surf trip vicco - nsw - qld

Mammoth's picture
Mammoth started the topic in Thursday, 7 Jun 2018 at 12:32am

planing a surf trip with a mate and we were wondering a few things.
trip will be from melbourne and will travel as far as most likely noosa. planning on surfing as much as we can including the whole east coast of victoria and nsw.
wondering which places people would recommend staying in the longest (purely due to the surf not the town)
also wondering what car is best or this sort of trip ? trip will be about two months give or take a few weeks depending on other circumstances and will most likely just be for two people.
also trying to figure out a budget so we have something to work towards when saving and wondering how much a trip like this might cost? staying in tents/sleeping in car or cheap airbnb, maybe somewhere a bit more pricey in goldie or noosa.
trip is not in near future but we are just looking for info to help plan it
thanks

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 7 Jun 2018 at 6:50am

Gawd, where do you start? Just pack the car, and meander up the coast following the surf outlook. I reckon your better off aiming for the lesser known coastal stretches than name breaks - you'll find plenty of unreal beachies just about everywhere.

For a trip like this though, I'd skip the eastern Vicco part and head straight to southern NSW and begin your way north - better to get into the rhythm of one coast (and swell window) than several. 

surfstarved's picture
surfstarved's picture
surfstarved Thursday, 7 Jun 2018 at 10:09pm

Not much surf in that part of the world. You'd be better off heading over to Bali...

GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley Thursday, 7 Jun 2018 at 11:16pm

Whatever car setup you have within your budget it needs to maximise your flexibility to stay or move on depending on what the surf is doing. For me that means a mechanically sound van of some sort so you don't break down or attract unwanted police attention. A van safely stores all your boards/gear (no roof rack) and its where you sleep. View it as a tent on wheels so keep it basic - good bed, esky & some storage all bolted/lashed down. Look up stealth camping. Get the car/gear and do a few smaller trips to sort out any bugs before heading north. Airbnb might be an option in Qld. Give Vicco a miss and work out the best times of year for surf in NSW & Qld. Slow down, take your time, be open to last minute changes to plans and try not to drive at night given the unfamiliar roads and to avoid wildlife but mostly pilled up truckies.

belly's picture
belly's picture
belly Friday, 8 Jun 2018 at 7:42am

Sleeping with a mate in a van - if you're young I suppose :-)
Pick up a copy of Mark Warrens atlas.
Plenty of camping guides about, but have a look at Boiling Billy camping NSW. Excellent product.
NSW is a very different beast to Vic, you'll be surfing lots and lots of beachies with the odd point / reef session thrown in.

Mammoth's picture
Mammoth's picture
Mammoth Friday, 8 Jun 2018 at 7:08pm

thanks or all the advice guys

Mammoth's picture
Mammoth's picture
Mammoth Tuesday, 12 Jun 2018 at 10:52pm

update after chatting with my mate we want to do a trial trip of about 10-14 days, will be focussing on north of new castle up to about d-bah / snapper area. just wondering based off past years if conditions for that trip work better around early september or early january? (only time we have off for that long), thanks

belly's picture
belly's picture
belly Wednesday, 13 Jun 2018 at 10:27am

Good choice if you want more Vic like point set ups.

Crowds are bad early Jan but better chance of trade swell. But you can work around them. Honestly I'd risk early September, no crowds (cross reference nsw school hols) and still a pretty good chance of south swell.

uncle_leroy's picture
uncle_leroy's picture
uncle_leroy Wednesday, 13 Jun 2018 at 11:16am

September, stay in NSW if you want a wave count, take a fishing rod or acquaint yourself with the local bowlo club on the flat days, your clothes etc belong in the van and not draped all over a secluded back beach carpark, bury your shit with a shovel, have a good time. Simple rules of travelling but many forget

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 14 Jun 2018 at 10:57am

September is very hit and miss.....if early season northerlies kick in it's all over red rover.
January is a bit more consistent but hard to escape school holiday crowds.