Northern NSW

For surfers, the "Bay" part isn't what defines Byron, it's more the Cape, which does in fact stick further out into the Pacific than any other piece of Aussie mainland. Naturally enough, there's a considerable quantity of surf spots in the area.On the tip of the Cape there's Watego's and Little Watego's. Kind of a combination reef/sand pointbreak, it produces slow rights.From there the whole thing opens up into The Pass, Byron's serious point. A long, winding right, it's dependent on sand distribution but usually starts close to a rock outcrop and peels down toward Clark's Beach over a half mile away. Often the wave gets hollower as it runs down the line. Competition for set waves on good days isn't so much intense as almost impossible.Opposite the town center there lies the remains of a wrecked ship, which can create decent sandbars. Creatively known as Shipwrecks or the Wreck, this is a wedged-up wave, occasionally very hollow and a lot of fun. There are also a few little beachbreaks between the Wreck and the Pass.All these spots require an east to northeast swell to really fire. None of them pick up much from the predominant southeast swell angle unless it's really big. To cash in on smaller souths, you've gotta head south of the Cape to Tallow Beach, a lovely long clean sand stretch of occasionally superb quality beachbreaks. Protected from the northeast sea breeze, Tallows is the haunt of mobile surf schools, surfing families, and most of Byron's hot young crop.Several miles past the small town of Suffolk Park lies Broken Head, Byron's gorgeous semi-secret point. Best on an east swell and a south wind, Broken's unpredictable sandbar is at times a unique long right barrel. You may not be able to count on it, but as the saying goes: if you ever get it, you'll never forget it.Be aware of sharks at every location. Byron was once a meat processing and whaling town, and the genetic memory of all that blood still lingers in the regional aquatic food chain.

“The Wreck” breaks around an old shipwreck. There's a peak that breaks in front as well as a right up the beach in front of the car park.

Lennox Head is an east-facing, world class right hand point break. You can admire the wave from above on the large Lennox Point headland before you walk down to the slippery rock off. The 0.8 mile/1.2km long rock bottom point lights up in south-east swells, predominantly occurring during the winter months. It offers surfers quality long green walls with hollow sections depending on the sand formation on the rocky reef. The crowd is heavily geared towards the locals, so if you’re traveling to surf here make sure you mind your manners and bring your friendly face. 


Cabarita is a long, sectiony right breaking at various points along the two headlands. It's highly dependent on sand placement; while it can be a bit of a burger, it can also come to resemble Burleigh Heads on its better days, with a long, fast, hollow section running right across the front of the smaller outcrop and peeling further down the bay. Off the bigger point, the wave tends to be superficially attractive, but inclined to mush out a bit unless it's big or the sand is right on target. Both these sections are sheltered from the classic fall/winter southerly wind, and nicely offshore in a southwesterly to westerly. On the other side of the headland is a classic 'back beach' -- a less-frequented beach behind a well-known pointbreak - a clean, curving beach that runs for a couple miles down to the next headland, Hastings Point. There's usually good beachbreak peaks scattered up and down the stretch, especially close in to this northern headland, where the waves are protected from the near-permanent summertime NE seabreeze.

Angourie Point is a small east-south-east facing rocky outcrop attached to the coast by a thin sand finger. The wave is a rock-bottom right-hand point attached to the north side of the headland. Angourie is one of the crown jewels of the Australian east coast, a perfect wave to practice any turn you want to explore in your surfing. The long right hander comes to life when waves come from anywhere from the northeast to the southeast. It becomes steeper and more hollow in east swells, and more sloped on larger south swells. The crowd can get heavy on weekends, and the locals rule the roost, but if you’re a respectful traveling surfer you will get your fill. On small days the point fills with beginners and people riding alternative surf craft, making it a great spot for a summer family beach day.