Gold Coast Surf Breaks

SURF BREAKS ON THE GOLD COAST This is a brief description and guide to the surf breaks on the Gold Coast , Queensland, Australia. Starting from the North end and travelling south. South Stradbroke island also known as TOS (The Other Side) refers to the beach breaks on the other side of the Southport Seaway. There is a small ferry that will take you across for a small charge, or if youre not scared of the sharks you can do the paddle. TOS is known for some of the most perfect peaks you will ever see. Works best in SW to NW winds. The Spit is one of the very few breaks on the Gold Coast that is sheltered from the summer NE winds. Check it when everwhere else is blown out .easy to find just follow your nose past sea World and you cant miss it. Main Beach down to Burleigh There’s a variety of beach breaks on this stretch of the coast that can vary from mindless perfection to absolute crap. the only way to know is to keep checking it….. Nobbys headland offers a small amount of protection on either side from the easterly winds and can sometimes get good when the sand builds up in the corners Burleigh Heads is one of the most famous point breaks on the coast. Perfect right hand tubes break along a boulder covered shoreline,. The SE wind protected, picturesque headland, is famous for its incredible barrels and being the birth place of ‘man on man’ surfing at the 1977 Stubbies Classic. Around the headland (you can see it from the carpark on top of the hill) is Burleigh cove. generally the cove will break too fast to link through to the longest part of the wave. But with the right distribution of sand the wave can be an ‘all time’ tube. Palm Beach is full of beach breaks that can be very good on their day. There are a couple of rock walls at the northern end (Eleventh and Twentyfirst Ave)that can get really hollow waves if the sand is right Currumbin Alley The ‘Alley’ at Currumbin can get very good. And on occassion as good or better than it’s more famous cousins, kirra, Burleigh and the Super bank. like most of the Gold Coast’s breaks it is totally reliant on sand. You can see the break from the Gold coast highway bridge going over Tallebudgera creek. Lacey’s lane is the last section that can get very good right on the beach at Palmy

Elephant Rock
is a rocky outcrop about a kilometre south of the Alley and can get some good banks if the sand is right

Tugun and Bilinga have more great beach breaks usually better on the higher tides.

Kirra Point has not been the same since the Tweed river sand pumping project started.Of course the trade off has been the Super bank but a lot of old time locals are not happy about the dissapearance of their world class break
Kirra stills breaks and gets perfect on occassion but is totally reliant on the sand and usually these days is a racey closeout that tow surfers are dominating. Kirra Point is now the last section of the famous Super bank.

Kirra point before the Super Bank ;Ray Manicaros deep in the tube Photo Courtesy Martin Tullemans

The Super Bank is now one of the most famous waves in the world and also one of the most crowded. the best parts of the bank can change from day to day. On a normal day you can get some of the longest tubes of your life. On an exceptional day you can catch a wave non-stop for at least a kilometre.

Snapper Rocks the first section of the Super bank . When its pumping its for experienced surfers only. the take off is behind the rocks and theres usually no time for turns …take off and pull in!!

Little Marley is the next section a small outcrop of rocks, that before the sand pumping actually affected the banks here but now its usually covered in sand and you can surf straight past without even knowing it was there.

Lucky surfer sets himself up for a long section at Little Marley and prepares to negotiate the tube and dodge the other surfers

Rainbow Bay is one of the best sections of the superbank and where most guys jump in.

Rainbow Bay the ‘Super bank’ at Sunset

The view from Kirra hill looking back to Rainbow bay

Greenmount to Coolangatta beach can have some of the best waves on the Super bank. The current is usually strong when it gets over 1.5 metres

Coolangatta beach. Check the guy on the inside wave

Duranbah Beach is not technically speaking part of the Gold Coast. but part of NSW and the Tweed Coast.
Duranbah or Dbah as it is affectionately known by the locals is just over the hill from Snapper Rocks . Its very consistent and will have waves when there is nowhere else to surf …hence the huge and constant crowd. The short punchy peaks at Dbah have been the training ground for Pro Surfers from the days of Rabbit, MP and Peter Townend right up until now .
The famous ‘Cooly Kids’ Dean Morrisson, Joel Parkinson and 2007 World Champion Mick Fanning have all used Durnbah as their training ground through their younger years.
easy to find just drive to the top of Point Danger and look down.

An average day at Duranbah Beach