The Search - Great Ocean Road and the search for the perfect wave

Spoiler Alert!

In this post, I won't show many pictures of myself or surfing, but simply the wonderful beaches along the famous Great Ocean Road.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the 240-mile coastal road starts in Torquay and leads to Allansford along wonderful beaches, cliffs, and small towns.

Here, our search for the perfect wave started. Since the WSL competition was still taking place at Bells Beach and a historic 50-year swell was being promoted, we decided to search from Torquay towards Lorne.

Just for your information: we suspect that it was more of a marketing strategy by the WSL organizers to talk about a historic swell. The swell did increase, but the wind was onshore and the conditions were more than unpleasant. A quick side note: during the competition, at least 8 surfboards broke, one participant was initially not found by the jet skiers as he drifted to the nearby surf spot Winkipop, and a jet skier had an unpleasant wipeout. All in all, there was a lot to see as a spectator. That's all about that.

Our first stop in Torquay was devastating. The waves were not surfable because the wind was blowing too strong onshore. So, we continued towards Lorne. Along the way, we made stops to inspect potential surf spots. Here we often came across other surfers who were also looking for the perfect spot. Now, what strikes me again here is that there are only men. No girls in sight for miles. Maybe the surfing girls are sunning themselves on the Gold Coast?

After a few stops - like around Anglesea - we decided to drive directly to Kim's friend Graham.

His family has a wonderful property in the holiday resort of Lorne. Several bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms are spread over 3 floors. The two large balconies offer a direct view of Lorne Beach. Surfing is very rare here, as the swell must be at least 10 ft at Bells Beach. But the bay is protected from the wind. Only a few waves were surfable here, so we decided to drive towards Kennett River and make a stop at a beach or two.

As an avid surfer, Graham knows a few spots where surfing is possible. Unfortunately, due to the very strong wind, surfing was not possible. But the trip was definitely worth it to experience the beautiful nature of Australia.

Back in Lorne, we watched the last heats of the WSL competition and then decided to go for a sunset surf at the local beach in the evening. The waves were messy and mostly closed out, wipeouts were inevitable.

The outside temperature was only about 15°C, so we couldn't stay in the water for more than 1.5 hours. Frozen but with some laughter later, back in the car, we had the last bit of bread that Kim and I had bought on the way. How happy I was when I finally could jump under the warm shower.

Truly a great day, with the true feeling of being on the search for the perfect wave. The Search is alive!