We're thinking of moving from the east coast to the area between Bunbury and Margaret river, probably Busselton. All the real estate pics show the beach with no wind, water perfectly calm. Can any locals comment - What's the main wind direction? Do you get clean wind and proper surf there, or do you have to drive down past the headland to Yalingup area? Is there any flat water around - like is the estuary big enough or can you kite offshore in a SW from Dunsborough? Basically is it a good spot for a kiter to live?
Oh and how bad are the flies/sandflies there?
I think the answer is no. WA winds are predoninantly SW which makes busselton a nice sheltered beach. I have been there on a storm blowing a NW and thought it would have been good, but to kite regularly you would need to go around the cape to yallingup.
I think there are a crew that kite the river/inlet/something in Bunbury, but don't know much about it myself.
Busselton isn't positioned well for the prevailing SW. See this post on it and points further South:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56746
Bunbury is a lot better and has a flat water inlet that many seem to appreciate. It's been covered many times, do a search for Bunbury and Australind.
Cheers.
Generally off shore in Busselton, except for winter storms; Australind just farther north has awesome flat water and bunbury good for small surf spots. Yallingup has lots of headlands and a big wind shadow. Marg's apparently is good but a heavy local scene
hope this helps
I’m sure who ever replied doesn’t kite in Busselton. If you just look at the one spot near the jetty you don’t have a very big season each year but Busso is such a small curved bay you have plenty of other spots. Summer time does bring more southerly but if you drive about 5km from the main st in town you hit forest beach road. That beach is 10/10 for a southerly; Dolphin Park is good for everything else. not forgetting the morning easterly’s which we have siesta park and duns for and if you want the best spot in Australia, one of Aaron hallows faves of all time, you have Augusta which is about 80km. bit of a treck but once you kite there once the treck seems small. So all on all yes Busselton is a great kiting location.
Also not forgetting Bunbury/Australind, Margret River and Yelling up which are all with in 50km and all great spots aswell.
Cheers for the replies so far..
Pynnee where's dolphin park? Can't see it on google maps. So I'm guessing the estuary at busso's too small to bother with. Is there any surf around Peppermint grove or further north?
Also is this area too far south to get the same wind as Perth? Does it get a regular seabreeze?
The Busselton area is certainly doable, although there are some issues as noted above. If you are going to come to WA for the kiting, there are probably a few more worthier spots, wouldn't you say? However, the other attractions of the Busselton/MR region might outweigh the kiting negatives.
Cheers.
dolphin park rd in west busselton. there is a boatramp there where alot of kiters go. i prefer not because it does get quite choppy sometimes.
i lived in peppy for 3 years and got one good kite out there. it is too off shore.
i kited the esteries once but im pretty sure its all private land so you could get into alot of trouble. also there are a huge amount of old fences running everywhere so its not the most ideal place. one place im keen to try is the new development of port geo. its fenced off though so you couldnt say you didnt know you couldnt kite there. personally my fave is forest beach by a mile. i have only ever seen one other kiter out there. the stretch is a good 10km long so you have plenty of room if there were heaps of kiters. nice widish beach and no beach goers. all on all i rate it 10/10 for ocean riding. no waves though
hey Laurie, def. are better spots for kiting in WA but got to take into account wife/mates/work/potential kids/house prices/etc when picking a spot.
Pynnee sorry to keep hitting you up but what was peppy like to live in? It looks pretty good from here! There's some nice houses for sale there. Is there anything that makes it a real pain in the @ss? Can you live outside in summer or are there too many flies/mozzies/sandflies? Is it a pretty safe area for car break-ins etc? Not too many deros around?
I would be looking for work in Bunbury so could kite Australind or forest beach on the way home... but we're just tossing the idea round at the moment.. long way to go from family and friends. We've got good flat water kiting 3 mins from home at the moment (Sandgate QLD) but it's brown bay water (no good for swimming for the wife) and surf is an hour away.
Im not an expert in the matter but occasionally I look at the wind on the West coast and day dream. Busselton always seems below average. I could be wrong!
Look at this, Its always warmer and windier.
-graphs
-western australia
-central west
I have heard there are new mines opening just east of Geraldton too. That would entice me back to operating if it was close to a city like Geraldton.
I moved from scarborough to busselton 4 years ago and then learnt to kite (what was I thinking....?) but it's not all bad here kiteboy dave, as mentioned earlier, there are loads of spots close to busselton to kite, chop, flat water or waves.
Basically you will get 18-35 knots west to north west atleast once a week every week in winter (every cold front). If it is more north north west then dunsborough is awesome ! sheltered water inside the sand bar (2-300 meters depending on where you launch) and small to chest high waves on the sand bar depending on swell size and direction.
summer......if your lucky you might get a couple of hours of west to north west early afternoon before the wind goes south west (off shore). We usually kite at wonnerup in summer or if cross off there we go further round to forrest beach.
Easterlies in summer (usually only till mid day) are good at dunsborough. All summer kiting in or close to busselton (within a 15 min drive) is hit and miss. If you need to kite every day, move to marg's. west facing coast line (for the south wester) and only a short drive to augusta (close to the best place on earth to kite) when south east.
I think you could easily find a worse place to live. We moved here to start a family and the relaxed comfortable way of life is all good ! busselton is very much a summer tourism town and can be quite on the work front in winter depending on what you do.
If you move here you will need a 7m ! the only flies that will bother you are at bunker bay on any hot day in summer, seriously you cant talk with out swallowing them but you dont need to kite there. I have never seen any localism and touch wood, never a break in to anyones car (busso and augusta).
if you have any other questions fire away, I would be more than happy to give you first hand local knowledge.
Mike
peppy is a great place. everyone knows everyone ( can be a good and bad thing) in the summer there are loads of mozzys and flys. its 20km between busso and bun so if you dont mind a 20 min drive each morning i would recommend. i agree with the comment about move closer to bunbury if you dont mind living in the burbs but if you want a nice small place where you dont need to lock your doors, have large blocks with distance between you and your neighbours, peppy is your place. but on saying that if you want a normal house near shops and sports grounds ect bunbury is def the place. if you have any more questions you want answered you can pm me even give me a call if you like. always happy to help a fellow kiter. pm me for my number.
cheers
Sam
also i float between 60-65kg and i fly a 10 and 15m down here. i find those two the perfect sizes for down here
Are the stingers still a problem at Peppy/Capel? I haven't been there for years - we used to go every season for the crabbing but my wife would never swim.
