Whats up guys, Im a beginner surfer from Bendigo, Victoria and I think ive caught the bloody bug, we went over to phillip island for a week and i surfed there every day and it was the best experience. I was borrowing a 6'8 ft torq funboard for the whole trip and i was able to stand up and ride white unbroken waves. Now I get my P's next week and hoping i can then go atleast once a week for a day out to surf but i need help.. Echuca to Phillip Island is over 4 hours away and I was hoping that someone would help me with a place thats closer to surf at around Melbourne and where the waves are consistent in summer and not overly crowded! I know its a long trip but im hoping everytime i go, itd be well worth it and i wont get disappointed by really really small waves.

Thanks Heaps

Goolge maps is your Friend.

From Bendigo, the closest coast with surf would be the surf coast.
Aka - Torquay. Crowds will be an issue, but thats surfing in summer everywhere within 2 hrs of metro Melbourne.

Have a look at some sites like wannasurf.com, which has a pretty good data base of the main surf spots.
Check out a site like swellnet.com or Magicseaweed.com for forecasts and reports.

Enjoy, surfing is the best sport. Clears the mind and keeps you fit.

IMO save your pennys and get a decent wetty for Autumn/winter, waves on average tend to be a bit better with the prevailing N winds and no arvo sea breezes, but the water can get a tad nippy. Plus you loose the weekend fair-weather crowd.

Get a GOOD wettie. The Endless Summer is just a myth and in most spots in the world the surf is best in winter. Viccos water is chilly.

Barwon heads had good waves on small days too. But that surf coast is just set up after set up.

Get a wettie and go to Torquay back beach...waves 300 days a year...when you have had enough of that go to Jan Juc

Cheers for the reply guys, I ended up buying a 4/3 wettie at phillip island but didnt use it because it was way to hot and stuck with boardies and a vest! Also what are your opinions on 13th beach.

Waves 300+ days of the year at 13th...wave quailty depends on sand banks..best wind is from the N-NE...picks up any available swell...will be much harder work than Torquay back beach if your learning