As the mild spring is sulking away and summer is officially knocking on our door, I’m starting to feel like the proverbial fabulous unicorn ready to run wild in the sun. When artist and surf enthusiast Nicole Tattersall invited me to come spend a day in the sun, surfing at Torquay I leapt at the chance. Despite being a Victorian for the majority of my life, I’ve had limited beach experience, even then preferring to stretch out, soak up the sun and read a book or two.
Our day started off with a cruise down the ever so beautifully bland Princess Highway and around the Geelong Bypass to Torquay. Then the most important preparation tasks were undertaken- Surfboard hire and coffee. Equally as important. Thankfully a stop by the Torquay Surf Academy makes life so much easier. Where you can hire a board and get a latte at nearly the same time. Having been to the TSA several times with other keen beach babes this was my first time hiring myself and I have to say these guys are super helpful and friendly. Within 10mins I was walking out with a board and half an idea of how to work this thing. Shortly after I was zipped into a wetsuit (thanks Nicole) and splashing around the waves at Bells Beach.
The thing about surfing in Victoria is that the water is cold. Really cold. Until late December/early January the water is toe tingling cold. Without boots and with limited fondness for cold and purple feet I can honestly and proudly say that I lasted about an hour in the water. With Nicole and Tim yelling PADDLE, PADDLE at me more often than not. The conditions were good enough for a beginner to have an honest attempt at surfing. If knee boarding along the waves was a sport, then watch out because I’m set to be the world champ! After defrosting my toes and learning the basic 101 wash down principles of surfboard care it was off to a well deserved lunch at Swell Cafe, Jan Juc. This place is worth a visit. Newly renovated general hippy style food store with amazing pancakes and other sweet treats (as well as your usual cafe style food).
Surprisingly a day trip to the beach is a reasonably afford experience. Fuel, food and gear hire you’re looking at around $75/head for a great day out.
Getting here:
Torquay is approximately a 75min drive from Melbourne give or take and just over a 100km trip out. Unless you need, absolutely dire need of stopping in Geelong I would suggest you don’t bother on the way to Torquay. The road through Geelong is fraught with traffic lights and varying speed limits.
Don’t drive? Not an issue with the train journey from Melbourne City to Torquay taking around 90mins.
Journey: Melbourne (Southern Cross station) – Geelong – Torquay (Surf Coast Hwy / Caravan Park stop).
Surf board hire–
Torquay Surf Academy starting at $20 for two hours. Wetsuits are an additional small fee. The perk of hiring from these boys is a) the hot shower available on return and b) next door to the BEST ice cream ever at Nordenfine Icecream. Depending on what sort of sport you’re after you can easily grab a mountain bike, surfboard or SUP from here.
Lessons
There are a lot of options for lessons down this way. I don’t think you can go past Little Bantam Surf Training for an all round experience. I can’t wait to try out Shallow Water training with Elise.
What to bring–
- Sunscreen. You are silly being in Australia during summer and not wearing sunshine. The lobster look is so last century
- Lip balm. Salt water is terrible for the lips.
- Bottles of water. You’ll naturally consume a lot of sea water. More then you actually want to. Surprisingly it’s thirsty work trying to avoid consuming more salt water.
- Snacks. Always remember the snacks
- Usual beach wear-hat, towel.
A huge thank you shout out to Nicole and Tim for driving us down and keeping the laughs up all day long.
Getting my surf on.
