Staying Home Sucks, home
A Beach in Newcastle, NSW in Australia
Fripples - Happy gilmour. Photo: Gharouni, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Fripples - Happy gilmour

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

18Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 7 ft swell at 7 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 8 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 smushy
Energy
38kJ
Wind
NNE 6 kn
Temp
23°C

Wed 4 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
44kJ
Wind
ESE 5 kn
Temp
22°C

Thu 5 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
26kJ
Wind
W 9 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 44 out of 100

Swell
7 ft7 smushy
Energy
389kJ
Wind
SW 6 kn
Temp
21°C

Sat 7 · 8 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 smushy
Energy
51kJ
Wind
WNW 5 kn
Temp
24°C

Sun 8 · 12 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 smushy
Energy
407kJ
Wind
SSW 17 kn
Temp
16°C

Mon 9 · 17 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
202kJ
Wind
SW 11 kn
Temp
18°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 38, too small
  2. Wed 49, too small
  3. Thu 56, too small
  4. Fri 644, poor
  5. Sat 78, too small
  6. Sun 812, too small
  7. Mon 917, too small
  8. Tue 1046, fair
  9. Wed 1129, too small
  10. Thu 1215, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 21 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Fripples - Happy gilmour, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Tue 3Nov8, too small2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.)38kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots23°C
Wed 4Nov9, too small2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)44kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots22°C
Thu 5Nov6, too small1 ft9 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)26kJwind from the west, 9 knots, offshore21°C
Fri 6Nov44, poor7 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.)389kJwind from the south-west, 6 knots21°C
Sat 7Nov8, too small3 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)51kJwind from the west-north-west, 5 knots, offshore24°C
Sun 8Nov12, too small5 ft9 smushy6 ft at break (est.)407kJwind from the south-south-west, 17 knots16°C
Mon 9Nov17, too small5 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)202kJwind from the south-west, 11 knots18°C
Tue 10Nov46, fair5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)268kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots20°C
Wed 11Nov29, too small4 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.)183kJwind from the north-north-west, 1 knot, offshore24°C
Thu 12Nov15, too small2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)48kJwind from the north-north-west, 9 knots, offshore24°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:16 +0.3 mLow 09:50 −0.3 mHigh 16:12 +0.7 mLow 23:01 −0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 05:17 +0.4 mLow 11:06 −0.4 mHigh 17:16 +0.6 mLow 23:52 −0.6 m
  • Thu 5 NovHigh 06:09 +0.5 mLow 12:11 −0.5 mHigh 18:13 +0.6 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Fripples - Happy gilmour

One of the Beautiful Beaches of Newcastle, NSW in Australia
Photo: Gharouni, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bar Beach NSW 2300, Australia - panoramio
Photo: Andrew Harvey, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Fripples - Happy gilmour

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SE (133°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (313°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 600 m out (1 in 61). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 19°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Newcastle, 1.8 km away (4 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 25 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

Water about 21°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,890–US$3,590 each

about US$1,890–US$3,590 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$926–US$1,920
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$148–US$242
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$356–US$597
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$597
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$235
Totalabout US$1,890–US$3,590

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Newcastle

4 min by car · 64 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 64 places to stay in Newcastle · Booking.com

About Newcastle its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 29h 25m

About 29h 25m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 30m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

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