Bells Beach and Winkipop, Easter Swell

Surf Coast, Victoria · Australia

Challenging8 daysOceania~£950 est.

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Overview

The Southern Ocean does not send waves so much as fire them. When a deep low tracks under Tasmania and the groundswell reaches the limestone cliffs west of Torquay, Bells wakes up: a long right-hander that starts at Rincon, doubles up through the Bowl and runs a couple of hundred metres while the amphitheatre of cliffs above fills with people watching. Next door, Winkipop is faster and hollower over a shallower ledge, and it punishes a late take-off. The Easter contest here is the longest-running event in professional surfing and still hands the winner a bell rather than a trophy; the reserve behind the beach was the first surfing reserve declared anywhere in the world. On flat days you drive: Jan Juc, Point Impossible, Thirteenth Beach, or Johanna when the swell is too big for everything else. What catches visitors out is temperature, not size. Autumn and winter water sits near 14C, so a 4/3 steamer and boots are the minimum; a 3/2 will end your session in an hour. Base yourself in Torquay, hire a car, and budget about £950 for eight days with a simple apartment and board hire. Paddle out at mid tide until you know where the rocks are.