The Best Places to Hang Ten During Spring Break at One of the Best Surfing Spots in the World - Australia

Australia is famous for its wonderful climate. Clear skies, warm sun, little rain, and not blisteringly hot. What a perfect place to go surfing for spring break! Australia is a low crime area, but tourists tend to be targeted so it's always a good idea to be safe when traveling. However, with 25,760 km of coastline to go off of, the thing you'll be doing mostly is surfing. If you're interested in online backpacking and surfing guides, www.stonedcrow.com provides information on how to do it. Another site, http://www.wannasurf.com, provides a pretty good listing of the different surf spots posted by surfers like you. There are a lot of great spots in Australia to surf. You just have to know where they are.

I'll outline three areas where a surfer visiting Australia will have a great time not only surfing but also relaxing and seeing the sights.

Queensland - Brisbane

This area of Australia is the north east portion of the country. Its capital city is Brisbane, famous for its music scene, arts, and rich history. When visiting there, you might want to stop by the Queensland Performing Arts Center which consists of the Lyric Theatre, a Concert Hall, Cremorne Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre. If you're more into art, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) may be the place for you. Along with Beijing, Berlin, Birmingham and Marseille, Brisbane was nominated as one of the Top 5 International Music Hotspots by Billboard in 2007. There are also popular entertainment pubs and clubs within both the City and Fortitude Valley (Wikipedia). But of course, you've come here not just to hang out, but also to hang ten. There are plenty of great surf spots right outside of Brisbane on North Stradbroke Island which is just a ferry ride away. One of the best spots there would have to be Main Beach, which is a popular surfing location for surfers of all levels of skill. A perfect place to warm up if you're experienced or practice if you're just getting started. The waves are beach breaking, right and left. they are very consistent with over 150 a day. The crowds aren't all that bad either. One a week day you won't find anyone out there and on a weekend day it will be moderately populated. It's a fun ride and a good way to start off your trip.

New South Wales - Sydney

Lets move now to Sydney, in New South Wales the province just south of Queensland. Sydney is the largest city in Australia, but it is not the capital as commonly thought. Sydney is famous for its concerts, arts festivals, film festivals, and of course their opera house. It's a great place to eat, drink, and be merry, but also a great place to surf. North of Sydney there are some good surfing spots and some not so good ones. You'll want to avoid the reef spots and head for places Bigola Bank, north of Sydney. This place has world class waves with consistently over 150 a day. Recommended only for experts, it's a sand bar spot with right and left waves. Waves can get up to 8+ feet high so it's a great place to enjoy some old fashioned surfing when you're tired of the Sydney life and wand to commune a little with mother sea. When you're done, head back into town and enjoy the cushy hotel that you're staying in, or whatever your accommodations may be.

Victoria - Melbourne

The most populous state of Australia and the most populous city within it, Melbourne is a great place to go next. Further south from Sydney, Melbourne gets a lot of its waves from the antarctic currents, so bring a wetsuit if you want to surf here. Melbourne is considered by many to be the sporting and cultural capital of all of Australia. If you are visiting there and are interested, you may want to catch a football of cricket match to pass the time or just walk around the city enjoying their street art, which is becoming very popular and famous. But if you'd rather get out in that chilly water and surf, there are some great locations to do that as well. One of the most famous surfing spots around Melbourne is to the east. The place is called Quarantines and is recommended for only experienced surfers. The waves are epic. It's a sand bar surf spot with hollow, fast, and powerful waves going left. The normal length is about 50 to 150 m and the place is rated high by every surfer who has been able to experience it. The only problem is the crowds. A great spot is going to have a pretty big crowd, but if you're willing to be around some fellow surfers then the Quarantines can be well worth it for you.

Sources:

www.wannasurf.com

Wikipedia