Byron Bay Surf Beaches Icons With Legendary Status






by Byron Jonas


Byron Bay surf beaches produce some of the best waves in Australia. Cape Byron acts like a big bender, grabbing swells and refracting them around its tip towards the beaches. The well-shaped sea bottom forms these swells into hollow, sucking tubes that pump surfers along at pumping speed. The cape also protects its south side beaches from northerly winds and vice versa.

South of the cape lies Tallow Beach and, in its sheltered northern stretch, the Cosy Corner. This 7km stretch of squeaky clean sand and open swells. It is popular with the locals because there is always a private spot to be found and large slabs of it are dog friendly. Hang gliders have a take-off ramp built on the high, vertical cliff above Cosy Corner.

If a northerly wind is blowing the far northern pocket of Tallows will be a still oasis. Known as Cosy Corner it is protected by the high cliff of the cape. If the swell conditions are right, it has a spectacular left-hander.

On the north side of the cape, at its very tip, Little Wategos lies quiet and secluded. Accessed only by a narrow walking track, this unique little beach can be totally under water during a high tide. It is unpatrolled and often taken as a clothes optional zone.

Wategos and The Pass are perhaps the two premier surf beaches at Byron. Wategos has some of the best real estate in the area. It is a popular picnic spot, equipped with free electric BBQs. The beach can produce a long, full wave suitable for long boards.

The Pass is surfers favorite, the pick of the bunch. It handles giant swells that can sweep in from the east and north really well, transforming them into powerful, hollow tubes. The Pass is widely rated among the best fifteen surf beaches in the nation. It sits between Wategos and Clarks Beach.

Clarks Beach is located in one of the most protected spots from both wind and well in the deepest pocket of the bay. It is perfect for swimming at any time during the year. It is popular with with families, particularly those with small kids. It is also used by the learn-to-surf schools. It is patrolled during summer.

In summary, perhaps the best known and most heavily used of the many Byron Bay surf beaches is Main Beach. It is the closest to town and overlooked by the famous Byron Bay Surf Club. For inexperienced surfers, the breaks at Main Beach are the safest and longest learner waves on the entire east coast. The wreck of the Tassie II which about 80 meters offshore from the Main Beach car park opposite Jonson Street, on a line with the rock wall across the beach. This wreck is a popular scuba diving spot.




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