Im heading from Ireland to Australia in December for 6 weeks. Heading to Great Ocean Road, Sydney and Brisbane and hoping to do some Kitesurfing along the way. I have been Kitesurfing for 2/3 years. I wont be able to bring all my gear so I might have to rent. Thinking of bringing 1 kite (I have a 7m & 11m Best waroo) my harness & bar/lines. Are there many places where I will be able to rent a board along the way ? I assume I won't need a wetsuit. Also any advise on good locations would be much appreciated.
I think the wetty might be handy for the southern half of your trip. But you are irish (used to the cold i mean)
get a good value or even 2nd hand board off the seabreeze buy and sell section.
other advise includes, bring beer to beach and heed local advice.
Yep.... buy a 2nd hand board.
You'll nearly get your money back when you leave!!!
Let's have a Guiness when you hit Caloundra.... good craic in the water
Cheers for the advice, counting down the days . If I was to bring 1 kite am I better off with a 7m or 11m ?
Sydney contact Vit on 0400-408 040 or Matt on 0450-101 500 both IKO Instructors/School have gear to rent. In Brisbane we have a full range of the latest of all sizes for rental. We also have accommodation (fr $35/night, right on the water, direct train ride from the city). Have a great trip and bring some wind with you!
11M Waroo, buy a used board, sell it before you leave.
Check us out when you are in Sydney, lots of used gear for sale and we will rent boards.
Hey surfconnect, wat type/style of accom do u have... Share house or backpackers etc?? Wats the availability over Xmas? Many kiters round to hang out with?
We have 4 properties at Sandgate:
1/. At our school (right on the beach): Shared room with a King Size Single Bed and 2 standard single beds, huge working table with 70cm tv with dvd player, heater and fan. Very comfy. Cost: Short term (1-6 nights): $35 per night shared, $80 per night your own room (single occupancy, $100 per night for double occupancy).
2/. Resort style 2 bedroom self-contained unit (right next door to our school): Brand new renovated with its own kitchen, bathroom, dining and huge lounge. Fully air-conditioned. Cost: 1-3 nights: $150pn, 3 nights+ $120pn, 7 nights+: $100pn.
3/. Queenslander 1 minute walk to beach, 3 minutes to our school. 2 bedroom self-contained unit with its own kitchen, bathroom, dining and lounge. Cost: 1-3 nights: $120pn, 3 nights+ $100pn, 7 nights+: $80pn.
4/. Room in 4 bedroom house on the beach, 10 minutes walk to our school. Shared facilities. Cost: 1-3 nights: $100pn, 3 nights+ $90pn, 7 nights+: $80pn.
We are getting booked up quite heavily. Our place and the unit next door is booked out till 21st Nov. Advice you to book in asap. If you stay at our school, you also have free use of SUP (Stand-up Paddle Boards), Kayaks, and bicycles. You will also receive 20% off all rentals of kitesurf or windsurf equipment. Our school also has free internet, TV, DVD player, Play station & Wii, free parking and security monitoring system with 8 cameras recording 24/7. You will meet lots of kiters as Sandgate is one of the most popular kiting beaches in Brisbane. On a good windy day, we get 50+ kiters here. Lots of beach once the ride starts going out, all sandy bottom, shallow, safest beach of all.
Sounds good, wats the wind like that time of yr? Must b better than nsw? Prob won't need a car being on the beach? Night life n shops close by? Thanks
December we should have good constant seabreeze. I think we have as much chance of getting wind as NSW, or as little chance lol. But December to April are the best bets.
No you wont need a car if you stay with us, we are just a short walk from the train station, about half hour ride direct from the city. Night life - city will give you the best, but a few local pubs have good atmosphere here. All major shops within a few minutes walk - Coffee Club, chemists, supermarket (Woolworths), and lots of restaurants and even Dominos pizza. Fish and chips is only 50m from our school.
forget the glasses luv
Look at their avitar they are a site sponsor with a link to their site 
My experience with sunshine coast/brisbane/gold coast shops is that they won't hire any gear for some kind of insurance/council liability they are subject to, it made no difference what IKO certs I had. The only options was to 'take a lesson' and be under the supervision of an instructor or to buy the gear and then return it once your done with it.
So depending on who your flying with it may be cheaper to just get excess baggage.
We have rental services from one hour to long term, you can use it right at our location or take it away and kite anywhere on your trip. But you do need to have a level 3 IKO card. If you do not have one but are a competent rider already, we can run through the certification to issue you with an IKO card that is valid lifetime. Process takes about an hour and cost $90.
