Snapper Rocks Surf Guide

Snapper has had a personality make-over ever since the sand started flowing from the Tweed and is no longer second fiddle to Kirra when it comes to dredgy barrels. It starts from behind the rock, where just a few locals have dialled the launch into a square, thick-lipped pit before the backwash hits and twists the barrel just as it emerges out into the sandy expanses of what has been dubbed the Superbank. A frothing pack of rippers and longboarders then pounce on anything that moves, slashing and mainly burning any surfer perceived to be weak or undeserving. It then opens up to 2 parts wall 1 part barrel as it progresses 200m down towards the next rocks at Little Marley, before traversing Rainbow Bay down to Greenmount for a further 400m of cruise and crack. Swell direction defines the ride with E-SE providing the ideal, since too much S will by-pass the point, losing lots of size and shouldering off into deeper water, while NE will angle in and close-out whole sections of the sandbar and even blow holes in it. Handles pesky S winds well and breaks through the tide, but the sweeping current is always there to drain your paddling power. Beyond the point is Froggies, an insane backwash wedge for the bodyboarders.

After rains, water quality can be affected by the Tweed River flow.