6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park



Surfs Up! You don’t have to ven­ture far from Ade­laide to catch some epic waves. Here’s where.


It’s that time of the year again when big south­ern ocean win­ter swells are pro­pelled onto the coast of South Australia’s Encounter Marine Park.

Just 30 km from Ade­laide, Encounter Marine Park has some­thing for every­one – from spec­tac­u­lar snorkelling and div­ing spots, to top van­tage points for whale-watch­ing.

It fea­tures two surf­ing areas: the Mid Coast, which is from O’Sullivans Beach to Sel­l­icks Beach and the South Coast, from Cape Jervis to Goolwa.

Want to check it out for your­self? Take on board these tips from local surfer and pho­tog­ra­ph­er Che Chor­ley about some of the best spots to catch a break:

1. Christies Beach

Loca­tion: Esplanade and Beach Road, Christies Beach
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 30 km
Surf region: Mid Coast
Wave type: Beach break
Expe­ri­ence required: Suit­able for all levels

Christies Beach is the most north­ern beach of Encounter Marine Park, and a great place to vis­it even when the surf is not pump­ing. It’s eas­i­ly acces­si­ble by pub­lic trans­port and there are lots of local shops, cafes and restau­rants nearby.

The surf is at its best when it’s stormy and rough. On calmer days it’s great for kids to catch a wave on a bodyboard.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

2. Trig Point

Loca­tion: Esplanade and Fre­man­tle Road, Port Noar­lun­ga South
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 35 km
Surf region: Mid Coast
Wave type: Soft, spongy reef
Expe­ri­ence required: All lev­els of experience

The coastal cliffs here pro­vide a stun­ning back­drop to this break, which is known for pro­duc­ing long right-hand rides in the right con­di­tions. This break rarely gets above shoul­der height.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

3. Gull Rock

Loca­tion: Bow­er­ing Hill Road (Blanche Point car park), Maslin Beach
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 44 km
Surf region: Mid Coast
Wave type: Reef
Expe­ri­ence required: All lev­els of experience

This break can be incon­sis­tent, but it works well from very small to head-height waves and has oth­er breaks near­by. The land­scape is extreme­ly pho­to­genic and the break is easy to pad­dle out to.

Top tip: This is Che’s favourite break on the Mid Coast.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

4. Knights

Loca­tion: Hut­ton Street, Port Elliot
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 82 km
Surf region: South Coast
Wave type: Beach break
Expe­ri­ence required: Advanced

This beach break is for advanced surfers only and is best rid­den on a body­board. If this isn’t you, don’t despair – it’s still a great place to go as you can sit back and watch from the beach or clifftop to see the pros go to work.

While you’re there, make use of the great walk­ing and cycling trails in the area.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

5. Par­sons Beach

Loca­tion: Par­sons Beach Road, Wait­pin­ga
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 100 km
Surf region: South Coast
Wave type: Beach break and point break
Expe­ri­ence required: Advanced

This spot is locat­ed at the west­ern end of New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park, and it’s real­ly for experts only.

Strong cur­rents and rips mean this beach isn’t safe for swim­ming, but even if you’re surf­ing make sure you respect the con­di­tions. The two breaks at Par­sons can hold con­sid­er­able size (up to 8ft) in the right conditions.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

6. Wait­pin­ga Beach

Loca­tion: Den­nis Road, Wait­pin­ga
Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 99 km
Surf region: South Coast
Wave type: Beach break and point break
Expe­ri­ence required: Advanced

Locat­ed to the east of Par­sons in New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park, Wait­pin­ga Beach offers both a point break plus a clas­sic beach break. The breaks pro­duce great set-ups to souther­ly swells. Both breaks can hold con­sid­er­able size (up to 8ft) and can deliv­er thick barrels.

Wait­pin­ga Beach is also pop­u­lar for fish­ing and camp­ing is avail­able at the near­by Wait­pin­ga camp­ground, but strong cur­rents and rips make this beach unsafe for swimming.

6 great surf breaks in SA’s Encounter Marine Park

So what are you wait­ing for? Grab your board and wet­tie (wet­suit) and head down to the Encounter Marine Park coast for some sol­id action.

For more fun ways to enjoy South Australia’s nation­al parks, check out these things you can do with your mates.

(Main image cour­tesy of Che Chorley)

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly pub­lished in August 2018.


This con­tent was pro­duced in part­ner­ship with  Good Living