Ever thought of windsurfing in Australia for 6-12 months.....read on
Here is our route for OZ done twice!
To say Australia (Oz) is a big place is a major understatement; Oz can easily fit the whole of Europe or the USA into its vast open spaces. My better half Lilias and I were 3/4 ways through a 17 country, 1-year tour of Europe when we figured it would be nice to do just 1 country in 1 year and windsurf perfect waves. Our planning on Europe had been do we turn left or right at Calais on arrival, the Oz master planning ended with do we go North or South on arrival at Sydney (in May the weather had the final say as North meant warm and South meant winter – no contest).
In our 40s (then) and having given up the security of a home and jobs for a few years, we were definitely on a budget/beach bum style of life (still no change there) and not on the hotel/hire car type of holiday. The cheapest route to Oz is usually via Asia, however, the USA route gives double the baggage allowance and therefore no windsurf excess baggage charges at the airport (assuming you take one board/mast/boom and a couple of sails etc and the usual stuff). Plus you get a chance to stop off round the world and no curry or rice for breakfast on route (speaking from personal experience), of course they are a bit fussy at their airports these days.... check prices on web site links below. Now the no stop Qantas Heathrow to Perth is a good option (only 17 hours).
You can get online 3(free) to 12 month(£75) tourist Visa. Younger people under 35 can get a working Visa that can get you another year if you do some harvest shop type work.
We had hoped to buy a large coach built motor caravan in Sydney on arrival and then sell it when we left, but the cost was too high compared to Europe so we quickly downsized to a standard painters van, a white Toyota Hiace LWB (with full legal tinted windows and engine aircon when driving – a godsend). Vans like this are commonly used by travelers like us and start at about £1000 pounds standard, or fitted out as a camper and are very easy to sell on to new travelers.
This is the 2010 version:
Unlike many who fit a raised platform in the rear to put kit under and a bed on top, we just put an airbed in the rear and had more room, which was left permanently inflated as a place to relax/sleep (note I’m 6’4”). In front of this was a 3-person bench seat on which we sat and ate in the rare cold weather. In and around the van using bungees (works brilliantly more flexible and no weight) and plastic boxes, we had an electric cool box plus a spare battery and charger (or simply buy ice and use a big good cool box( as we did later), just as cheap, ice is sold everywhere and will last >5 days), a 2 ring gas burner and gas, two 20 ltr water containers, fan, plus all the food, tables and chairs, bags, clothes, fishing gear, wetsuits etc. We also hung net curtains and curtains with wire/velcro over the windows, big rear and side doors to let the draft in and keep the flies/mosquitos out, also use sunshades on any unused windows!. After a year with lots of free bush camping we were still reasonably happy with the living conditions as we spent most of the time outside the van, now we also use a very strong home made Gazebo(winds) that can be left when we drive off when semi static. When away for a long perod of time from civilisation we collect and fill loads of old 10-15 ltr water containers with water, for showers and drinking. Oz produces quite a few books on where to camp for free or small payments ($5-$10) for the whole country. Free camping does not necessarily mean no toilet or water etc.
