Bells/Great Ocean Road

[Chonie]

Got an awesome present for my birthday- a free trip down to Bells Beach and the Great Ocean Road! I'm heading down there mid july. Was wondering about a few things-

1. is the water REALLY as cold as they say it is? Im fine surfing sydney in a springer all winter, is that gona be ok down at Bells?

2. are there any other beaches or surf spots to look out for down the GOR? Anywhere that's a must see/surf?

Thanks!

[stuey]

ponie, see'n as Im doin bugger all. A springy will not be warm enuff even for the inside o the car!Caz reckons he used ta get around in a 3/2. I dunno how thats possible. A 4/3 is the minimum. Booties as well. If yar startin yar trip near Torquay. The point there is pretty soft. Or you could drive further south ta Pt Danger(western end o 13th beach. There are a couple of nice but not frightenin righthand reefs there. Then still further east ya can find a few crappy waves at 13th beach if the wind is north.
West o Torquay point are a few other reasonable reefs, boobs, and bird rock, (too heavy for you) then some lesser surfed reefs around the foot of the cliffs as ya head for winki. Then ya have Bells with a few different facets to the wave(read about em anywhere) centreside if bells is small, and a few breaks on the other side of the cliffs. There are some soft beach/reef options as ya drive down the coast(great ocean road hasnt even started yet). Ya can see most of em from the road. Drive down ta point impossible if everywhere is huge-its kinda soft. Then ya'II find loadsa beachies around the fairhaven stretch towards urqharts bluff. A few heavy reefs before ya head into Lorne and the GREAT OCEAN ROAD starts here where there is often a gay little wave on the point, a better one out near where all dem fins are swimmin around. After dat ya have to do a bit o searchin but ya will see plenty o beachies from da car. As ya get near Apostle bay ya'II find more beachies by the road. As ya get near Port Campbell its probably best ya forget about surfin. Itll probably be wayyyyyy too big.

[Chonie]

Thanks Stuey. Guess i'll be investing in a wetty and boots. Too big? Yeah probably, but i'm more afraid of closeouts than size. If it's a clean break, size doesn't freak me that much. Unless you're talking 7ft plus.
Looks like i've got alot of places to check out. Nice. If ya'll don't hear from me in a few weeks time ive probably been eaten by one of them damn fins.

[channels]

Going to the Southern Ocean in the middle of winter, prepare to be colder than you've ever been before. If you get it with offshores you'll have the time of your life. I did the Vicco surf trip a few years back, awesome big & clean surf although that was in May although the main memory of how fricken cold it was.

[_cant_touch_this]

iv done great ocean road but since it was with family, didnt do much surfing save for bells and umm....thats it!

springy? ha! try that in vico and ya wont have any titties left by the end of yer first session! i was lucky paddling out at bells in an unsealed 3/2, warmest summer they had had since like, 1850's or something. i reckon i coulda gone boardies!

[Nikko]

Springy made me laugh n cringe at the same time....
Ya ever been in the snowies and caught in a blizzard without all your wardrobe on?
Times that by 100 and that's how cold it gets!
Why not save the money and go to warmer climate?
Indo pretty cheap these days and you could palm off the GOR ticket to someone with no nerve ending left to bother.
P.S Cold water hold down are darker and more different than anything you've ever experienced before...
I have one word of advice if you do decide to go though.
Dont fall off and she'll be right mate.
Cheers

[nthnbeachesguy]

FYI i just got back from there a week ago. I had a 3/2 sealed Cell wetty and a pair of booties. Only just ok if i was getting heaps of waves but not warm enough to be considered comfortable at all. Ended up buying hood and gloves when i did a tow sesh behind Bells. Stuey pretty much covered the surf spots and not knowing ur standard of surfing i dunno what to recommend but heres a couple of tips about the swell down there. If winki and Bells are big go down the road a bit to Cathedral or Lorne they will be a bit smaller and more manageable if ur worried. Past Otway and unless Bells is dead flat this will be to big unless ur name is RCJ and u have a 1200 yamaha!!!!!!!!!

Do go have a look at Johana if only to say u've been there, nice place. Oh and this is what it was like while i was there!!!!!!!!!

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y3efok&outx=800&oq=0