Hi all,
I have heard that there are some fantastic areas and locations north of Perth for kitesurfing, such as shark Bay, Dongara, Lancelin, and Geralton to name a few.

Has anyone tried, been or know of other areas further north such as broome, Exmouth, Carnarvon etc, or even Lake Argle? That would be suitable and preferably with flat water for kiting.

With so many kms of coastline there must be some awsome spots and lakes that could be used. I friend of mine went for a fishing trip at Horricks and thought it would be great for kitesurfing with good winds and protected waters.

Hearing of some northern kiting experiences from people who have seen or tried some great or potentially great locations north of Perth can help fellow kiters go for a refreshing kite in a new spot on what could otherwise be a long journey north stopping only for the manditory fishing.

Regards Louie

Exmouth is awesome. Head thru town up & around to Cape Range Nat. Park. and youve got unlimited coastline of reef protected crystal clear flat water off any of the $5 a day dune campsites.
Local kiters favourite seems to be Sandy Bay - a bit like the north side of Woodies with the SW seabreeze cutting over a bit of a headland making for even smoother water. But its all good.
Haven't seen it myself but the town beaches are supposed to work for NE to SE'lys and thats the inside of the bay so should also be flat!
Best time to visit (apparently) is April to Oct but not sure that relates to kiting - just the general comfort zone.
Rangers & info staff based at the Mylering Visitors Centre are super helpful for local current advice.
Just beware of coral cuts - pack the betadene and use it liberally for ANY & EVERY nik or graze no matter how minor.

"He who enjoys most - WINS"

Carnarvon has some great uncrowded flat water spots right in town on the Fascine - can get a little gusty at times - smoother wind out at Pelican Point on the inside and huge downwind area great for learners on the ocean side.

For the more experienced there's awesome wave action along the coast through to Ningaloo/ tip of the Cape @ Exmouth - many breaks still yet to be ridden :-)

Nice and sunny most of the year round and wind is strong and consistent all along that part of the coast.

There is one guy that I know of that has kited Argyle and most of the coastal towns up the coast have one or two local kiters.

In winter Broome is awesome in the morning Easterlies @ Town Beach as Green Pat has pointed out.



Cheers,
Ian Young
www.flysurf.com.au
0414 716 812

one word
c r a p

several more words
stop telling everyone about hangover bay.

Hey All.

My wife and I kited at Exmouth for 18 months (left there 18 months ago) I believe we were (permanant) kiters # 2 & 3 in town.

Summer is actually the best time to kite on the west side of the cape (very regular SW winds all summer). The beach we spent most time at was Wobiri / Janz (2 accesses onto the same beach). Very nice bay with beach curving right around to the north west so that you will always wash up on the soft sand (after going over just a little bit of reef) if you run into problems. Nice beginner beach.

Further down the road (to the south) you have a place called Graveyards (unmarked entrance ... you will have to "try" to get a local to show you - or look for kites on the water). Very nice beach if you are into waves ... if you get it wrong however you will end up on very nasty exposed reef. If the track is chopped up you will need a 4wd to get to it (that was when I discovered you couldn't count my Tercell as a 4wd!)

Just North of Tantabidi boat ramp there is another smaller ramp (reasonably nice gravel road to it) this has flat water and a very long beach but isn't into the national park yet (so its free to get to).

Right down the end in the park (You have to pay to get into the national park) you have Sandy bay ... veeeerrrry nice. We had 30 kt winds, no waves, crystal clear water. We were kiting over spectacular coral - if you are lucky you will get dolphins in there too plus the usual turtles.

In summer Exmouth has a standard daytime (summer) temperature of about 45 degC but it is almost always ~10 deg cooler on the west side of the cape (where the wind is). In summer the camping grounds in the national park are empty. At the right time of year all the beaches on the west side will have turtles to dodge (you can aim for them but they are surprisingly quick when they need to be ) and I often saw dolphins (and one mako shark ... nasty).

In Winter the winds are lighter (usually less than 10 kts) and the water colder and the town is packed with tourists. The beaches on the west side however would still be almost empty (except Wobiri / Janz).

Town beach (on the town side ... !) is good for winds from the NE / SE. Most of the beach from town to the top of the cape is good in those conditions ... town beach gets a bit dry at low tide.

dg