Byron Bay

Surfing, perhaps more than any other religion , is the common denominator in Byron Bay. Blessed with a selection of world class breaks, byron Bay has become a surfing mecca.

Surfing (in itself) has no discrimination - old and young, rich and poor, men and women, children and adults, black and white, locals and anyone else - all come to pray in the blue room. In Byron Bay, we are fortunate to have a variety of breaks that cater for a skill levels. Choose from Wategos, The Pass, Belongil, The Wreck, Broken, Tallows and Cosy Corner - depending on your skill and where the wind is coming from.

When the surf's up, Byron is cruising. When there's been no swell for a couple of weeks, you can feel the frustration in the air, as the devotees struggle to find the same peace as they find in the ocean. Then the swell picks up again, and so does the buzz in Byron.

The testimony to Byron's love affair with surfing can be seen on the main street - no less than 5 surf shops on Jonson St and a countless procession of surfboard wielding backpackers. This is a far cry from Byron's origins as a surf town. It was more than 40 years ago when Byron first made waves on the surf scene. In 1962, two lucky New Zealanders chanced upon Lennox Head, and the world surf press loved it. Naturally, Byron soon followed suit and has since become one of Australia's favourite destinations.

Byron Bay is truly blessed with a collection of north, east and south facing beaches - warm water, quality waves and a view to die for. There's almost always a wave there to be had if you know which break to go to.

With so many kilometres of coastline, Australia has thousands of beaches so you'd expect Byron Bay's beaches to be pretty much the same as anywhere else right? Anyone whose spent some time on the beaches of Byron Bay will tell you, that all beaches are not made equal.

Tallow Beach
Tallow Beach is the long and open beach on the southern side of the lighthouse. As an open beach, it pick’s up all swells. This beach is not for the novice, unless the swell is super tiny. Expect a fast and hollow wave, sometimes also large spilling waves.

Conditions are best when winds are from the North East to North West, to South West. If there are waves nowhere else, there will be some at Tallow Beach. This is a strong rip that travels out along the rocks near the lighthouse which many surfers use to get out quickly, but beware this area during a south swell; the current will push you onto the rocks.

Tallow Beach always has strong rips and currents along it, so beware.

The north end of Tallow Beach is a no dogs zone, parts of the South end are dogs allowed.  The rangers are always around, so keep your pooch in the right area or cop a fine.

Nicname is just “Tallows”, but its true name is Tallow beach, not Tallows Beach

Little Wategos
The first beach on teh easter side of the is Little Wategos. It's one of the best fishing spots for all types of fish.... jewfish are caught here and tailor by the bucketful when they are on. If you are looking for a fish, all around the lighthouse there are good spots but be sure to check in with the fishing shops for details as to where you can and can't fish... Byron Bay is a marine park and some areas are off limits.

Little Wategos rarely gets a good surfable wave so its not popular with the surfers.

Watego Beach
Jus around from little Wategos, is Watgegoe Beach. it is situated directly North of the lighthouse. Watego Beach and its spilling waves are favourite for the longboarders. There are generally two sections, an inside smaller section, steeper at the south end, and a larger, more spilling breaks further out

It’s also a great family beach. There are shaded free barbecue facilities, showers and toilets. Not the best beach for bodysurfing though due to the gentle slope of the beach and the two sections.

Expect a long ride, often all the way to the pass, and sometimes even beyond it. Swell is best when the wind is from the South East to South. All swells are seen here, except a directly south swell. There is always a sweep from North to South, so enter via the North End and watch your position when catching a wave to not end up on the rocks on the South Side. If you overshoot, keep on surfing around to the pass to avoid the rocks.

The Pass
The Bay’s most well know wave, and with so much variety on the one ride. At the point, expect a steep takeoff and a hollow ride as it breaks past the rocks. Experienced surfers at this takeoff point only, novices can end up on the rocks, or crashing into the often large entourage. Past the rocks, is another take off spot that breaks along the beach towards Clarkes Beach – though on some days waves from the first take off point may continue here as well. Waves here are more spilling, and suit the novice surfer.

There is no shore dump, so again, not much for the body surfer, but the gentle rolling waves close to shore are ideal for the kids learning on long boards, foamies or body boards.

Swell is best when the wind is from the South East to South, as with Watego Beach but can be surfed in all winds as it often holds shape even with onshore winds.

The bigger the swell, the bigger the current, so when it’s big, this is no place for the novice. Unless there are no waves at all, the pass is always busy show some respect – dropping in and snaking will not win you popularity here.

Dive and fishing boats use the boat ramp here, so watch out for them, the boats all signal their intention to come through by sounding a horn.

Clarkes to Main Beach
From Tommo’s rock inside the pass all the way to the main car park, this is the best beach for learning to surf and body surfing. The length of the beach means there are usually some uncrowded spots, with varying steepness of takeoff. Near the Surf Life Saving Club the waves are often fast and hollow, but at times are small and spilling – it’s all dependant on the swell size and direction. The sand cover ebbs and flows with storms, so rocks may at times be exposed if the beach has suffered recent erosion.

Surf is best when the wind is from the South East to South West, and picks up from most swells. There is always a Sweep towards Belongil, no matter where you are on Clarkes or Main Beach, so be aware of where you are if taking off near the car park rocky headland or you’ll need to exit on Belongil Beach in front of the Wreck

The Wreck to Belongil Beach
There are several wrecks near the main beach car park, one directly off from the car park is one of the best snorkelling spots around with the wreck creating an artificial reef. The “wreck” of the wreck surfing spot, is the remains of the Wollongbar which was washed from the old Byron Bay Jetty during the 1920’s, you can still see the remains of it sticking out above the waves.

The break here is caused by several factors. The wreck itself, the fact that the beach turns more easterly here, and the underwater sand bank caused by the rock wall funnelling sand back out into the bay. These combine to make this great wave

Take care when surfing here as the wreck break can be dangerous. Steep take offs, and hollow dumping waves are common on both left and right break due to the sandbanks caused by all of the above mentioned factors.
Further west down onto Belongil Beach there are waves for both the experienced and the novice surfer with a mix of fast hollow dumping waves and soft spilling waves dependant on the swell and sandbanks.

All swells from the North to the South are seen here, and best wind conditions are West to South West.... but its surfable all the way round to a south east wind.

If there is surf, there will be sweep, and expect fast rips that can take you from 15 metres off shore to 300 metres offshore in less than a minute.

Learning to surf here is only suitable in small surf at high tide, as the waves often break very close to shore.

Lots of Belongil beach is dog off lead friendly so if you are a cat, don't go here. Keep going West..... and you'll soon be travelling North as the Bay swings around. Its many miles to Brunswick Heads but it is a doable walk. There is a nude beach along the way so if you do feel to continue past the Belongil houses... don't forget to pack lots of extra sunscreen.

Acknowledgements - much of this information provided by Gaz from Style Surfing.