Yeppoon surfing wave pool: Surf Lakes pool set to open next month

AUSTRALIA’S first surfing wave pool will open in Queensland next month as hype for man-made breaks builds on the back of Kelly Slater’s surf ranch. But if you were hoping to test out the wave, think again.

AUSTRALIA’S first surfing wave pool will open in Queensland next month as hype for man-made breaks builds on the back of the first world championship event at Kelly Slater’s surf ranch.

Slater, the 11-time world champion, whetted the surfing world’s appetite for wave pools when he opened the surf ranch in inland California in 2016.

The World Surf League, which has invested in Slater’s wave pool company, held its first championship tour event, the Surf Ranch Pro, last week in mind-bogglingly perfect waves.

Now, Gold Coast-based company Surf Lakes is about to unveil Australia’s first wave pool, near Yeppoon.

An artist’s impression of Surf Lakes’ wave pool.

The company, whose backers include world champions Mark “Occy” Occhilupo and Barton Lynch, is banking on a growing thirst for wave pools to ease pressure on increasingly-crowded natural breaks and cater for surfing’s inclusion in the Olympics. But the central Queensland wave pool will not be open to the public – it’s a demonstration facility to entice investors to build $20 million wave parks across Australia and the world.

Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch.

Surf Lakes director Reuben Buchanan said the company had had more than 150 worldwide inquiries, including from southeast Queensland, from potential licensees.

“The immediate focus as a company is to license our technology to resorts, theme parks and property developers around the world,” he said.

He said the Surf Lakes wave pool offered eight separate waves graded for beginners through to professionals. and could pump out up to 2400 waves an hour.

Originally published as Yeppoon surfing wave pool: Surf Lakes pool set to open next month