Daly Heads Reviews and Ratings

Visitor reviews of Daly Heads surf break

• December 18, 2011
  steeve whitehead from Australia
  

  Daly head is a left hander to the north of Salmon hole, it is the major sized wave in the area, breaking similarly to Margaret river of western Australia, but receives about 2 to 3 times the ground swells with about 4 times the number of offshore days. it is the only place I know of where the sea breeze is side offshore and will often in the summer half go fully offshore again for the rest of the day. a swell with south content will jack the wave up on third reef but will shortly fade out with a uninteresting ride, however, swell with a lot of west direction will cause the wave to bowl up into a triangle peak with a medium-fast steep wall. a big west swell breaking on third reef and a heavy body of water in the northern channel can make the wave break all the way into the bay behind. I used google earth to approximate the third reef start and the bay finish, just over 800m if accurate. I have surfed this wave at 25 feet but know it holds 30 feet face. bigger is unknown???? ESE wind is the very best, access- easy paddle in /out, go round the rock and paddle towards the break to clear the rip pulling you over to the inside point. my favourite big left. Accommodation, about 5km away north, is Gleesons landing, the last time I lived in SA, you where aloud free camping there by national parks. closest town is Corny point 25km north. this wave can pump with off shores for 2-3 weeks at a time, the first time I surfed it, a local guy I was surfing with, said it had been offshores for 2 weeks with 8 meter waves continually, best time for York peninsula is September to December, jan-march can be quiet swell wise but I have been there surfing 15 footers at these times. and April-May. June -July-August (winter of 1985 was offshore for 3 months straight, with the exception of 6 hours of west wind at 5 to 10 knots) can totally pump, but you will get hit with onshores occasionally. West wind is the only bad wind on the peninsula- got do something else till it swings or drops. hope this has been helpful. note: the website maps this place at the back point in this area, which is in fact Gleesons landing, the break is about 300m north of Salmon hole for your accuracy.

• Daly Heads Ratings

  Based on 1 vote. Vote

  Quality on a good day: 3.0 (1 star: Even when the swell and winds are optimum, the waves are poor quality, 5 stars: If conditions are right, the waves will be World Class).	Consistency of surf: 4.0 (1: Daly Heads is a fickle surf spot that only works a few times a year. 5: Reliable year-round spot).
  Difficulty level: 4.0 (1: Suitable for Groms. 3: Intermediates. 5: Expert tow-in surfers only).	Water quality: 3.0 (1: Known health risks from pollution. 5: Never any pollution).
  Crowds: 4.0 (1: Often too crowded. 5: Daly Heads is an isolated spot where you are unlikely to meet other surfers).	Access: 3.0 (1: Getting to Daly Heads requires an overland expedition or chartering a boat. 3: A 30 minute walk from the nearest parking. 5: Park a vehicle right by the break).

  Based on 1 vote. Vote