Sydney Is Getting Australia’s Second Wavegarden Pool

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated 4/21/24

Four years after the URBNSURF wave pool opened in Melbourne, the company is heading north into New South Wales to launch the second Wavegarden park in Australia.

The pool, reportedly a $75 million project, will be located in Sydney Olympic Park, a killer location next to public transit and a major metropolitan city. According to a release from Wavegarden on Friday, more than 2 million Sydney residents can get to the park in less than 30 minutes.

The pool will open to the public in May and operate for 16 hours per day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The prices for a 1-hour session vary from $30 to $159 AUD, depending on ability and wave size. Each surfer can expect between 10-12 waves per session. It’s also reportedly designed to suit prevailing wind conditions, so you can still surf when the local beaches are blown out.

“It‘s incredible to think that we have these type of surf parks in Australia,” said Owen Wright, one of three pros who sampled the goods last week. “The waves are truly world-class.”

Below, watch Reef Heazlewood lift off the end section and go through his Rolodex of rotations.

Like many other wave pools setting up shop these days, there are other amenities designed to keep customers engaged including an Apple Jack licensed café, rooftop bar, beach club, a Rip Curl outlet, a surf academy, beach cabanas, skate ramps, lagoon-side pools, kids' playground, event spaces and more.

The Sydney park will be the eighth pool in the world using Wavegarden tech. With 46 modules, engineers can pump out waves made for barrels, turns and airs, or a combination of all three. The lagoon can hold 90 surfers per hour spread out through four zones and accommodate 1,000 surfers per day.

“We created URBNSURF Sydney based on the invaluable experience and insights we gained from successfully developing, launching and operating Australia’s first surf park URBNSURF Melbourne in 2020,” said Damon Tudor, CEO of URBNSURF. “We’re proud to be considered a pioneer in this exciting new industry as we become a global first in opening our second park in Sydney. We can’t wait to show our local customers in Australia and the world what we have achieved.”

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: