72 hours in Torquay

You know the final scene of the movie Point Break? Keanu Reeves, an FBI agent, sets Patrick Swayze free to surf a massive wave and take his life? That scene supposedly takes place at Bells Beach (thanks to movie magic the scene was apparently filmed in Oregon). Bells Beach, home of the world’s longest running surfing competition, is located just on the edge of Torquay, where we had the pleasure of spending 72 hours last week. While many of our friends on the east coast of the United States were braving “snowmageddon,” we were enjoying the summer beach breeze in the surf capital of Australia (I am not trying to rub it in or anything.)

Torquay, with a population of 10,000 and growing, is in the state of Victoria, about an hour outside of Melbourne, 15 minutes from Geelong, a port city with a population of around 150,000. Branded as the “Surf Capital of Australia” and the “Gateway to the Great Ocean Road” (which I look forward to visiting and posting about at a later date), Torquay is the birth place of QuickSilver and Rip Curl and is the location of a 1970’s beach chalet that I have the pleasure of redesigning. So with a quick three day site visit, some reflection time and a couple of client meetings, Kate and I experienced firsthand some of the qualities that make Torquay unique, chic, and relaxing. 

A walk along the Torquay Foreshore Reserve is spectacular. One can spend hours meandering along the different pathways, trees distorted by the direction of wind, climbing stairs down cliffs where water and land meet, hovering above the beaches below. It is picture perfect.

A walk through the charming town center ends at the Esplanade and Zeally Bay where you can lie on the beach or grass and enjoy the intense sun (remember we are close to that hole in the ozone layer) or watch the windsurfers and kite surfers, who appear as if they are floating on water as they traverse back and forth in tandem with the intense winds.

A beach town like Torquay must have prime Fish and Chips and let me tell you, these are some of the best I have ever had. Flippin Fresh is definitely worth a visit and a wait (especially during the crowded summer season). I quickly found out that the fish used, called flake, is actually shark. Yum!

As an ode to Point Break, we had to take a quick five minute drive over to Bells Beach. The tide was quite high when we arrived and there was barely any beach but we were able to watch and enjoy the surfers from the platforms above and even had a couple of planes fly over us in some aviation performance. It was perfect timing.

Located between Zeally Bay and Bells Beach is Jan Juc. A midday walk along the beach allows you to trek through the rock pools where only hours before you would have been submerged under water. People dive from massive boulders into the water as others fish, and jelly fish are washed ashore.

A trip to Torquay is not complete without an amazing dinner at Scorched (so good that we went back for lunch the next day). Beetroot and dill pancar, lamb kofta with pomegranates, sumac and hummus, and roasted cauliflower with currants, almonds, and tahina, plus lots more. Check out the pics…what more can I say? Definitely a top meal which I hope to be enjoying again soon…

I am not going to deny it. There were moments when I romanticized about sitting in our old NYC apartment and watching the snow falling. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself enjoying so much time at the beach. If I had a choice for a vacation destination, it would usually be on the dense, gritty, and urban side (with plenty of great architecture to explore). But with a perfect 72 hours of beach-side natural beauty, I will definitely do it again. Click here for more pics.

From Left: Last December (our NYC view) vs. this December (Torquay sunset)