08 June 2024
10 mins Read
URBNSURF Sydney is the city’s first wave park, which is great news for those who live in Sydney’s west and even better news for those who want to work on taking their surf skills to the next level.
URBNSURF Sydney opened in Sydney’s Olympic Park in mid-May, offering perfect waves for young and old frothers of this hugely popular sport and pastime. Forget the paddle battle. Don’t worry about kooks dropping in on you. Overcrowded line-ups. Surviving the clean-up set. Or getting stuck in a meaty rip.
The wavegarden pool produces almost perfect ocean waves. (Image: Ed Sloane)
It cost more than $75 million to bring the revolutionary surf park that first launched in Melbourne in 2020 to the NSW capital. And judging by the hordes who are here on this sunny, bright autumn day, URBNSURF Sydney is a great plan B when it’s Flatsville, Tennessee.
It’s the perfect place for beginners, experienced surfers and thrill-seekers.
The wave park spans a vast 3.6-hectare patch of land in Sydney Olympic Park and is designed to accommodate more than 1000 visitors daily, seven days a week.
URBNSURF Sydney caters to all levels of experience.
The proudly Australian company behind URBNSURF developed world-class Wavegarden technology to deliver up to 12 perfect waves for each surfer during a one-hour session. Best of all, URBNSURF Sydney caters to surfers of all abilities with six different wave settings ranging from fun, gentle point-break style waves with easy take-offs up to heavy barrels reserved for experts.
URBNSURF developed world-class Wavegarden technology.
Everything from boards to wetsuits can be hired at URBNSURF Sydney and the wetties undergo a deep clean at the end of each day before being stored in a drying room.
You can hire all the gear if you need it.
Duty manager Raffaello Pellegrini said the difference between surfing at URBNSURF Sydney and the ocean is that there is one surfer per wave and each surfer has plenty of time to paddle for a wave. After a safety briefing, the surf instructors in charge of each group explain where the take-off point is and lead the paddle-out.
There is one surfer per wave so you’ll get plenty of time to paddle.
Sydney’s only surf park offers lessons with professionals both night and day. It’s the perfect place for beginners, experienced surfers and thrill-seekers with lessons under the following categories: beginner, beginner progressive, cruiser, progressive turns, intermediate, advanced turns and barrels. There are beginner lessons for those who have never surfed before and those who want to take up the sport.
There are beginner lessons for those who have never surfed before.
One of the most popular personalised lessons is aimed at intermediate surfers who want to perfect their technique and improve their rights or lefts. The participants in each group all wear different coloured rashies so the lifeguards can keep a lookout and the classes are kept contained.
Intermediate surfers can partake in personalised lessons to perfect their technique.
There’s no denying that part of the appeal of both surfing and boogie boarding is being at one with the ocean and visiting wild and varied surf spots. URBNSURF Sydney is a great Plan B for boogie boarders when the elements such as swell, tide, and wind speed don’t align.
Where else can boogers (and surfers) gather where the waves are 100 per cent guaranteed? Boog in the Bays is aimed at beginner surfers to learn to ride broken waves and ankle-slappers in the front of the lagoon.
Lifeguards are always on the lookout.
Thankfully, URBNSURF is not all about high-performance athletes. One of the most common questions asked at URBNSURF Sydney according to duty manager Raffaeilo Pellegrino is whether visitors to the park can swim in the lagoon.
Thankfully, there are sessions for beginner surfers or those new to surfing to try in the front of the lagoon, with broken waves. The lagoon has a cement bottom so all those entering the water need to undergo a safety briefing. Helmets are available for hire.
Play in the front of the lagoon. (Image: Ed Sloane)
There’s a very small, heated leisure pool onsite that on the day we visited was filled with children and their parents. There was a dad throwing classic catches to his cricket-keen kid. A pregnant woman is sitting in the water watching her older children ride the waves. And a solo female is making the most of the heated pool to do some wintry laps.
Supervise children from the poolside.
URBNSURF Sydney is destined to become a popular spot for parents who want to encourage their children to pursue a healthy sport such as surfing. Luckily, there are lots of spots to relax by the lagoon while surfing sessions are underway.
Some pay the entry fee and decide to make a day of it, ordering lunch at Sandy’s while seeking a bit of sunshine. Others are sprawled on towels at the edge of the lagoon. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of vibe.
Nab a spot at Sandy’s come lunchtime. (Image: Ed Sloane)
The private cabanas constructed on the lawn along the beautifully landscaped fence line are prime real estate. Order a double cheeseburger to go from Sandy’s and lie back in your own lounging area while stoking on the view of the line-up.
Located on The Lawns, the cabanas are priced at $300 per cabana for four hours of frothing, making them popular for birthdays and special occasions.
