Margaret River

Surf Guide

This place is the business. Goofy or natural, a couple of lefts here during a solid 6-8ft swell will be burnished on your brain for decades. Paddling with the pack towards an incoming set and realizing that you - yes, you - are best positioned to spin and take off is one of the most amazing feelings you will ever have as a surfer. The drop looks heavy and the wall looks long, but cast your doubts aside and go. At this size, the wave gives you an extra moment or two before it pitches, by which time you will be at the bottom, lining up one of the smoothest, fastest turns you will ever do along a solid face, even when it's onshore. If you're lucky, you'll follow this with a pit through the inside section. If the place makes you a bit nervous, that's OK. Sit wide and watch what happens. If the crowd isn't too heavy, you will be able to sneak in and grab a couple of smaller ones, which the crew out the back don't even look at. But be prepared to cop a set on the head. It'll happen. Just don't be rattled. There's something awe-inspiring about the waves here, but they're not lethal. As for the right-hander, one look at it from the carpark will tell you all you need to know: don't ride too close to the dry reef on the inside. If there's a set behind when you pull out, you're in trouble. Ending a session here is fun, too. Keep cutting back into the white water, and you can ride along the edge of the reef for a couple of hundred meters, doing the little hotdog turns the waves outside wouldn't let you.