5. Manu Bay, New Zealand
Featured in seminal 1966 surf movie ‘The Endless Summer’, during which original surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August embark on a round-the-world trip in pursuit of year-round summer surf, Manu Bay has since become a world famous spot amongst surf enthusiasts. Providing modest yet entirely reliable swells of anywhere between one and four meters, the Bay even throws out the occasional barrel. Aside from workable and mild surf, the community itself is the embodiment of cool- built pretty much entirely around the activity; it’s well worth a visit if you’re ever on the North Island.
4. Superbanks, Australia
Of all the legendary surfing locations on the Australian sub-continent, many of the best are situated along the eastern coast. Warm, solid and unbelievably surf-able, Superbanks lies marginally south of the city of Gold Coast, on the unmistakably beautiful Queensland coast. Isolated and completely tropical, this break has been a favourite of many surfers, both native and touring, for a very long time indeed. From tubes to solid walls, nine days out of ten Superbanks will give you something to shout about- just watch out for the sharks.
3. Mavericks, USA
Situated some 50 miles up-coast from the trendy settings of Malibu’s Surfrider, Mavericks is an entirely different beast altogether. Lying on the coast adjacent to Northern California’s Bay Area, the region produces some of the USA’s most formidable waves, constructed by an abundance of off-shore storms blowing in from the north Pacific. Mavericks is a serious surf-spot reserved only for the most sure of experts, frequently playing host to waves of up to 25 meters in height. While only usually surf-able with the assistance of a jet ski tow line, the spot has remained extremely popular with big-wave junkies for the best part of three decades. Admittedly, visitor numbers were quelled slightly when in 1994 Hawaiian pro-surfer Mark Foo drowned under a wave here.
2. Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa
Another spot to be featured in ‘The Endless Summer’, this location is Popular with professionals from all over the world on account of its vast range of surf options. Jeffrey’s Bay, or ‘J-Bay’, has risen to become one of the planets most famed spots over recent years. Supplying enthused visitors with ‘Kitchen Windows’, ‘Magna Tubes’, ‘Boneyards’ and the most notable of all ‘Super Tubes’ (which are said to stretch over 300m), Jeffrey’s Bay is an intense break reserved for those surfers seeking the extreme. Situated directly on South Africa’s southern tip, surf here prevails all year long and temperatures are often more than pleasant.
1. Pipeline, Hawaii
As the internationally recognised heartland of surfing, it will probably come as little surprise too many of you that Hawaii is to play host to today’s top-spot location. The offshore US state is in many ways responsible for pioneering the modern sport- and still maintains a prominent location for many top surfers. The pipeline; or ‘Banzai pipeline’ as it is known by some, is a reef break notorious worldwide on account of the sheer danger it poses to those who dare to surf it. The perfectly formed tubes that are consistently produced here are done so as a result of the ocean meeting a shallow offshore reef. While conditions are perfect for surfing, with the air temperature as well as the water temperature high all year round, the dangers held by the combination of a shallow break + sharp reef seabed make it a prospect far too daunting for most surfers. In the last ten years alone, five people have died on the pipeline.