Surfing – Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road region has dozens of surf breaks along its coast and draws a steady stream of seasoned surfers all year round. The most famous is Bells Beach, a much-loved icon of Australia’s surf scene where the Rip Curl Pro, part of the ASP World Championship Tour, is held every Easter.
The region is also a great place to learn how to surf. There are a number of excellent learn to surf schools along the coast and most beginners find themselves standing on a board by the end of a two-hour session.
The many breaks, waves and subtleties of wind and weather are best gleaned from the experienced locals, who will share a secret or two if they are approached the right way but here are a few of the best surf spots to start you on your way.
Bellarine Peninsula
Surfing is a popular activity along the southern coast of the Bellarine Peninsula where Bass Strait provides plenty of wave action. Some of the best places to catch a wave are at Point Lonsdale, Ocean Grove and Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads.
Around Torquay and Anglesea
Torquay is considered by many to be the ‘surf capital’ of Australia. Torquay itself is ideal for beginners while good intermediate reefs and beach breaks can be found at Point Impossible, Point Danger and Jan Juc. From Bird Rock, at the west end of Jan Juc, to Bell’s Beach is a rocky shoreline with a series of reef breaks below the cliffs more suitable for advanced riders.
World-renowned Bells Beach has two main breaks, the Bowl and Rincon, both right-handers and at their best during autumn and winter. Excellent right-hand breaks can also be found at nearby Winki Pop and Centreside with Southside providing one of the few lefts in the area.
Anglesea and nearby Fairhaven have good beginner and body surfing beach breaks, while the long stretch of coast between Airey’s Inlet and Lorne is distinguished by Cathedral Rock, a favourite with many west coast surfers.
Lorne to Apollo Bay
The surf beach at Lorne gets crowded, but is ideal for bodysurfing and for relaxing on the wide sands. Lorne has beach breaks for beginners and bigger right-handers running into the rocky shores of Lorne Point and, on its western side, at Vera Lynn and off St George’s River. Along the coast, between Lorne and Apollo Bay, there are good surf spots at Cumberland River, Wye River, Baldy Rock, Skene’s Creek, Sawmills and Kennett River. The main surf breaks around Apollo Bay are Marengo, Boneyards and Juniors, all just past the town.
The main beach at Apollo Bay, like that of Lorne, can get crowded but is good for bodysurfing – or just taking it easy on the golden sand.
35 kilometres west of Apollo Bay lies the windswept Johanna Beach, one of the top surfing beaches in Victoria.
Shipwreck Coast
Past Cape Otway is one of the best western surf areas. There are big beach breaks on the steeply sloping ocean floor and a variety of reefs and beach breaks around Castle Cove and Johanna Beach. These conditions are repeated at Princetown, Gibson Steps, Port Campbell and Peterborough.
The towering cliffs and indented shoreline in other areas along this coast virtually eliminate any idea of surfing.
Warrnambool and the far west coast
It is an increasingly wild coast in the west, but there are beaches with good access at Port Fairy, Warrnambool and Portland. At Warrnambool, around Lady Bay, are the beach breaks of Japs, The Flume and Levy’s Beach. At Port Fairy there is the gentle surf of East Beach, the big right-hand reef breaks of the Lighthouse and Green Island, the point break of The Passage and the reefs of Gabbos and Gooloos.
Portland has an outstanding variety of points, capes and bays around town, offering everything from beginners’ beach breaks at Cape Bridgewater to the big right-handers of Blacknose, famous in a big south westerly with a heavy sea. Here the rides are so long that you have to walk back to a take off point rather than paddle out again. Hot spots include Shelley Beach which is just east of Cape Bridgewater, the Watertower near Portland, Yellow Rock and Crumpets which are sure to produce fine waves as well as Whites Beach, located to the east of Discovery Bay.
