Manly To Palm Beach – Destination New South Wales Guide To Road Tripping The Region!

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Marine Parade Manly, its beaches and restaurants
• Dee Why Point for great waves
• North Narrabeen’s world class beach break waves
• Avalon’s eateries
• Palm Beaches Golden sands and crystal clear waters

Looking back to shore and the huge Norfolk pines lining the Manly Marine Parade, I paddle for my last wave of a surf session that dreams are made of when it comes to getting a northern beaches road trip underway. Manly’s beach breaks offer a good amount of punch and protection at either end of the big horseshoe bay from south and north winds.

I pack the car and hit the road feeling fresh as a daisy after, Dee Why Point my next stop before making my way north to Narrabeen for the night. Dee Why is an exposed, raw chunky point break wave with a seriously thick barrel worth a look in multiple conditions.

After a fifteen-minute drive, I arrive to light offshore winds and solid overhead barreling waves breaking on the point. When I see waves like this, any fatigue from a previous session is pretty quickly forgotten and I get my 2mm vest and boardies on in under a minute as I wax the 6’2 thruster at the same time.

Having not surfed this spot for a few years I hold back on set waves for ten or fifteen minutes before being called into a stonking barrel by one of the locals. What a rush! That wave kicks off a solid hour of fun waves before my overwhelming hunger takes over and I go in to track down a feed.

After a solid sandwich and coffee, I hit the road to the legendary North Narrabeen.

Dee Why to my hotel for the night is only about ten kilometres up the road but by the time I get there its late arvo and I am cooked from a big day of sun and surf.

I wake up to light offshore winds and immediately get excited to check out one of Australia’s best beach breaks in ‘North Narra’. A quick hit of good coffee from Zubi Expresso and I have eyes on the line-up. It’s two or three feet and the perfect direction for the sandbars world-famous left-handers.

Two hours later I have had more than a dozen amazing waves whilst managing to stay on the right side of the Narra locals, including two-time world champion Thomas Victor Carroll!

If you get a chance to surf North Narrabeen, like all spots, respect the locals and wait your turn to avoid any turmoil. Traditional surfing values remain strong in this neck of the woods.

I can’t help myself and order another takeaway from the aforementioned coffee spot and hit the road to see if I can squeeze in an arvo surf at my next destination of Avalon Beach. As I am running on a three-day timeline I have to skip spots like Mona Vale which are a must if you have more time.

Sticking to my blocks of fifteen-minute driving sessions I arrive at Avalon and check in to my accommodation. Lunch is a must at Alma Mexican when I am in town so that’s exactly where I get a feed before heading down the beach for a look at the conditions.

The ocean surface has a bit of onshore chop to it with not a great deal of quality waves coming through so I decide to give myself the afternoon off and get a massage in preparation for my final destination of Palm Beach.

Palm Beach is largely protected from South swells and the bay is pretty much dead flat when I rock up the next morning, after you guessed it, another fifteen minutes stint in the car from Avalon. Luckily for me, Palm Beach isn’t short on things to do and great places to get a feed. I start with breakfast at ‘The Boathouse’, one of the areas many shoot locations for that famous Australian television show that’s been running since the late 1980s. The food most importantly is magic as always.

After my second coffee for the day I cruise over to the picturesque Resolute Beach and set up on the beach with towel and book in tow. The water is crystal clear and it gets hot enough for a swim within half an hour of baking in the sun.

Apart from checking out all the Home and Away shoot locations, you will recognise from your childhood (if you are born in the ’80s or ’90s) there’s a week’s worth of activities alone in Palm Beach to keep even the most restless of traveller happy.

Alas, my mini Northern Beaches roady has to come to an end and it’s back to reality for me.

Don’t wait too long to check out this magic little stretch of coastline!