This unseasonably warm weather is making us think about… ahhh yes, summer. We’re pining for squeaky sands, coppered physiques and backlit waves. And just when you think you need to wait months for that weekend beach getaway, the Australian Surf Festival paddles some endless summer into Port Macquarie.

What better segue from winter to spring than this two-week wave-fest, where some 400 of Australia’s best surfers compete for 23 prestigious national titles? So hop in the car, bring 400km’s worth of iPod tunes, and head to one of the North Coast’s most picturesque, and increasingly cosmopolitan, surf points.

Now in its fourth year, longboarders, stand-up paddleboarders and open surfers are being joined by competitors in alaia (finless) and single-fin divisions for the first time, giving the festival a broader appeal.

Live music, exhibitions, surfing 101s and dining deals also ensure the choices on turf are just as appealing as those in the surf.

That includes indigenous artist Vernon Ah Kee’s ‘Cant Chant’ exhibition at the Glasshouse Regional Gallery. While the beach nowadays is all about leisure, ‘Can’t Chant’ looks back and presents the beach as the cultural battleground it once was. Insightful and abstract, Ah Kee illustrates this perspective via surfboards painted with North Queensland rainforest shield designs, as well as a video installation featuring dead boards (waterlogged surfboards) blasted by guns, and Aboriginal surfers.

On a lighter note, the Blue Water Bar and Restaurant – located a mere 200 metres from the ocean – is the hub for live music throughout the festival. Open Mic nights are filtered amid music performances running from the 15th-26th of August.

Daily drink and dining specials are also on offer, welcoming festival fans with open arms and cheap tariffs over the course of the festival. So g’wan, make that ignorance of winter your bliss and beach it at Port Mac’s point-break fiesta.

Where: Port Macquarie, NSW
When: Sat 13 Aug-Sat 27 Aug
Details: surfingaustralia.com

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