Surfing
Surfing
Take a trip inside the Gold Coast’s most fickle novelty wave
There are more than just great point breaks on the Gold Coast… here, we let Andrew Shield take us to the most fickle novelty wave around.
The Gold Coast of Australia is famous around the world for it’s wave-rich coast, from the high-rise skyline of Surfer’s Paradise through to the infamous crowds of Snapper Rocks. Every beach from Coolangatta north has waves, whether you’re chasing a two-foot beachie or a rifling point break. But what most don’t know is that the Gold Coast is so spoilt for waves, even the rivers score rideable surf. Andrew Shield, local legendary photographer, explains…
“It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally there is a build up of sand in a couple of different locations in the Tweed River that can create this crazy novelty wave. The river flows out into the ocean just South of Duranbah Beach, which is just the other side of Snapper. That officially makes it a New South Wales beach, but Gold Coast surfers will still claim it – especially when it’s producing fun waves!
“When the swell is large enough and from the right direction, waves will travel up the mouth of the river between the two break walls and make for good (and sometimes, great) surf. It’s very fickle, though. Even with the sand in place, the waves will only work during certain parts of the tide. Usually the outgoing tide will make the waves stand up more, but it also means you’re constantly paddling hard upstream, otherwise you’d get sucked straight out to sea!
“There have been a few memorable days surfing in the river. Local surfers Dane Pioli and Josh Fuller fondly remember a day in 2009, when a bank had formed just inside the mouth of the river. Tide movement and water flow had created a deep channel next to the bank. On a perfect winter’s day with a nice clean long-period swell, the boys traded barrels on a perfectly shaped bank next to one of the most crowded beach breaks in the world (DBah). The tide filled in so the session only lasted for a couple of hours. Within 24 hours, the bank had completely disappeared – but like I said, fickle.
Just inside the river mouth...
© Andrew Shield
Tucked into a hidden gem
© Andrew Shield
An empty face and not a soul in the lineup... is this the Gold Coast?
© Andrew Shield
An empty... a rare sight in Coolangatta
© Andrew Shield
“Before he moved to California, Josh Kerr was another Coolangatta local who kept an eye out for waves in the river. He was constantly going out of the Tweed River on his jet ski either looking for waves on the beach breaks to the south, or heading out to go fishing. Kerrzy has spent a fair portion of his surfing life using a jet ski to either get to the waves, or as a means of catching them.
“The waves at the last bend in the river are fairly consistent, but they usually lack power. It’s much better suited to longboards or ski paddlers. For Kerrzy though, the little mechanical waves made for perfect ramps for him to ‘whip in’ with the ski and practice his airs in a river.
“The last memorable swell in the river was in April 2017. After a couple of weeks of torrential rain and flooding, the Gold Coast waves had turned a chocolate brown colour. The wind had been howling onshore for quite a few days as well, making for very unappealing surf, and the flooding had washed all sorts of debris out into the ocean.
The Tweed River in all it's muddy glory
© Andrew Shield
Sheldon Simkus throwing it to the sky
© Andrew Shield
So dark it's not a cavern, it's a cave...
© Andrew Shield
Only a few surfers braved the waters, but it sure paid off for them
© Andrew Shield
“The Tweed Valley is a farming area and the flood waters were a nasty combination of chemical runoff mixed with topsoil. There were even claimed sightings of dead livestock floating out to sea. But not even these conditions will deter Gold Coast surfers from paddling out.
“The bank was on the South side of the Tweed River, with a wedging right breaking along the rock wall into a little beach. The current flowing out of the river made the usual tame little river waves stand up and barrel top to bottom. Access was either by paddling from the DBah side or a drive around the river through Fingal to the south.
“Local surfer Korbin Hutchings caught one of the better waves of this swell. A long barrel that was so dark he would’ve felt like he was in a cave. The ear and throat infections suffered by most of the guys who surfed this swell was no real deterrent, and I’m sure next time it breaks they’ll all be out the again.”
