Surf scene no longer in the shadows

Amateurs and pros alike enjoy WA’s rare combination of idyllic beaches, uncrowded waves and friendly locals.

Dolphins frolic in the waves off Cape Naturaliste, near Dunsborough, Margaret River

For decades, West Australian surfing lived in the shadow of the more glamorous and famous surfing centres on the other side of the country.

In Sydney, Torquay and the Gold Coast, surfing was not just a fringe of the counterculture but a thriving industry, where global surf-fashion companies had their headquarters, cool glossy magazines were published and millionaire world champions lived.

I remember reading east-coast magazines as a surfer growing up in Perth in the 1970s and 80s and thinking how enviable it was – world-class surf at the edge of the suburbs, incubating a culture that earned glowing respect from the mainstream.

West Australians grew up differently, especially if they were from Perth, where the beaches are largely blocked from the full brunt of ocean swells by Rottnest Island, and surfing is a frustratingly erratic hobby.

As soon as we were old enough, we started spending weekends and holidays “down south” at Margaret River, sleeping in our cars and getting bogged on dirt tracks that led to mythical, remote breaks.

The contrast between Perth’s placid beaches and the wild coast down south could not have been starker. The stretch from Cape Naturaliste to Boranup is often compared to Hawaii. Like Hawaii, the continental shelf drops away quickly here, exposing the rocky bays, points and beaches to the full power of swells generated by the Roaring Forties, the howling winds across the southern Indian Ocean that blew Dutch merchant ships off course and onto this coast 400 years ago.

A surf shop at Exmouth

Those Dutchmen found little of value here – you could grow neither tulips nor spices on its dry, windswept terrain – but to us modern surfing explorers it was a goldmine.

We found waves round headlands, at the bottom of cliffs and along sandy stretches where signs of human life were scarce and the thrill of discovery usurped whatever envy we once had for our east-coast counterparts fighting for waves at the far more crowded breaks we saw in surfing magazines.

Here, we could surf breaks that had only just been discovered and were often utterly deserted.

Tim Winton captured the essence of wild West Australian surfing in his novel Breath (2008), when the young teenage protagonist, Pikelet, joins a group of older, stronger surfers for the first time in big waves.

“The rip that poured seaward from the bay had become a veritable river surging past the rocks of the headland to spew a plume of sand and weed at our backs. We found ourselves forced further and further out by the current. The sea became confused and jumpy. We were in foreign territory now.”

Foreign territory is an accurate description. And we were venturing into it on primitive equipment with rudimentary wetsuits and legropes. The risk of finding yourself in serious trouble so far from help was part of the thrill.

Surfing at Boodjidup Beach, Margaret River.

Margaret River, which may as well be the setting for Breath, is not like that anymore, of course. The one-road township where we once scrounged for cheap food from the hippie health-food shop is now a bustling centre with traffic jams, supermarkets, homeware stores and expensive bottle shops, and the surrounding region is now as famous for its wineries and high-end restaurants as it is for surfing.

And while the equipment you see in the water these days is infinitely more advanced and the crowds thicker, the thrill of surfing this coastline, especially during winter when the conditions are cold and wild, has barely diminished.

Paddle over the ledge at the top of the wave at massive Main Break, snaffle a surging bomb from the “bubble” at Left Handers, or dodge the protruding rocks as you race the high-speed section at Injidup Point, and the memory of it will stay with you for years.

The area has retained much of its original rustic style. Surfers still get about in dusty vans and four-wheel drives, and the style in the car park leans more towards comfortable dairy farmer than Dolce and Gabbana. It’s an easy scene to blend into, and the locals are friendly if you come with the right attitude.

Having said that, don’t expect to easily catch waves at North Point, one of the best and most advanced waves in the area. The regulars are all over it.

So are professional surfers. When the Margaret River Pro surf contest, which began in 1985, went fully professional in 2014, it revealed to the world not only the quality of the region’s waves, but how well they could be ridden. Western Australia had already been shedding its backwater status for a while, but with the annual influx of professionals, it is now firmly on the world surfing map.

Surfers at North Point, Gracetown

This year the state became even more prominent, hosting two of the nine events on the men’s pro tour.

Away from the southwest, you can still find the sort of experiences that were common in Margaret River a generation ago. The entire south coast is still sparsely populated and stacked with options. Swells come from both the southeast and southwest, depending on the season, so consistency is not a problem.

Here is a tip from an insider: check the 30km stretch between Denmark and Walpole, which has the highest concentration of good breaks on the coast. This is where all the surf scenes in the film adaptation for Breath were shot, and some of the waves in that movie are idyllic.

The south coast might soon go the same way as Margaret River. There is a proposal for an artificial reef at Albany that could be built any day now. When it is, it is likely to become another magnet for surf travellers who will inevitably overrun the surrounding waves as well.

But for now, the south coast is still mostly sandy beaches where there are no footprints and, as you look back from the water, no sign of another human in either direction as far as you can see.

That kind of solitude can be a little unsettling but combine it with friends, good-quality waves and the odd pod of dolphins followed by beers and a hot meal at a local diner or around a beach campfire and it becomes an unforgettable, and quintessentially West Australian, experience.

THE TOP SIX WAVES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Margaret River Main Break

Paddling over the ledge of the left here is like running alongside a fast train and trying to jump aboard. Get it right, which most moderately skilled surfers can do, and the reward is exhilarating. Get it wrong and you’ll know how it feels to be hit by a train.

North Point, Gracetown
The take-off is critical, and the regulars here have it wired. Worth a crack if you’re good enough, but most people who come here are looking to get away from crowds, not join them. If North Point is breaking, there will be options elsewhere.

Left Handers, Gracetown
Works in lots of different conditions, and there are waves adjacent if the main break is too crowded. One of the most reliable go-to waves in the region.

Injidup Point
The nearest car park is half a kilometre away and at an angle from the break, so it’s difficult to tell how good it is without making the 20-minute trek along the beach. The wave is fickle, but exceptional at its best.

Trigg Point
This place has to be experienced to be believed. Perth surfers are starved for options, of which Trigg Point is the least-worse, even though at its best, which is rare, it is barely mediocre. If the forecast is for head-high waves and light winds, it’s common to see 60 surfers in the water at first light, half an hour before the sun rises.

Red Bluff
Western Australia is not all about the south and southwest. The swell that hits the stretch around Ningaloo, a day’s drive north from Perth, has travelled further, and is more organised, than the swell around Margaret River. Red Bluff and the other adjacent waves can get crowded but are worth the trek. Be prepared to rough it.

Strickland Bay, Rottnest
This is where the pro tour held its other West Australian event this year, and the pros again showed how good the wave is. There are a few other waves on the island, but none as good as this one.