Crayfish on the campfire anyone? Hell yes!

Not only is King Island renowned for having great surf, the island also has plentiful supply of both crayfish and abalone!

So in-between surfs, why not go for a snorkel around many of the island beautiful pristine beaches and catch yourself some dinner. Don’t have any dive gear or forgot your weight belt? No worries, we at King Island Surf Safaris have got you covered. At our cottage where our guests stay, we have complementary dive and fishing gear for you to use on your trip. So you don’t need to worry about lugging your 20KG weight belt on the plane, instead focus on battling with monster 5KG Southern Rock Lobsters.

What better way to finish a great days surfing than a cook-up of cray's and abalone on the campfire - My mouths watering just thinking about it...

If you can’t catch a crayfish in King Island then you should probably rule out a career in catching crayfish for a living. Fortunately, you can just buy one instead from Donna and Max of King Island Seafoods – (03) 6462 1774. It’s also fascinating to watch the professionals unload their boats full of crayfish at the Currie Jetty and put us all to shame.

Just make sure you pick up Tasmanian Fishing licence before you leave if you want to fish or dive on the island. 

Our commitment to sustainable tourism.

Local environment and the community.

We all share a responsibility to preserve and improve the beautiful coastal environment in which we are lucky enough to enjoy. 

Apart from great waves, part of the attraction King Island holds is the unique and pristine coastal environment and the friendly community that exists here - This is constantly reaffirmed to us, through the acknowledgement from each and every guest that visits the island. 

The islands 1800 population have a strong sense of place, and the people who live here are deeply connected to the island, the sea, and its natural resources which underpins the islands main industries and leisure activities. The coast plays a strong bearing on the culture of King Island. The responsible management of these natural values is fundamental to protecting the Island’s way of life for the community as a whole. 

The tourist market is important to the economy of King Island and is seeking to grow for future prosperity. Approximately 6% of the Island’s labour force is directly employed through the tourism industry. Of course with the money you spend during your stay on King Island feeding directly back into the community, King Island Surf Safaris also employs, partners and works with local businesses and people to ensure the community and environment benefits. We also make a direct financial contribution. $25 of your payment goes towards King Island Natural Resource Management Group* (KINRM). King Island Surf Safaris matches this dollar value giving a total of $50 for every group that travels with us. We have chosen a local organisation to make sure 100% of the money goes directly back into the island. We are always looking at how we can continually improve, and be a leader in sustainable tourism in surf travel so others can enjoy the islands unique environment in future years.

*KINRM promote co-ordinated and integrated management of natural resources, which will contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of King Island. Want to learn or do more about where your money goes? volunteer or donate? Visit: http://www.kingislandnaturalresources.org

 

Responsible surfing tourism.

Apart from the stunning beaches, part of the attraction surfing KI is the lack of development and crowds due to its remoteness. In order to maintain the islands surfing charm, King Island Surf Safaris are committed to only taking small groups of surfers over to the island at one time. This keeps the number of surfers in the water down, if fact most of the time when you visit it will just be you and friends surfing the waves at King Island. Our core focus is to preserve this uniqueness for those guests that visit us future.

King Island does have a small population of local surfers that live on the island and as when visiting any place, you need to be respectful of the local surfing community and the environment you are in. All guest’s who visit the island are fully briefed by us to be respectful of where they are, move on from a break that already has enough surfing it, leave as little impact on the beaches as possible, stick to existing tracks etc. We find the uniqueness of the island naturally attracts a type of persons that is seeking this solitude in a surf trip and are generally very respectful and sensitive to the island and people. The KI people are some of the most friendly and welcoming people around, and will happily help or give you advice on where to surf or anything else you are after. 

 

A few things to keep in mind when visiting:

• Stick to designated 4WD or walking tracks. Before you drive, decide if you really need to take your vehicle on the beach. When driving on the beach, drive on the wet sand below high tide mark. This way you will have less impact on the shorebirds and it will avoid dune erosion. 
• Vehicles are prohibited on the beaches within Lavinia State Reserve
• Bird nesting season is from September - April. Please take particular care during these months.
• Fishing licenses are required when fishing KI.
• Take in, take out! Don't forget your rubbish & pick up any litter - Leaving the place cleaner than you found it.
• Leave the gates as you find them! Access to some beaches is through private land and we don’t want to inconvenience the owners.

Surfboards - Check. Puffer jackets & beanies - Check Check.

While the rest of surfing world was focused on the huge swells off WA last weekend, a few hardy souls sought their own adventure hitting King Island.

