Hey,

this year I want to start work and travel in Australia.
In this time I also would like to improve in windsurfing.

1. But I´m accostums nearly falt water.

- Do you know good spots for beginners?

2. I´m thinking about to take my windsurf stuff with me on the flight or to buy some "new" in Australia maybe arround Sydney.

- Are the costs arround Sydney "normal" or much higher?


LazyMan

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LazyMan said...

Hey,

this year I want to start work and travel in Australia.
In this time I also would like to improve in windsurfing.

1. But I´m accostums nearly falt water.

- Do you know good spots for beginners?

2. I´m thinking about to take my windsurf stuff with me on the flight or to buy some "new" in Australia maybe arround Sydney.

- Are the costs arround Sydney "normal" or much higher?

LazyMan

Hey Lazy mon,

nothing is normal around Sydney...

Anyways, Sydney is a good place to pick up windsurfing. Good sheltered areas with on-shore winds year around. And often weaker winds.

North shore: Narrabeen and Balmoral - the latter in the summer only. I think they still rent over there, not sure.

South shore: just about anywhere on Botany bay. Just drive around until you get good on-shore or side-shore winds. Kurnell, Sandringham, airport strip, etc.

Gumtree and perhaps this site for used gear.

That sounds good! Thank you!!

Do you know if it´s allowed to sleep in a car at the beach?
I heard that this would be possible..

Hi Lazyman,

sleeping in your car in Sydney seems quite common now. Many backpacking tourists rent a van from Wicked, Hippy Campers or Juice Vans and seem to sleep anywhere in them.

If you have a car of some sort it may be best to travel up and down the coast a bit. There are many saltwater lakes and inlets in NSW that are very good for beginners and intermediates.

Lake Macquarie 1.5hrs drive north of Sydney is great. Largest saltwater lake in Aust ( ? ) ..You can find a spot with an onshore breeze no matter what the wind direction. It can get very choppy in strong winds but you could pick your breeze. Belmont , Swansea & Wangi have caravan parks / camping( I think).

Lazyman
I used to fly between Germany and Australia a lot when I lived over there. It depends on the exchange rate to see if equipment is cheaper here or OS but if you already had a good kit you will be losing lots of money selling it, clothes and food generally cheaper over here. Bringing a board and sails etc means your 20kg limit is already taken ( I used to pack wet suits and small stuff in my hand luggage and it weighted 20kgs as well, but they don't let you do that any more). Also if you bring equipment, when you put it on the scales to weigh it, make sure you jam it against the side wall and even use you leg to hold up one end so it does not get weighed correctly - don't make it obvious as they do watch for this.
If you do head north then Lake Macquarie is a great place for everything, you can always find flat water or bump and jump.
Some good reading can be found here : http://www.ozwindsurf.com.au/

It was 10 years ago that I lived in Germany so it may of course changed.
Good luck

Futhur up at the Gold Coast region, on both nsw beachs and qld beachs they arnt so keen on letting you sleep in your car.
If your a regular they slap you with a nice fine,
If your a backpacker then they'll send you to a motel

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Scully said...

Futhur up at the Gold Coast region, on both nsw beachs and qld beachs they arnt so keen on letting you sleep in your car.
If your a regular they slap you with a nice fine,
If your a backpacker then they'll send you to a motel

I always thought it was illegal to just camp anywhere but it seems to be more and more people are doing it. I drove up and down the Pacific Highway this week and there were tons of people camping at highway rest areas.

So I'm not really sure of the legality of camping anywhere you like.

Personally I wouldn't like to camp on the side of a main road like that as you have no idea who is driving past your camp in the middle of the night.

Hey,

I thank you all for the helpful information!

They will be very useful for me while planing my journey!!!

Maybe see you in Oz! ;)


LazyMan

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Mobydisc said...

Scully said...

Futhur up at the Gold Coast region, on both nsw beachs and qld beachs they arnt so keen on letting you sleep in your car.
If your a regular they slap you with a nice fine,
If your a backpacker then they'll send you to a motel

I always thought it was illegal to just camp anywhere but it seems to be more and more people are doing it. I drove up and down the Pacific Highway this week and there were tons of people camping at highway rest areas.

So I'm not really sure of the legality of camping anywhere you like.

Personally I wouldn't like to camp on the side of a main road like that as you have no idea who is driving past your camp in the middle of the night.

Yes safer to drive off onto a quiet dirt or forest road but these days I suppose you could still get d..heads during the night.