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.

Breaking in front of an old shipwreck, at its best The Wreck is an A frame peak that breaks out past the rudder, which can be seen sticking out of the water. A fairly consistent beachbreak, it can get crowded because of its proximity to town. Best on medium east to northeast swells or larger souths, the wave here is often peaky and hollow. Southwest to southeast winds are favorable here. If the sandbars aren't properly setup or the swell has a longer period The Wreck can be one big closeout.

Genuinely world-class, Lennox Head is a long, green, often hollow, consistent righthand point with the most ridiculously difficult entry and exit over yards of slippery, circular rocks. Everyone gets nailed at some point.

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.

A bowling right-hand point that rightly occupies a special place in the hearts of Australian surfing. It is a rite of passage for Sydney surfers to make the eight-hour all-night drive when the place is on. The wave itself refracts around and a headland and creates a perfect, rolling bowl. Ride it and you'll marvel at how, like a slingshot, you keep generating power.