Burleigh Heads Surf Guide

Burleigh Heads Surf Guide

The coast they call Gold begins just south of Stradbroke Island and curves down for nearly 50 miles to Point Danger. Along this massive sandy stretch, the lava headland of Burleigh Bluff stands forth as the northernmost sentinel of a classic series of right points, and -- when it's on -- one of the most spectacularly beautiful waves in the world. Burleigh relies on sand flow from the Tallebudgera Creek mouth just south of the bluff. This fine river sand is carried with the prevailing currents around the front of the bluff and down its rocky, north-facing edge in a long, thin shallow band. It's not always a consistent band; for months, Burleigh can be reduced to a closed-out mess by bad sand distribution. But more often than not, the sand line is relatively straight and laid on a perfect angle for any swell with a hint of southerly angle. Imagine a super-hollow, warm-water version of Rincon and you're almost there, though comparisons don't do justice to Burleigh's glassed-off sucking marvel.

There's several distinct sections. Outside you'll find Sharkies, the aptly named first section, breaking across the front of the bluff; thick, hollow and often closing out down to the bowling pits at The Cove, where Burleigh point begins to curve back toward the beach. The Cove's stand up barreling peaks run 80 yards or so down to The Point, where Burleigh's legends reside; The Point is a long-walling ride spinning along the fine sandbar edge, where on a reasonably good day, five to 10-second tubes are harvested with almost every passing set. Inside The Point, right along the bluff's rim, lies Rockbreak, a shorter wave, best at high tide and ridden mostly on smaller days -- chest-high and less -- when The Point is just capping, not funneling. Rockbreak is so named after the slimy basalt boulders over which it bumps and grinds. Very occasionally, The Point's sand line drifts right into Rockbreak, forming a disgustingly epic 150-yard-plus roping barrel.

Many pleasant beachbreaks surround Burleigh, including the often super-fun peaks along Palm Beach, south of Tallebudgera Creek, and toward Nobbys headland north of the point. Go south beyond Palmy and you'll come across the coast's best kept non-secret, Currumbin Alley, a lovely rivermouth right sandbar and focus of huge tow-in activity during rare giant swells.