Mark and Darren (from Ocean Grove), Marc (from Sydney), and Surf Photographer Steve Arklay donned their puffer jackets and beanies to jump onboard our plane, leaving Barwon Heads Airport last Saturday morning to score some epic waves around Martha and beyond for 3 days.

The boys all said they had an awesome trip: “KI was a true authentic surf experience - with great uncrowded waves," "We all got some sick waves, and would come back for sure!”

Here some images from their trip, courtesy of © Steve Arklay Photography.  ENJOY!

Remember: If you and your mates want to book a trip to King Island King Island Surf Safaris will organise everything for you, including a private charter aircraft out of Barwon Heads Airport, Car and Accommodation. Go on… you only live once!

Swell Warning - update

Following up on the swell system we were tracking last week. 

It’s shaping up to be REALLY good waves at King Island this coming weekend!

Sunny, Light SW winds and 6-8ft swells arriving this Saturday lasting till Monday. This should be perfect for Martha to break at around 3-5ft light offshore.

Don’t miss out! Get a few mates organised to book ASAP and score some of the best waves of your life.

OK, here’s our suggestion to get the most out of this system… take a sick day on Monday and book a 3 day package to take full advantage of this system. Arriving at King Island Saturday morning and surfing till you can’t walk on Monday afternoon.

To book, call us or book online.

Sam, Marcus & Holly’s KI Surf Trip.

2 Day King Island Surf Package. 20-21st June.

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Sam & Marcus couldn't get the boards off quick enough.

It was an early start for Marcus, who woke up at 5am to drive from Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula picking Sam from Melbourne, eventually meeting Holly and I at the Barwon Heads Airport on a freezing Saturday winter's morning.

After a quick debrief from Anatole (our legend pilot) and loading the boards on the plane we set off at 8am with smooth skies and a slight SW wind. We were hoping to surf the famous “A” frame beaches of Martha Lavinia, but the forecast was for smallish waves so we discussed a few other options on the island to surf. As we flew over Bells Beach and across Bass Straight we could see some lines rolling in so we were optimistic about there being some swell. As we approached the island and flew over the northern tip, we could see massive waves breaking off the light house. So we asked Anatole if he could do a fly-by over Martha and check the waves from the air? “No probs” he said. 

As we flew above Martha we could see the swell lines coming in from the north and south to form perfect “A” frame waves up and down the beach for as far as our eyes could see. We knew then it was on, we just weren’t sure how big it was!

It was a chilly start loading the boards.

Martha from air.

As we touch down to King Island airport at 9am, throwing the boards and gear in the car which was waiting for us fuelled up with keys already in it (this would have been stolen in a flash in Werribee) we V-lined it to Martha. Avoiding the cows, wallabies, deer, peacocks jumping out like a video game on our way there. Pulling into the sandy 4WD tracks into the dunes, our first sight of the ocean we saw framed between two sand dunes either side, a single perfect A frame wave, about 4 foot, perfectly symmetrical, super hollow, spitting spray out of the left and right tube simultaneously, like the grey lead drawings I used to draw and dream about in high school. Of course nobody had their camera ready at this point… we just all soaked it in, looked at each other, and giggled like grommets.

That was the start of our epic trip, surfing and giggling for 4 hours till our 38-40 year old bodies gave up and we were hungry for some of Ana’s (our KI host) sandwiches and wallaby rissoles ready for round 2. The swell dropped a little to a fun 2-3ft in the afternoon / evening session but we stayed out till dark until our eyes couldn’t focus on the incoming sets any longer. That night we reflected on that first perfect wave we all witnessed, recalled the waves we got, as well as all the waves we missed and couldn’t quite believe we had just surfed all day on a weekend without seeing another surfer in the water.  

Marcus admires this one before receiving it on the head.

Sam contemplates which board to take out.

Sunday morning we had another perfect sunny day, the swell had dropped a little overnight, but the ocean was glassy and looking inviting (so much for King Island being windy!). We checked out a couple of known spots which were looking pretty good, but our wetsuits were still wet and cold, and we decided to wait till the warmth of the sun to come up before heading to Marthas where we surfed for one last time. Again we were the only surfers in the water just relaxing as we “yeww’d” each others waves, laughed as we kooked more than we got but it didn’t matter at that stage we’d already had so many waves, that we were no longer those frustrated old salt dogs… just enjoying the privilege of being there in what felt like Australia - in another era of time. 

The northerly wind got up in the afternoon so we decided to gorge ourselves at the cheese factory and head down south to see if we could discover any secret breaks for next time before we had to meet Anatole at 4pm to fly back to modern civilisation.

Oh yes, lets just say there’s more to King Island than cheese, cows, crayfish and Marthas! Next time…