Heads with my room-mates from Byron Bay, Anthony & Heidi.
I was stunned by the sheer beauty of the coastline and so happy to see a string of surf spots in the middle of a natural reserve. I ended up surfing Granite Bay. It takes about 25 minutes to the bay from the entrance of the park. I started walking under eucalyptus trees and koala bears hanging from the top branches, I paddled out early in the morning at high tide. The surf started firing 6/7 footers on a dropping tide. I couldn't believe it but it was getting better by the hour! The surf turned out to be outstanding but I had no food or water to get me going all day! After 5 hours of surf I collapsed on the beach happy and satisfied! I ranked this as one of the best sessions of my life so far.

Noosa

Classic shot of Bob MacTavish at Noosa in the early days. (Photo John Witzig)


Noosa Heads has a reputation to be quite inconsistent when it comes to waves; at times nothing breaks for months. At least the scenary can be considered a fixed feature, absolutely stunning: you'll find a series of coves framed by tropical vegetation and koala bears hanging everywhere. I drove from Byron Bay with Anthony and Heidi with no real expectations about scoring some waves. We enjoyed the day in town and we took a walk into the natural reserve. Then we departed at the end of the day. I spent the night in Noosa with plans to get up early in the morning and try to surf the feeble pulse delivering knee high waves the day before. I woke up around 6 AM, parked my car at the edge of the park and started walking for about 30 minutes to get to the most isolated spot in the area, Granite Bay. I paddled out alone, waves in the 4 foot range, but with a dropping tide giving hopes for good things to come. It turned out to be one of the best sessions I ever had. Size kept increasing to solid 6/7 feet. Waves started wrapping around the point into the bay. I surfed for 5 hours straight 'til I could not paddle anymore; sets kept rolling in all day long. I made it back to the beach, completely dehydrated but greatful for such an amazing day of surf.

cheers
D.

Driving South

"You are from the US, aren't you?" Evidently my funny accent reveals a past in California and everybody asks me if I am American! I usually answer: "No mate....but I spent quite some time over there!” They have hard time to figure out where San Diego is on the California map but they usually know about "Blacks" and "Trestles". I have been surfing every day for the past 3 weeks and I'm paying my dues to Huey, the Big Australian Ocean. I cut my leg once and I got a lump on my forehead as big as a golf ball after a nasty wipe out few days later. Waves don't forgive you around here; rip currents are outrageous as well. Few days ago I surfed at Broken Head Natural Reserve. I don't remember surfing a beach break at 8/9 feet and it was quite intimidating. I'm currently in Sydney to take care of the bureaucratic procedures related to my future stay in Bali. On my way down from Byron Bay I detoured and surfed the legendary point called "Crescent Head"; it was only 2/3 feet but perfect and glassy. I stopped in Newcastle and had a long conversation with Mark Richards at the surf-shop on Hunter Street. He sold me a travel bag for my board. We joked about the time he was 17 or so and they didn't allow him to cross the border from San Diego to Tijuana because under age. In Sydney I met Bill, my ex neighbor from Mission Beach; we took off for the week end in search of waves. We headed south, ending up about 3 hours from Sydney, surrounded by farmland, in front of the majestic Tasman Sea. The region is famous for heaps of surf, empty waves and the beautiful coastline. On Saturday we surfed a shallow reef called "Golf Course Reef", just north of Ulladulla. The spot is famous for a dangerous hollow left-hander producing sick barrels: it was only 4 feet high but quite fun.
We found another small fun wave in Mollymook the day after, a nice spot with few scattered rocks. It was a nice weekend, even if the rainy season is getting a bit annoying at times. The South Coast is wetter and I can't wait to get back to the warmer North Region and Queensland.
Hope you guys are well.....