The windsurf gear (most of which we bought 2nd hand in Sydney), went on a 4 bar roof rack (now 8 as we have added the Gazebo and internet aerial mast), this meant lots of space/headroom in the van (a blessing when it was plus 40 degrees C outside with flies). With 2 windsurf shops in the space of a few miles in Sydney buying kit is easy and a reasonable price if you bargain, especially if you are not in the mid windsurf season (Perth is cheaper and has 4 shops). May (autumn in Oz) is a good time to go if arriving at Sydney and you intend to go north and right around the country because you can follow the warm weather but miss the worst of the wet season area (in the North approximately Cairns to Broome). But its not a good time to windsurf the East coast as the wind is more reliant on passing depressions than the steady thermal induced winds of summer. However, we knew that we would see Western Australia’s (WA) famous windsurfing west coast at its best when we arrived there in its windy season (Sep-Mar). Going north from Sydney we were pessimistic and took out a little insurance by using bigger wave boards (and a 6 meter sail for my 85 kgs) than we would normally use, for the expected lighter winds.Keeping track of the weather for windsurfing can easily be done with the daily papers, radio or on the internet with some web sites showing great detail and 7-10 day outlooks, www.windguru.com and www.seabreeze.com.au being particularly good for WA, with www.bom.gov.au good for all Oz.To describe fully all of the windsurf spots we visited on our trip would take a book. So as far as “spots” are concerned I’ve attached a table of useful information starting at Sydney. Generally real and regular waves disappear going north once you reach the southern end of the Barrier Reef and don’t reappear until Ningaloo Reef in WA (experienced windsurfers take note). The southern coast of Oz appears to get regular 2-3 meter swells whereas the West coast gets only 1-3 in mid season (Oct-Feb). For pure down the line wave riding, non-secret, easy to get to spots I have indicated the 4 well known places, Esperance, Margeret River and Lancelin. There are also the less well known spots of Cactus, Ningaloo Reef (where we spent 6 weeks doing snorkeling, windsurfing, surfing and walking) and finally
Gnaraloo which I would have to say, to my mind, is the best and a world class, dream, hardcore spot that could give you the odd nightmare at my level! We spend a lot of time at Coronation beach near Geraldton an all rounders place, which is a good place to chill out having a good social atmosphere and a proper town near by for food. For those with 5 years to spare and a serious off road vehicle there are hundreds of places to go.
The last few years we have kept to WA, its more reliable for wind, we now sail 75,89 and 93 ltr Quad boards with 3.7 to 5.7 meter sails and are happy with that. Between Sep and Mar you just need to be in the right spots at the right time, over 20 years we averaged 50-55% (>F5 not the usual F4) sailing days, mainly in waves, but that's over 5 months not 2 weeks, on no more than a 5.3 sail usually. These are not brochure exaggerations but yearly recorded figures by ourselves! Obviously with bigger energy, boards and sails you can get a least 65%.
The north has a real problem with saltwater crocodiles around any river estuaries, beware if you are fishing, I fished a spot with 7 cruising within 5-50 yds of me. They are man-eaters, the stories you hear about them are true, so stay clear of the rivers and stick to worrying about the sharks (which we saw all around Oz). Any places we saw or heard about sharks being around in any numbers I’ve put in the table, not to scare anyone, as they aren’t a problem. Most of the time they are small reef sharks 3-5 feet so they tend to be more interesting to see close up than scary. We regularly saw them snorkeling and nearly stepped on them in the shallows more than once. Occasionally we did come up close to a big one (8 feet) like Tiger Sharks and prudence usually beat bravery!
On the less worrying side the shores of Oz are fantastic, we regularly windsurfed with Humpback whales (within 10 feet of adults and young calves and even a baby whale which came to check me out, an unbelievable experience), dolphins,
turtles (sat on a beach and watched a group of 150 mating turtles at Nigaloo Reef within 1-50 yds, got to get your kicks how you can in Oz), shar.. (Oops there they are again).
We swam with whale sharks (within 6 feet), dugongs, manta rays, dolphins, turtles, sea snakes and hundreds of different fish.
On land we saw kangaroos, wallabies, emus, camels, hundreds of different colorful birds, snakes (had to dance on the spot to dodge one on the beach in seaweed), fruit bats (not the small quaint little things, but giant, onion smelling, purple shit machines that can only enhance the already mud/dust painted van),
lizards (up to 2 meters long), koalas, dingoes, ……the list is endless.
Fishing is a major sport in Oz for all the family, Tinnies (small aluminium boats) are everywhere, fishing from the shore is very good and ten times as productive as in the UK. So apart from the superb fresh fish when you are a 100 miles from the nearest shop, it’s a good sport for early morning, night or the no wind days, you would not believe how many women fish in Oz even the beach babes.
Sightseeing in Oz was totally unlike our trip to Europe, the space between places of serious interest could easily be 500 miles or more. Remember though that the roads are empty and distances are measured in hours rather than kilometers, your average speed will be very near your maximum cruising speed unlike being on UK roads. Fuel was cheaper, but depends on exchange rates compared to what we pay in UK. Costs could go up if you hit one of the many wandering cows and sheep and especially kangaroos at dusk/night. One friend hit a full-grown Asian cow with a car towing a caravan in the far north, imagine the consequences…on the other hand the very thought of it keeps you vigilant and awake on the long drives!
