Surfing Sydney

February 8, 2008 11:58 AM

Going to University of Sydney...need to surf....bondi?

Ok, so i am going for a semester abroad at University of Sydney, in other words i will be living somewhere around it. Glebe, newtown, camperdown, etc. I don't exactly know yet as i have not found a place to rent for 5 months as of now.

Anyway, what i need to know is how can i get myself and my surfboard to the beach (which i assume bondi is what people surf). Do people ever take it on the bus like people hold snowboards on buses?

Are there any locker/storage places i could keep it at the beach? Also i am going to be around from 2/16 - 7/1. Will i need to wear my wet suit? what will the air/water temps be like?

posted by Black_Umbrella to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Make sure to check out Maroubra as well - may be a bit more of a hassle to get to but it is a very different scene than Bondi.
posted by langeNU at 12:36 PM on February 8, 2008

OK - yes, you can take your board on the bus, that's not a problem. You can also get a train form Newtown all the way to Bondi Junction, then a connecting bus to the beach - which is quicker and probably easier.

You might want to hang around Bondi and make friends with a cafe owner or shopkeeper or the two surf lifesaving clubs might be able to store it for you. There are lockers at Bondi Pavilion (dead centre of the beach), but not sure if you could stash a board there (they're only big enough for personal effects).

The main surf beaches in the East (and closest to you) are Bondi (most crowded), Tamarama (good left for more experienced surfers), Bronte (sucky right again for more experienced surfers), Coogee (OK for body boarding off the beach, but breaks around 15 to 25 foot left off wedding cake island - very heavy wave), Maroubra (best all round beach and less crowded) - in that order, they're practically equidistant to where you'll be.

The water temperature between February and July is ~23C (at the moment) and will probably go down to ~17C in July - but the warmth in the water hangs around the 20C mark for most of that time. I'd suggest a light steamer for the latter period but it's more for wind chill, so you could get away with a vest or springsuit for most of it. Right now it's just boardies and rash vest - perfect temperature.

Avoid the surf after big rains - due to strormwater runoff - or at least where earplugs or blue tack in your ears (guaranteed ear infections).

And before you embark on the journey to the beach - check the beach cams and surf report: www.swellnet.com.au

See you out the back, but don't go snaking or dropping in!
posted by strawberryviagra at 1:36 PM on February 8, 2008

My few little thoughts...

Bondi?!! Anywhere but there.

I don't believe I've ever heard of board storage at the beach. It would take a deal with one of the lifesavers at a club I reckon. Or at the pub or restaurant or wherever else you intend wandering to.

Although I have no specifics to offer about the transport, my first thought would be to network at Uni (either online before you get there or in real life after) and find car owning surfers onto whom you should latch.

There are (what?) 50 or 60 beaches in Sydney alone: it would be a bit of a shame for you to restrict yourself to the most easily reachable by public transport (btw: last I knew, they do actually charge extra - on trains at least - for having the board, but check this out yourself). You want the prevailing local conditions (and arguments with the car owner of course) to be the arbiter on beach choice, not the bloody transport mate. [yeah, yeah...easy to say/hope for]
posted by peacay at 2:38 PM on February 8, 2008

thanks for the great responses! I am a pretty avid surfer so i may have to check out Tamarama. Are most of the breaks reef or sand?
posted by Black_Umbrella at 3:45 PM on February 8, 2008

i may have to check out Tamarama
Not while the flags are up, boogie boards only (the beach is too small to accommodate swimmers and boards). That's why it's called Glamarama sometimes, it's a place for sunbathing, hanging out on the rocks and looking glamorous. Sometimes there's a short break at McKenzies (the next [very, very small] bay) or inbetween Tamarama and Bronte (which also has a good break). After hours you're sweet though. If you end up at Maroubra as langeNU suggests, look out for the Bra Boys.
posted by tellurian at 12:09 AM on February 9, 2008

Not so, Tellurian.
posted by strawberryviagra at 2:37 AM on February 9, 2008

Okay, lets get this into some sort of perspective.
As an English immigrant, many years ago, I loved the idea of being able to surf. I read Tracks magazine [I'll be fucked if I link to an ninesmn site]; I was a Captain Goodvibes (snort) fan; I saw most of the surfing movies. I gave up learning to surf (at Bondi, even though I ended up living there twenty years) early on, because of the anger, antagonism, abuse and territorial mindset of the local surfing community. I was given a super hard time. Fair enough, I was hopeless, splayed on a board, in everybody's way, but there wasn't any way around it. Years later I went out bodysurfing with a born and bred local who was a bit of a legend [flynn from cog]. It was like a red carpet had been floated over the swell.
I don't think that the culture has changed much since.
So, Black_Umbrella, if you are a good surfer, you'll be fine. If you're a good surfer and have an American accent, you'll be even finer.
I have no experience of the Bra Boys other than what I've read and seen on TV. Just a heads up. As far as I'm concerned, Strawberryviagra - that's a fluff piece. Probably as a response to the events in Cronulla and the Bra Boys criminal activities, currently before the court.
I'm not saying that it's more parochial at Maroubra than anywhere else, but how can you say that the Bra Boys aren't dangerously territorial of their surfing spot.
posted by tellurian at 7:13 AM on February 9, 2008

Ahh Australia has Bra Boys, I am familiar with the Hawaiin counterparts which are more or less known as the black shorts. I always love the nerve some groups have to kick you off the waves, break your board and even beat you up. People like that are awesome....

But I am sure it is very rare that that happens, at least if it is like hawaii. Not that it matters that doesn't bother me I am in Sydney to take it easy and enjoy myself not start fights.

Tellurian...why would an American accent make it easier to be part of the line up?
posted by Black_Umbrella at 10:50 AM on February 9, 2008

Oh yea...the black shorts also go by Da Hui
posted by Black_Umbrella at 10:53 AM on February 9, 2008

Because I surf there.

Do you really think that everyone that enters the surf at Maroubra gets their heads kicked in?

If you go on the road in your car and drive in front of people, don't indicate, and show a lack of common sense, what do you think will happen? The same applies to the surf - it can be incredibly dangerous to all involved when a kook enters the water without having considered the general terrain. The rules are based on common sense.

It's a long beach with several breaks - you might get grief up the north end if you get in the way, but don't snake, don't drop in and you'll be fine (despite your accent, wtf?)
posted by strawberryviagra at 3:46 PM on February 9, 2008

Take a train to Cronulla? I see a few boards on public transport, but you really need a panel van so you can head down the coast to some deserted reef.
posted by bystander at 9:48 PM on February 10, 2008

Tellurian...why would an American accent make it easier to be part of the line up?
Yeah, sorry about that - not quite sure where I was going with that train of thought. Put it down to posting at 2:13 on a Sunday morning and being a bit tired and emotional.
posted by tellurian at 1:55 PM on February 11, 2008

no worries tellurian, it made me laugh.

Are there every sydney mefi meet ups? Pub/surfing?
posted by Black_Umbrella at 3:41 PM on February 11, 2008

Yes, indeed there are (well, the pub part anyway).
posted by tellurian at 9:38 PM on February 11, 2008