The best temperate country for surf

Been to all those places Vic?
We’re making a lot of assumptions here but minus crowds NSW stands up against the lot of them. I’ve been to 4 countries on your list and surfed quite extensively throughout them.
They’ve all got negatives but just based on waves alone in a small area NSW stacks up against anywhere in the world.
Surfed much between Newc and the ‘gong?
Box Head, Sandon, Shark Island, North Narra, Deadman’s, DYP, Little Makaha, Newport reef, Terrigal haven, Forries. All world class or close to it on their day, Box Head truly world class when it all comes together. Plus many more barrely slabs plus 100’s of beachies.
Where exactly in your list of countries do any of them have that in a 200-300km stretch?
Def not SthAftica, Namibia, France, north or south coast WA nor the west/south coasts of Spain (maybe north coast of Spain but that’s not on your list, and nowhere near as consistent). Haven’t been to Portugal, maybe there is an equivalent stretch there.
Mex? Have you been there? Said to have long distances between points on the mainland, not as many beachies either. Ditto Chile.
Everywhere has got its pros and cons, NSW stacks up ok

Would have been an amazing coast before white fella, but for me when ever i travel the east coast i just blast through most of that area not just because of the crowds but just the whole Sydney and Newcastle vibe especially those city beaches, i do sometimes have a paddle around the Central coast area and South of Stanwell park though, but i normally spend's more time further north or further south less people and just a mellower vibe.

NSW? Nah, nothing but close out beachies and shallow water slabs likely to smack you into a dry rock platform.

@garyg1412

Ha ha im betting you are from Tassie.

Dont worry with the effort ad cost it takes to get there and water and air temp, you are not going to be invaded by mainlanders and even then yes local knowledge is more important than ever in Tassie.

I'm on board with Tyler there, if no crowds that Newy to Ulladulla stretch has endless quality and pumping surf. Also makes something of the spring and summer NE'lys. Weekend just gone scored empty 3-4ft barrelling peaks with just two mates, good as anywhere would get without being at the level of Straddie.

Nooks and crannies everywhere to work the winds and swells.

Knowing a fair chunk of the globe and the best spots, sure there are world class waves that easily top that zone, but when they're not on the surrounding options aren't too many. This is where NSW trumps many.

Let’s not get carried away with calls that Newcastle to Illawarra is a world class surf zone.

Bali is right up there but you can cut that diagram in half for 6 months of the year.
Lacks good beach break options.
Ive had 15 trips there, love it. Got great waves last year.
Re Manly, Craig did you get out last night?
One hour before dark was pumping. I made the mistake of paddling out against the Q'cliff pool and got out there easy...only to realise I was way out of my league.
Board too short plus a lack of skill and courage.
Spent 15-20 paddling to N Steyne where it was still easy 6 foot.
Got three in front of the NSSLC then cut my losses and paddled in, everything intact.
Indo, I know you pass straight on through Sydney but you could have had any wave you wanted out there
Saw some incredible barrels

Gotta agree with Tyler and Craig that it's a good stretch of coast, particularly if you're judging by surfable days-per-year.

But no way is newport reef world class, even at its best.

DSDS, non-tropical..

And Tyler nah, was coming back from the coast. My mate had a terrifying experienced at Freshy as well late. Caught inside an 8ft rogue, ditched board, heard an explosion like sound underwater and came up with just the tail of his board.

Way outside the two headlands he struggled to get in against the current and then got caught in a heavy and constant 6ft ripbowl zone getting pounded and losing breath while still in line with the outer headlands. He's very experienced and said he thought this was it. Finally got washed in but was very very beat.

It was pretty intense.
When it’s top-to-bottoming at the bombie (which it was) I reckon it’s 8 ft on the beach.
Never ceases to amaze me how many great surfers there are in the Manly area, saw some epic barrels as I was dodging the sets on the shoulder.
Newport reef can be good, holds any size and is long. Not world class but would the be the best wave in many other areas

Manly is an awesome beachie when it's on.

Yeah lots of guys ready to give it a red hot dig Tyler, on the beach 6ft+ is about my range now as well.

I'm lucky to call Manly the local, I've said time and time again I reckon it's the most consistent surfable beachy in the whole Sydney region. Ie none of the other beaches break at 1ft and also 8ft+ (don't want anything to do with that) but there's always a rip bowl etc.

Other beaches can't be grovelled, or go straight, or outer-barred etc so it's very unique. The next comparable within vicinity of Sydney would maybe be Soldiers at Norah Head or maybe Avoca.

Manly’s got nice coffee and the ferry though...
I’ve been in Manly 20+ years yet still see guys charging out there that I’ve never seen before. Few older guys out there last night charging too

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/surfer-44-dies-at-collaroy-beach-202...

Lived in Manly / Queenscliff for 5 years. Really liked it. Crowds could be maddening, but I found that the high % of backpackers often made a full line up much more user friendly than it looks from the beach.
My experience was that once it got to a solid 6ft the crowd factor abated and you’d get the good crew out there.

3-5ft, clean, on the weekends was hell as you got the rippers and kooks and everything between.

RIP to old mate at Collaroy. Just goes to show, things can happen quickly and spiral to a terrible conclusion.

Poor bloke who drowned.. any idea what happened, could t get much from the article. ?

"Soldiers at Norah Head" spent a lot of time in that carpark in both Kombies ive had cruising up and down the coast on the dole for months on end, consistent spot and perfect vantage point to watch the action.

Yeah without a doubt and then if you narrowed it down IMHO

The two biggest clusters of quality consistent surf spots in Indo would be

1. Bali drawing a circle from Canggu to Kermas that takes in all the bukit.
(Or if you want to be real greedy a circle that takes in G-land to Desert point and all of Bali)

2. South Siberut (Playgrounds area) about 30 waves of every type possible but at least 5 world class with Rifles and Kandui possibly making top 10 waves in the world list.

Speaking of Manly, I thought I'd have a look at the Manly surfcam just then and looks to be a few half decent waves around. Rincon has a few too.

Just as it panned to the north I saw a bloke get properly shacked on a good overhead wave.

When I used to live in Sydney, Manly was one of my favourite beachies.