Surfing Tazmania

by **DingBat** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:42 pm

Is it worth roadtripping Tazmania?

by **Tassiedevil** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:57 pm

Absolutely dingbat . Few tips
(1) dont book anything get the free camping book before you come there are lots of magic spots where camping is free eg . Preservation Bay on the Northwest Coast , Chain of lagoons East coast ,
(2) unless you like the cold ( not sure where you are from ) come now or before April but be warned it can turn cold very fast so pack the wetsuit
(3) make sure you give yourself plenty of time lots of people think they can see the entire Island in a week , there is lots to see
( 4) make sure you get to cradle mountain , no surf , very very cold but is paradise
(5) dont tell anybody how nice it is we like the lack of crowds

by **DingBat** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:48 am

thnks. sharks are a problem here at home too (south africa) but I have heard that Tas is really dangerous, ..yeah?

by **Tassiedevil** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:36 am

I am on the ocean or beach here at least every second day and have yet to meet up with a shark . Have seen plenty of wildlife - whales , seals , dolphins etc. but no sharks . I figure there is plenty of food out there for them so they aren't so interested in us .
The last fatal shark attack in Tassie was about 20 years ago ,a scuba diver in a seal colony ,if your going to get taken I reckon that's when it could happen . The last attack was a young girl bitten on the leg on the east coast while surfing about 2 years ago . So chances of a shark bite here are pretty low . I have been up the east coast of Aussie and seen some monster sharks especially off some of the islands off Qld .Down here to be honest while surfing I would more concerned with the wild weather then the wildlife .

Maybe some of the other Aussies on the forum that have been to Tassie can comment better than what I can on the surf down south . Most of my surfing has been done on the North and East coast

A good site to check out the surf here is surf forecast will give you a rough idea of surf conditions and where to surf .

by **drowningbitbybit** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 7:33 am

I went to tassie a couple of months ago - stunning place, definitely worth the trip

by **hunsta** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:45 am

Hey Tassiedevil. What style of surf is there to be had in your neck of the woods? Can you name some spots for me? Is it lots of point breaks or beach breaks? Im looking for some nice left breaking points suitable for longboarding. You know nice 4 ft lefts would be good. Was there in March in 2004 but most I saw on the coast was around the southeast near Triabunna.
Cheers
Craig

by **Tassiedevil** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:12 am

Hunsta I am on the northwest coast . Around here the hot spots ( probably not the right word for surfing here ) are the midpoint rocks ( Sulfur Creek ) and the Devonport River Mouth . The point break the east side of the midpoint rocks would be just what you are after when a northeast wind comes in . Beach breaks around here are at Preservation Bay , Coles Beach Devonport , Boat Harbour Beach . Boat Harbour beach is a real nice spot well worth a look but for some reason the water there is always about 5 degrees colder then the rest of the coast . There is free camping at Preservation Bay and Sulfur Creek .
If you go about 3 hours west of here there are point breaks at Trial Harbour and Marrawah . Normally the west coast beaches have much more size and some pretty wild weather conditions .
To the East about 4 hours is the East Coast scamander river mouth is a nice spot and you can camp just south of there . Otherwise on the east coast take your pick .
Down south everybody talks about Clifton Beach but mainly Cloudy Bay Bruny Island . Will be there in March so let you know how it goes .
How far are you coming .
Word of warning a cold snap is here and we are back in 3/2 full length wetsuits . I even almost dug the booties out of the garage . Bring on Summer
.

by **surf patrol** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:06 am

Thanks for the info Tassiedevil. I've added some over on the Tasmania surf spot map.
If you ever have a little spare time, please consider adding including some of the main Tassie spots on the map.

by **Tassiedevil** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:30 am

Just returned from trip down east coast and over to Bruny . Surfed Preservation bay before weleft , then scamander , binalong bay , bicheno , on east coast . The neck and cloudy bay on Bruny .
Maybe a bit biased but for me the Best surf was at preservation bay nice 4 foot wave . Best surf experience was without doubt binalong bay , beautiful clear water , white sands , red rocks and a southern right whale popping up behind the breakers . Hard to beat even though the surf was only 2-3 foot .
Bruny Island was a bit disappointing , the neck had a savage beach break ( board breaker ) while the surf at cloudy bay was the best I have seen in a long time but the water was full of kelp . For me the kelp won out and I opted against going out . The surf was empty so maybe others had the same idea .
Hope that helps you out Hunsta

by **surf patrol** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:59 am

Sounds like a sweet trip Tassiedevil, any photos?

by **surf patrol** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:01 am

oh, and was it you who posted Coles Beach and West Head?