Pick up food from Sandy’s to eat on The Lawns. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
You can buy everything from board bags to fins, hats, wetsuits, tail pads, stretchy boardshorts, fleeces, waterproof bags, giant Yeti drink bottles and surf wax at this onsite Rip Curl Surf Shop. The beauty of having a shop onsite is that you can stock up on Factor 50+ sunscreen, towels and hats and any other essential items you might have forgotten to pack.
Shop at the onsite Rip Curl Surf Shop.
All the footage from your surf session is available post-surf. Those who are serious about their surfing can purchase the footage from their session and show it to an accredited surf coach to analyse in order to make further improvements.
The fact that surfers can choose which kind of wave they want to take is a huge benefit for those looking to make improvements to their technique.
Surfers can purchase the footage from their session.
There’s a wellbeing space onsite that offers a range of mind-body sessions out of the water designed to help surfers learn to stay focused and in the water for longer.
Learn important skills before heading into the surf.
The wellbeing space includes physio and massage sessions and surfer’s gym sessions covering strength, mobility and breathwork. Those with multipacks will benefit from a few brush-up lessons on wellbeing to keep them charging down the line.
Take a few lessons to brush up on your skills.
Sandy’s is a focal point of URBNSURF and it’s been mobbed by families who, for all intents and purposes, look like they’re settling in beside the seaside.
Dine at Sandy’s after a day of surfing. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
It’s the coastal classics – cuisine such as burgers and fries, tacos and nachos – that lend Sandy’s that low-key toes-in-the-sand vacay vibe.
Feast on the coastal classics. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
Nab a stool at the horseshoe-shaped low countertop where surfers look down the waves, barrelling left and right of the pontoon, and ooh and ahh over the bomb sets.
Nab a stool at the horseshoe-shaped low countertop. (Image: Ed Sloane)
URBNSURF Sydney aims to be a destination, which is why they brought Applejack Hospitality’s inland surfside eatery onboard. Arrive early for breakfast of freshly baked Sonoma pastries, acai bowls and the ubiquitous avocado on toast.
Arrive early for freshly baked Sonoma pastries. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
Hang until lunchtime when the crispy pork belly bowl and burritos come into their own. And quench your thirst with cold beers, cocktails and wine on tap to the score of grungy surf rock tunes. Pre-book a picnic and sprawl on The Lawn with your tribe.
Pre-book a picnic and sprawl on The Lawn with your tribe. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
Those seeking a more tranquil retreat can head upstairs to RAFI URBNSURF, sister venue to RAFI North Sydney, also owned by Applejack Hospitality.
Although RAFI is yet to officially open its doors, the Luchetti-Krelle-designed restaurant will seat 200 and feature a huge rooftop terrace with sweeping views of the lagoon and park.
Head upstairs to the Luchetti-Krelle-designed RAFI URBNSURF restaurant.
Watch your bro in a barrel. See former pro surfers such as Tom Carroll and Layne Beachley (both of whom have visited the park) charging down the line and young guns such as Cronulla’s Jarvis Earle perfecting his airs.
After surfing for an hour or more, executive Chef Matias Cillóniz expects surfers will arrive at both Sandy’s and RAFI URBNSURF with an appetite.
Order the savoury South Coast Tuna at RAFI URBNSURF. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
Signatures from flagship RAFI North Sydney will also feature at the Sydney Olympic Park venue, built around a roster of grass-fed meats and seasonal responsibly sourced seafood and vegetables.
Closed-loop sustainability is also at the core of the cocktail menu with options such as the Sub-Zero oyster martini and Sub-Zero burnt butter and pecan Old Fashioned. There’s also a global wine list and bubbles sourced from the finest Champagne houses.
RAFI URBNSURF is spacious enough to accommodate 200.
Surf in The Bays and Boog in The Bays (adult) from $39. This session is perfect for beginners. Price includes softboard/bodyboard hire.
Take your surf skills to the next level at URBNSURF Sydney.
An hour’s worth of perfect waves on the right, left or on The Point. Numbers are capped on each side of The Point so each surfer scores 10 to 12 waves per session.
Cruiser, progressive turns and intermediate from $104 per session.
Advanced turns and advanced from $109 per session.
Expert from $159 per session.
Sign up for advanced surf sessions. (Image: Ed Sloane)
Learn to surf – beginner and beginner progressive – from $104 per session.
Membership options from $175.
For further products, including URBNSURF multipacks and gift cards, please head to URBNSURF Sydney online.
Surf with friends at URBNSURF Sydney. (Image: Ed Sloane)
15 Hill Road, Sydney Olympic Park.
6am-10pm, seven days a week.
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