Gold Coast

Kirra Point is the logical northern limit of Coolangatta, Queensland's most southeastern town. It's flanked at its top end by Big Groyne that finishes Coolangatta Beach, and at its bottom end 400 yards down the line by Little Groyne, protecting Kirra Beach to the north. Between the groynes is the original point, a scattered lava outcropping extended from a headland to its south. Also between the groynes is stretched the long ribbon of sand responsible for Kirra's super-tube magic.Because it's tucked inside the line of Point Danger, the place gets less swell than any of the other Gold Coast points. Kirra wakes up in solid E and NE swells from cyclones and long-angled South Pacific fetches. These swells hit the sandbar at a nice 45-degree angle and suck their ways with increasing intensity toward Little Groyne and sometimes even past it. When the sand is right it's literally sectionless, the barrel forming and reforming like some sort of incredible moving version of a wave machine, yet with all the weight of the ocean pushing behind it. Large volumes of water run down the outside rim of the sandbar, which makes paddling back out a grueling proposition; many experienced Kirra surfers just get out of the water at a ride's finish and jog back up along the rim of the point to the jump-off point.The sand is not consistent; it shifts between groynes, and in the past it's even created a heavy big left across from the natural point, which shows in very N-angled cyclone swells. But it's rare that you won't find a good 100-yard tube section somewhere along the groyne-to-groyne stretch.

On the north side of the point begins the extraordinary line of Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay and Greenmount Point, almost a mile of right sandbar pointbreak and probably the single most crowded surfing area in the world. The waves begin at Snapper, a gnarly outcrop of old lava rock set sideways to the line of coast; often they start with a dramatic, backwashy takeoff behind the rock, and run past another smaller outcrop known as Little Marley Point a couple hundred yards down the line before opening up into Rainbow Bay's deeper waters. Sometimes there's a slight degrading in the ride through this very long open-water section, but down the line you can see all the way to Kirra over a mile away, and directly in front looms the aptly named Greenmount Point. Greenmount leads the wave off for at least another 300 yards down toward Coolangatta Beach, where it finally semi-closes out before hitting the Kirra Big Groyne.Northerly sand flow toward and around Snapper Rocks is enhanced by river dredging from over a mile south, past the Tweed River; as a result, the sand storage through the bay is rich. A classic ritual is this: Ride a wave off the outside Snapper takeoff, connect it as far as possible, pick off another from wherever the first fizzles out, and keep connecting right through to Coolangatta Beach -- then walk the mile of beach and trail back to Snapper's jump-off zone just inside the rock line.On a good day, it's possible to count over 1,000 surfers in the water along this amazing stretch. Yet the lineup is so broad and immense, the paddle so all-encompassing, that somehow the crowd takes care of itself, and after a few days' sustained swell battering, 75 percent have had enough. That's when the dawn patrol pays off. Around the corner, south of Snapper Rocks and Point Danger, lies the super-beachbreak of Duranbah. This super-consistent spot relies on a breakwall separating it from the mouth of the Tweed River; sand deposits outside the wall line tend to break up and refract incoming SE swells into juicy peaks, with short tube sections and ramps.

D-Bah is just across the Queensland/NSW border and situated near the mouth of the Tweed River. An offshore sandbar breaks up the swell to produce consistent A-frame beachbreak peaks that can, banks depending, be world-class. Better and more consistent, even, than the famous Hossegor sand pipes. That said, it's no Puerto Escondido - it can't handle anything over five-foot.

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.

Visible from the Gold Coast Highway is Currumbin's famous point, The Alley. Nowhere near as famous as Burleigh, Kirra or Snapper, the Alley can be as good or better, particularly when it's big.Watch out for the rocks on the take-off and be careful negotiating the rock jump. If in doubt, paddle out from the beach on the south side.