Originally better known as a fishing spot than a surf spot, Snapper is now probably the most crowded wave in all of Australia. Thanks to a project that began back in 1995 clearing sand from the entrance to the Tweed River, it’s now possible to ride a wave from Snapper all the way down to Kirra … rare, but possible! Probably one of the reasons you’ll find the likes of Parko and Mick Fanning at this spot, when they’re not travelling the globe with the ASP World Tour.

Here’s our take on the wave that helps to kick off the ASP season every year at the Quiksliver Pro:

Snapper Rocks

Snapper Rocks: the start point of the longest right-hand barrel machine on earth. The Snapper section gets more swell than Kirra, often delivering a hard-breaking take-off, leading to a makeable tube section and race-track. Can link up across Rainbow and Greenmount for record breaking shack time. Current is mad so get a wave quick and walk back up the beach. Advanced. Crowds … Ah Yeah!!

Here’s more info on Gold Coast surfspots and surf spots around Australia.

Keen surfers anywhere can reel off any number of surf spots on Queensland’s Gold Coast. We’ll cover most of them in future postings, but for now we’re going to focus on North Stradbroke Island. Commonly known as Straddie, there’s a number of quality spots around. Here’s a breakdown of a few of them for you, along with a fun clip from a couple of years ago.

Surfer's Eye map for North Straddie / Cylinders

North Stradbroke & Cylinders
Catch the ferry from the harbour at Cleveland to Dunwich. Call 07 3488 5300 for Stradbroke Ferries. It costs about $17 return for the water taxi.
Cylinders: on northern tip. Long, barrelling R breaks over reef and sand bottom. Can be all-time. Holds up to 6-8ft of big SE swells, but cops the NE cyclone swells head-on. Intense takeoff. Long paddle-out (get a boat). Very isolated & sharky. Experienced surfers only. If wind is north, head to Main Beach for consistent beach-break peaks.

Surfer's Eye map for Straddie Main Beach

Straddie Main Beach
Take the same directions as for Cylinders, but it runs south from Point Lookout. In the centre of the E coast, very long sandy beach with numerous L & R beachies, quality is dependent on the banks. Most are best in up to 6ft SE swells but it works in NE’s too. Very isolated & sharky. Experienced surfers only. Uncrowded and best in early mornings or winter.

Surfer's Eye map for South Straddie

The Spit & South Straddie
Heading N on Gold Coast Hwy, turn R on Waterways begore the Gold Coast Br, L on Seaworld Dr to the end. Just off S break wall, a nice L breaks on the structured sand banks. Mellow, if short rides. Best in up to 6ft NE-SE swells. You can paddle across to South Straddie if wind more S. Both spots pull swell when it’s small, and generally have more power than Surfer’s breaks.

Here’s even more info for you on surf spots around the Gold Coast and the rest of Australia.

North Straddie >>

About 100 miles south of Brisbane you’ll find Byron Bay with beaches, plenty of waves and, at times, insane crowds. There are a handful of quality waves to be had in the area, but we’re going to focus on The Wreck and The Pass.

Surfer's Eye map of The Wreck at Byron Bay

Byron Bay, The Wreck – a beautiful R breaking over an old shipwreck on sandy rock bottom. Sand builds up round the wreck, creating a hollow 50-150m wave. The beach itself can produce the odd beach-break peak, getting in massive SE swells. Very crowded spot for all standards of surfer.

Surfer's Eye map of The Pass at Byron Bay

Byron Bay, The Pass – quality R off the rocks on S point. Breaks over sand and rock, giving a 3-400m ride into the beach. Holds up to 10ft swell. Heavy paddle-out, heavier crowds. Look for Bullies – a mean, rocky beachie round the corner in a cove. Check Wategos for novice beachies.

Here’s more info on surf spots for the north coast of New South Wales and for the whole of Australia.

Quadrocopter Video Piloting – Surfing – Byron Bay Australia from rc-video.org on Vimeo.

“Once, if you wanted to surf Bells Beach, there were two ways of getting there: paddle from Torquay or bush-bash your way along the coastline on foot, carrying your board.

Joel Parkinson in action at Bells Beach. Which is really a point. Photo: Barefoot Media

In 1960, surfer Joe Sweeney organised a grader to clear a track to Bells and the trickle of surfers became a steady flow. Then, in 1962, Peter Troy and Vic Tantau organised the rally that became the world’s longest-running board-riding contest.

Fast-forward five decades and the beach is struggling to cope with 1 million visitors a year. Already its lone toilet block cannot cope – it now has to be pumped out every 48 hours.”

Read the full article at The Age

An acclaimed professional theatre company based in Bristol, England. tobacco store Tobacco smoking is the greatest single cause of premature death and is a leading preventable cause of morbidity in New South Wales.