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Seals Rocks 60.9

#3086 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇺 Australia · New South Wales · near Forster-Tuncurry

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearRemoteIntermediate
Seals Rocks, Australia
Photo: Annette Teng · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score60.9 /100
Surfable days98% of the year
Clean days9% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell16% period 11 s+
Typical size1.7 m 5.6 ft median
Water22°C a 2 mm shorty

Best time to surf Seals Rocks

The best time to surf Seals Rocks is April, May, June. It rarely works. In April the water sits around 24°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.5 m. The nearest airport is SYD (210 km) and the nearest town is Forster-Tuncurry (27 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan99%3%1.6 m23°Cvest
Feb99%6%1.9 m24°Cvest
Mar99%6%1.8 m23°Cvest
Apr99%20%1.5 m24°Cvest
May96%17%1.6 m22°Cvest
Jun97%15%1.7 m21°C2mm
Jul97%12%1.9 m20°C2mm
Aug95%14%1.8 m19°C2mm
Sep99%6%1.7 m20°C2mm
Oct99%7%1.7 m21°C2mm
Nov99%4%1.6 m22°C2mm
Dec100%4%1.6 m22°Cvest

What is under Seals Rocks

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 29 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 45 m against 29 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out29 m
Depth 4 km out20 m
Channel beside it45 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 60.9

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
14.3
Best days 22.4%
14.3
Clean days 18.4%
3.7
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
3.8
Access 4.1%
2.2

The detail

Faces 105° with 61% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 57% of days. Mean peak period 9.2 s. Days over 3 m: 7%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.7 m, with a peak period of 11 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 11%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -32.436, 152.529 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,560/ month
typically €1,380 – €1,750
Rent, one bedroom€824
Groceries€327
Eating out€187
Getting around€110
Phone + internet€119
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,060/ month
typically €2,690 – €3,430
Somewhere to stay€1,800
Eating out€642
Car, transfers, fuel€416
Data + extras€196
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Australia (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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