WA’s second NSR, Kalbarri National Surfing Reserve was symbolically declared in March 2010 as one of the state’s most famous remote surfing breaks. Many hours drive north of Perth, Kalbarri attracts hardened surfers to its handful of challenging breaks year round. Although small, it has a very strong sense of surfing community where locals take their surfing and protection of the fragile environment seriously.
Raw Beauty
Six plus hours drive north of Perth is Kalbarri, home a variety of quality breaks including the iconic jacking lefthander at Jakes Point. Jakes is one of those idiosyncratic waves that is mastered best by the local surfers. Like most reefs, Jakes breaks from two foot and up and best ridden by experienced surfers only.
Kalbarri is set at the mouth of the Murchison River and in the midst of the spectacular Kalbarri National Park, a huge and pristine wilderness area with picturesque gorges and rugged coastal cliffs. The resort town is quite spread out and apart from its deserved reputation as a primo surf location, it is famous for rock and beach fishing. The ocean shoreline is also steep with cliffs that plunge hundreds of metres into the sea. The sunsets here are awesome and the environment pretty relaxed and wholistic. Offshore, the marine life of dolphins, whale sharks and whales abound. The small population of Kalbarri plays host to in excess of 150,000 visitors annually.
First nominated for NSR status in 2009 by a committed local crew of surfing environmentalists… or maybe better said – environmentally-friendly surfers.