🇦🇺 Forster / Sandbar
Australia · Oceania · All Australia spots →
Best directionNE
Wind speed15–22kt
SeasonOct – Apr
Skill levelIntermediate
WaterFlat + chop
A sandbar-protected stretch on the NSW mid-north coast, known locally simply as 'the Sandbar' — flat water inside, open coast just beyond.
View live 5-day wind forecast →Good to know
Getting thereGreat Lakes region, about 1.5 hours north of Newcastle Airport (NTL) via the Lakes Way. A car is required for gear; free parking at the Sandbar Beach campground lot or the adjacent Wallis Lake park lanes. Staging splits between flat-water lake flats and the open-ocean surf beach.
HazardsThe channel connecting Wallis Lake to the ocean generates genuinely violent, rapid tidal current that can sweep a rider or gear out to sea. Stay well inside the flat, shallow lake-side pools and never venture into the main river channel or the open sea break.
Best time of dayAfternoon, when the standard summer NE sea breeze kicks in like clockwork across the flat lake. Time sessions with high tide for the safest depth over the inside sand flats while avoiding the worst channel current.