HI I am looking for specific details about Melbourne and Sydney, as a
potential place to live - what are the 'sporting possibilities' in
these Cities - and specifically, how easy is it (ie how far would you
have to travel from the City) to be able to fo surfing and
Kitesurfing.

Any other information to other outdoor sports (eg, hiking, camping
etc) would bring a 5 star answer + tip!

Thanks

Haram

Hi there,

Well, I live in Melbourne, so that half of it I don't need to research!


Melbourne
---------
Melbourne has lots of beaches, but they are on the inside of Port
Phillip Bay, and there aren't any waves happening. For surfing you
need to drive about an hour from downtown Melbourne.

To the west, just past the city of Geelong are surf beaches around
Torquay like Bell's Beach and Jan Juc, and many other little spots
along the coast. Some big tournaments happen at Bell's Beach, and part
of the movie Point Break was filmed there. The international surfgear
company Quiksilver started life in Torquay.

To the east is Portsea. Between Portsea and Melbourne is the
Mornington Peninsula, and houses pretty much line the entire journey -
you could live at any point between the two.

To get out of Melbourne takes about an hour in most directions, it is
a very spread out city. I have been camping and hiking at various
spots within 1-2 hours drive. My favorites are the Grampians, 260km
from Melbourne, and Wilson's Promontory which is a bit closer. Winter
skiing is within 2-3 hours drive.


Sydney
------
You can live in Sydney and at a surf beach at the same time. Popular
surfing spots within the city of Sydney are Bondi Beach, Coogee,
Tamarama, Cronulla and Maroubra. To the north is Manly and many
others.

Bondi & Coogee Beaches - Sydney Visitors Bureau
http://www.sydney.visitorsbureau.com.au/page2-06.html

Ocean Beaches
http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/australia/newsouthwales/syd_oceanbeaches.asp

Thirty kilometres south of Sydney is the Royal National Park, a good
spot for bushwalking.
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/parks.nsf/parkContent/N0030?OpenDocument&ParkKey=N0030&Type=xo

Ninety minutes west of Sydney is the Blue Mountains. They are very
popular with locals and tourists alike. The main activities are hiking
and camping.

Blue Mountains
http://www.australianexplorer.com/blue_mountains.htm

The best skiing in Australia is within the Snowy Mountains. To get to
the good ski fields like Perisher and Thredbo from Sydney is about a
5-6 hour drive.


My Opinion
----------
If you are trying to work out which city to live in, try them both for
a week, and try Sydney first. Although they are more or less the same
size, Sydney is relatively hectic and Melbourne is relaxed. Sydney is
flash and Melbourne is cool. Sydney has quite good weather, Melbourne
has "four seasons in one day". Today it is 37 degrees in Melbourne,
yet last Xmas day it was too cold and windy to hang out on the beach
in the afternoon...


Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by haram-ga on 17 Dec 2003 01:41 PST

Thanks Robert - this is a great start!
Sounds like both places are great to live if you are active and enjoy the outdoors!

Would you know how I would investigate the kitesurfing possibilities -
I'm guessing if there is some water and wind then people must do it
(maybe off St Kildas) but there might be local regulations.

Ideally I'd love to be able to do some kitesurfing in the evenings -
and not have over an hours drive (fussy I know ;)

Thanks

Keith

---

Clarification of Answer by robertskelton-ga on 17 Dec 2003 16:39 PST

Hi again Keith,

Marine Safety Victoria have a leaflet on Kite Surfing - basically the
rules are the same for other watercraft:
http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/d22f19aa19051ca3ca256cf700061ca0/$FILE/_f9dkn8p90adqn4pj9dpji0gjidthmh7o_.pdf

This page says that in Melbourne they are enforcing the wearing of lifejackets:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~ianyoung/safety.html

It's not unusual to find 40+ kiters near the St Kilda Marina. (I've
never counted them, but I've seen quite a few out there):
http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=253

So, for Melbourne, St Kilda looks ideal (and it's great for night life
and food as well).

In NSW the rules are the same as Victoria, so you can do it anywhere,
except that Sydney Harbour is a no-go zone:
http://www.waterways.nsw.gov.au/kitesurfing.html