BEST PLACE TO LIVE AND SURF

neon_glows

Where do you think the best place to live and surf is?

--- Im for gold coast/sunshine coast australia.

cornbb

I'm in bay-area California at the moment for work - went for a drive yesterday and saw some beautiful waves. (Went in search of Maverick's but didn't manage to find it). Haven't been to Oz, Hawaii, south California etc but this place looks like a fantastic spot to surf

Crumble Froo

nah, wouldnt like gold coast. sharks, jellyfish, sunburn and crowded line ups (ok, everywhere has it's secret spots, but still).

currently living in christchurch, nz, would be awesome to live in brighton/sumner, both nice spots, but in a fantasy, hypothetical world, i think tonga or samoa would be awesome. tropical waters, generally uncrowded and some absolutely beautiful waves.

Traq

Hey Crumble Froo, just the person I was looking for! Currently in Oz but may be making the move over NZ direction with work in the near future, just wondering what the surf conditions are generally like over that part of the world? Water temp, consistency etc. Any advice would be great.

As for the original topic, I'd definitely rule out the Gold Coast, too crowded and just not to my liking at all. The Sunshine Coast is pretty spectacular though, pristine beaches, nicer people and great waves. Elsewhere in Oz Perth is great for waves but I found it very dull living there. Sydney would be a far better city to live in, and any of the Northern surf beaches there are fantastic.

Crumble Froo

Traq wrote: »

Hey Crumble Froo, just the person I was looking for! Currently in Oz but may be making the move over NZ direction with work in the near future, just wondering what the surf conditions are generally like over that part of the world? Water temp, consistency etc. Any advice would be great.

alright, before we get too far into this, be aware that ive been surfing less than two years, and still far from much good at it... but i do love it...

ive only surfed in christchurch (ok, a couple in sydney and a couple in ireland, but mostly christchurch), at sumner and new brighton. ok, you're in oz, so you'll be aware that it's coming into summer here, water's 11 degrees at the moment. will probably get a bit colder as it warms up, due to the snow melting on the mountains, but definitely got up to 16 degrees last summer, fairly sure it got higher, too.

waves are relatively smallish round here, though can get lamp-post size at taylor's mistake in the right conditions.

surfing sumner, where you'll usually find the longboarders (though quite a few of all other varieties out there too) is a real mellow wave. i always compare the two breaks that sumner wants you to ride it, while brighton dares you to. usually very nice by stoke st, but when everywhere else fails, it's often pumping by the boat ramp (plus, easy way to get out the back ). usually 2-3ft waves (measuring from the back), but obviously, can vary, and i got my first ever barrel there

new brighton is where you'll find the shortboarders. the further north you go, the more exposed it is, and the bigger the waves will get. best surfed at high tide, quite prone to hollow, smashing waves, awesome for those good enough to go for the tube, not so flash for the rest of us :pac:

im not quite sure which i prefer. at the moment, because i live inland and can't drive, im storing my board at brighton (well, north beach), so been surfing there heaps and the challenge of it has sorta made me have to step up a bit. i tend to get real frustrated after thrashing after thrashing, then go for a surf in sumner and realise i really have improved heaps. then back to brighton with more confidence and have a good surf and then try something new and get thrashed again :pac:

pretty consistent here, almost always either a south/north swell/wind creating a decent drift along brighton. always quite rippy down southshore, by the peninsula. that's about all ive got really. like i say, this the only place ive really surfed, so i know this area quite well, but with no other points of reference.

As for the original topic, I'd definitely rule out the Gold Coast, too crowded and just not to my liking at all. The Sunshine Coast is pretty spectacular though, pristine beaches, nicer people and great waves. Elsewhere in Oz Perth is great for waves but I found it very dull living there. Sydney would be a far better city to live in, and any of the Northern surf beaches there are fantastic.

i'd so much rather live in melbourne, with the beach access of sydney. as a city, i hated sydney, but loved the proximity to beach, and loved melbourne, but hated proximity to beach. one of the best waves ive caught so far though, was in manly.

Traq

Cheers for the insight, much appreciated. I'll definitely be bringing the board over with me anyway and I'll see how I get on! I've only been surfing myself about four years at this stage, and only consistently for the last two, so I wouldn't be too hot at it all. Still, I love getting out in the water, there's something just so satisfying about it, so I wouldn't change it for the world! As for the eleven degree water though, don't like the sound of that :eek:

Yeah, that's what I've always said over here, in an ideal world if I could take Sydney's beaches and couple them with Melbourne as a city that'd be a place that I'd never want to leave! Without doubt Melbourne's the best city there is in Oz, just the long drive down the coast to get anything surfable is a huge pain.

Thanks again for your help!

hopalong85

Indonesia hands down for me. World class waves with no crowds, that's in an ideal world though I guess.

Crumble Froo

oh god, indonesia. local mag had a photoshoot there this edition... god i want to surf there.

hopalong85

Crumble Froo wrote: »

oh god, indonesia. local mag had a photoshoot there this edition... god i want to surf there.

Spent a month there last summer. Stayed up in Uluwatu for a good part of that, no crowds and you spend about 15 euro a day to live. Epic!:D

Really want to take the trip to G-land in Sumatra the next time I'm over, looks so amazing!

Johnny Giles

Bundoran is supposed to be a good place for surfing too. It's up in Donegal

bagus

hopalong85 wrote: »

Spent a month there last summer. Stayed up in Uluwatu for a good part of that, no crowds and you spend about 15 euro a day to live. Epic!:D

Really want to take the trip to G-land in Sumatra the next time I'm over, looks so amazing!

G-Land is in Java. You better be on your game.

Indo is crowded.

PjC

Japan meant to be savage as well, no one surfing the bigger stuff. Chile good spot too, cold water though.

hopalong85

bagus wrote: »

G-Land is in Java. You better be on your game.

Indo is crowded.

My bad, you're right, it is in Java. Sumatra has some top stuff too, not as easily accessable though from what I've heard, met a Brazilian guy last year who was flying there, it was his second time, he couldn't speak highly enough of it.

You find it crowded compared to where? Certainly not compared to South Africa, Oz, Hawaii etc..

loctite

Done a bit (not a lot, just a bit) abroad, and Ireland is winner hands down.

Feck all crowds, feck all (a bit, but not a lot) localism, and very little sun burn for my pasty white freckled skin!!

And of the 32, I think Sligo is my favourite spot...

Crumble Froo

... you surf ireland with enough flesh exposed to worry about sun exposure?! :eek:

gally74

if your really into surf,

Sligo hands down!

ourfi

Bunbury or Margaret River in WA.