Sacred Swell

Photo by Elise Hassey

Australia’s National Surfing Reserves are hallowed ground when it comes to the beaches found along our coast, and not only for surfers.

Head down to the beach at daybreak, anywhere the swell is permitted to reach the shore, and you’ll see them. The wetsuit-clad meditators, the board shorts and bikini brigade, the groms and the silver-haired sea dogs with boards under arm, all gathered in their sandy place of worship.

Peeling towards rocky points, butting up against sandbars or curling around artificial reefs, waves break rhythmically on Australia’s coastline in all kinds of conditions. The surf calls to the soul of those who find solace duck-diving into its salty embrace. Those hooked on the indescribable feeling of riding a wave.

When it comes to the quality of surf breaks, and the sheer number of them that ring the continent, Australia is indeed the lucky country. Surfing took off in Australia after being introduced by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku in 1915, its popularity never waning. Australia is renowned as one of the world’s premier surfing destinations and it’s inescapably intertwined in the coastal fabric.

“Surfing is much more than a sport,” says conservationist Brad Farmer. “It’s a culture, it’s an art form, it’s a pastime, it’s a meditation. That’s why people go to the beach. Billions of visitors go there for this experience, which is really subjective and ephemeral.”

>This story first appeared in Australian Traveller magazine, Nov 2024. Continue reading on the PDF or online here.