A small ant hill.
Those spots worth a visit but not mentioned in the table “highlights” attached are:
The “Red Center”, a long trip in and out from the north but included the magnificent Ayres Rock and the nearby Olgas, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs and the Devils Marbles. All were particularly impressive at sunset with a glass wine or beer in the hand.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder is north of Esperance and is a major gold mining area.
Cooper Pedy is the main Opal mining area of Australia, but just as interesting is the way the miners live, which is underground to escape the scorching heat and desolate landscape (Mad Max was filmed here). Houses even hotels have been carved built into the simple hole in the ground mines.
The Kakadu is a National Park, a major wildlife and Aboriginal cultural area south east of Darwin. Close by are hot springs and Katherine Gorge, a great place to canoe.
National Parks are numerous in Oz, they are a good place for cheap/free camping, many are merely protected bush land, others are gorges and rain forest, space is not at a premium in Oz and there really are a lot of Parks.
The Margaret River “Bushtucker Wine Tour”, a blurred if not memorable day! There are also tours at the Barossa Valley near Adelaide and the Hunter Valley near Sydney.
Prices are getting worse due to the radical change over 15 years in the exchange rate (40%). Generally we found fast food/cafes to be widespread, cheap and good value. The BYO (bring your own) booze concept in restaurants is very popular and certainly cuts the cost of a night out! Visa cards used in bank machines for cash loose you more of your money, although the Nationwide and others does allow you to draw cash on their bank card abroad cheaper! Another way is to transfer a lump sum (approx £20) once you have opened an account in Oz, just ready a transfer before leaving UK and avoid commission charges.
Europeans have only been in Oz for a couple of hundred years and Aboriginal culture although 3000 years old or more, is not that evident due to the way they recorded their history and the climate. Compared to Europe’s historical buildings Oz is a real lightweight (one town’s main attraction was a water bottle from the Burke and Willis expedition that first attempted a south to north crossing of Oz), but the Aboriginal Dreamtime culture makes up for that if you take an interest. As for the meeting of the aboriginal and European cultures, personally I’d say it still has a way to go to be living equally and in harmony.
After the first 9 months I thought we had to go back again to OZ, so as many others do we opted to store the van and return to for another windsurf season on the west coast. Amazingly my better half fell for it over a couple of drinks. The van storage turned out to be cheap and all the gear is ready to go and waiting when we arrive, touch wood, so we have done it for 22 years now!
To see and windsurf Oz you need no guide, its there waiting for you, do it sooner rather than later, we have no regrets and cannot wait to return, 15 bottom turn waves…….!
As of 2023 real days sailed average (wind with waves) for 80-90 ltr board and 3.7 to 5.7 sail, acheived by being in the right area over 22 years in WA.The results are recorded facts not old wives tales, and more is possible in poorer waves or high winds.
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
8 17 17 19 17.5 12 10
Useful Web Sites
Home Page - Bureau of Meteorology
Synoptic Weather Analysis for Perth, Western Australia
WindGURU: Australia - Geraldton
WindGURU: Australia - Gnaraloo
Windfinder - Wind & weather forecast Gnaraloo
Windfinder - Wind & weather forecast Geraldton Aero
Tide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Surf Sail Australia -Online Surfwear, Sunglasses, Wetsuits, Surfboards, Windsurfing, Kitesurfing
https://www.revolutionboardsports.com.au/
2nd Wind Sailboards | Windsurfing in Perth, Western Australia
Malaysia Airlines Flights from London, UK
United Kingdom Flights - Singapore Airlines
Qantas Airlines: Australia or Asia - Cheap Flights, Specials, Holidays, Packages, Tours
Links for some of Our Old Videos on Utube 2013, I don't tend to advertise the best stuff of Gnaraloo now, as I told Koster this year when he asked me to put the one I did of him "all over the internet" I get get grief from the locals!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCQcEEVCk80
Lilias link
Steve link
The Amateurs link
Low tide at Gnaraloo Reef
OZ SPOTNAME TABLE 18 May 07.doc (153 kB)