Rottnest ?

jgfoster said...
Rottnest ?

Nice, double the cost and none of the facilities.

Spose you save though, boat fares are only half the cost of flying to Fiji

Penguin Island,
You can walk there

Cocos Island ?? I havnt been there but Jezz from 2nd Wind raves about it ..sounds unreal !! Not sure if it kids friendly . Contact Jezz @ 2nd Wind for more info ..

We just got back from Lord Howe. It's one of the best holidays we've ever had. A little expensive but really, really nice.

Lord Howe is like a cross between a laid back Aussie country town, a tropical resort and a mountain national park.

You don't get the cross cultural experience of overseas (but you never do in a resort) and you don't get the Fijian aunties to look after your kids. The tour operators come and introduce themselves but there's no hassling for money and we got plenty of help and advice for free. We only paid for the formal tours we went on.

The weather is not hot, but it's pleasantly warm during the days if you find a spot out of the wind.

Lord Howe is possibly not kiteboarding paradise, but it's pretty good. The lagoon takes W-S winds, which are common over winter. You can blast up and down the reef and play with the waves. We used 7-10m kites.

Horrocks Beach! cant beat it. Family friendly and has waves. Stay in the caravan park or Horrocks beachside cottages. Same distance too launch site or kids playground. Magic!

swinginginthewind said..

Monkers said..

Cocos Island ?? I havnt been there but Jezz from 2nd Wind raves about it ..sounds unreal !! Not sure if it kids friendly . Contact Jezz @ 2nd Wind for more info ..

Unfortunately you can't kite the waves at Cocos - great for surfing though

Also not a lot for spouse & kids to do if they don't kite

I've always wondered about cocos... why can't you kite waves there, but can surf (pardon my ignorance). What's the surfing like there? Any more info appreciated... :-)

Also, +1 on mauritius.

DANEgerous said..

kitegirl21 said..

swinginginthewind said..

Monkers said..

Cocos Island ?? I havnt been there but Jezz from 2nd Wind raves about it ..sounds unreal !! Not sure if it kids friendly . Contact Jezz @ 2nd Wind for more info ..

Unfortunately you can't kite the waves at Cocos - great for surfing though

Also not a lot for spouse & kids to do if they don't kite

I've always wondered about cocos... why can't you kite waves there, but can surf (pardon my ignorance). What's the surfing like there? Any more info appreciated... :-)

Also, +1 on mauritius.

The main surf breaks would be offshore with the prevailing winds. Surf is good, depending on swell size and direction, a couple of left handers.

got ya. thanks. will look into it, looks like such a beautiful place!

jamesperth said..

Has anyone stayed at the Malolo Island Resort in Fiji ? Saw a vid on youtube last night and it looks pretty good - 20 min boat ride to the breaks.

Hi James

I stayed at Malolo Island Resort for a week with the family back in Oct 2011.
I had maybe 3 days kiting, not sure what time of year is the best for wind?
But as far as a family location it was great, the kids and missus loved it.
I never went out to the breaks, but easily organized apparently. You can also jump on the day trip to snorkel island (basically a sand bank), and do a downwinder back to the resort if wind is blowing the right direction.
I just kited straight off the beach in front of the resort, I was the only kiter staying there at the time.
The current can rip past there at times, so you need to be sure of the wind strength and your abilities.
The watersports guys will keep an eye on you and probably come rescue you if you got into trouble
Its not really a "kiting" destination, but it can work. Beaches are narrow at high tide, lots of coral, shells etc.
I tethered launched in front of the staff quarters away from the guests on the other side of the jetty.

I'll send you a PM with a few pics, so you have a better idea.

Cheers

Hopey said...

jamesperth said..

Has anyone stayed at the Malolo Island Resort in Fiji ? Saw a vid on youtube last night and it looks pretty good - 20 min boat ride to the breaks.

Hi James

I stayed at Malolo Island Resort for a week with the family back in Oct 2011.
I had maybe 3 days kiting, not sure what time of year is the best for wind?
But as far as a family location it was great, the kids and missus loved it.
I never went out to the breaks, but easily organized apparently. You can also jump on the day trip to snorkel island (basically a sand bank), and do a downwinder back to the resort if wind is blowing the right direction.
I just kited straight off the beach in front of the resort, I was the only kiter staying there at the time.
The current can rip past there at times, so you need to be sure of the wind strength and your abilities.
The watersports guys will keep an eye on you and probably come rescue you if you got into trouble
Its not really a "kiting" destination, but it can work. Beaches are narrow at high tide, lots of coral, shells etc.
I tethered launched in front of the staff quarters away from the guests on the other side of the jetty.

I'll send you a PM with a few pics, so you have a better idea.

Cheers

Load some picks up here I want to see too. Sounds interesting.

bearbusa said..

Mui Ne In vietnam, 18 klm of beach ,plenty of resorts to choose from , cheaper than bali but better 3 to 5 star accomodation and food ,drinks great wind ,waves from beach in front of over 30 resorts

Only expensive part is airfare about $1300 from perth .

+1 for Mui Ne.
Spent 10 days there last January at a beautiful little place called Mia Resort. Beach front bungalow, kiting out the front every day, enough shelter from the wind to keep the wife happy, 7yo and 6yo had a ball. Food is fantastic and it's an easy 5hr train ride from Saigon. There are some wave kiting options about 20-30 km further up the coast on a less populated stretch of beach with 3m windswell common.

jamesperth said..

Thanks for all the ideas - Mauritius looks amazing, Maldives would be also be a winner but not sure about the wind. My wife is a non kiter, so Coco's is not going to work, neither would Sri Lanka from what I can gather. Has anyone stayed at the Malolo Island Resort in Fiji ? Saw a vid on youtube last night and it looks pretty good - 20 min boat ride to the breaks. Horrocks looks pretty interesting - Ive organised a boys trip to Quobba and Gnaraloo at the end of September, might check it out on the way there.

Lord Howe is a surpise - this post has some nice pics (www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Lord-Howe-Island-Winter-Kite-Surfing-Rundown/) . In June / July it's not going to be that warm is it ?

Mauritius is epic. The set up for waves there is perfect. That's where I really cut my teeth on the wave thing and it's still my benchmark.

There are lots of things to do in the area when the wind isn't up and the culture/history of the place is cool. You could also pop over to Reunion Island.

I stayed in a unit in La Gaulette and hired a ute from the guy who owned the property. Took that thing everywhere.