Best time to kitesurf Gnaraloo – Tombstones

The best time to kitesurf at Gnaraloo – Tombstones is January, October, December, with about 27 windy days a month (15+ knots) and water around 24°C.

Carnarvon, Western Australia, Australia

Sports: Kitesurfing, Windsurfing, Surfing

Best time to go: January, October, December

Tombstones is a left-hand reef break on Gnaraloo Station, a remote pastoral lease on the coast of Western Australia about 150 kilometres north of Carnarvon. The coast faces the Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean swells hit an outer coral reef, producing fast, heavy lefts. Access is by long unsealed roads, and there are few services, so visitors must be self-sufficient.

For surfing, swells are most consistent from autumn to early spring, roughly April to August, with light morning easterly winds blowing offshore. From about November to February strong south and south-south-west winds blow most afternoons, and the spot is known internationally for wave sailing and kitesurfing, ridden cross-shore to cross-offshore. It is a spot for advanced riders only: the reef is very shallow, the waves are powerful, currents along the reef are strong, and help is far away. Sharks are present in this region. The water is about 21 to 22 °C in winter and 24 to 25 °C in summer, so a spring suit or a 2 mm top is usual.

Month by month at Gnaraloo – Tombstones

January: 28 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 16 knots, waves 1.6 m, water 25°C, air 33°C (nights 23°C), 31 sunny days, 1 rainy day
February: 23 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 15 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 25°C, air 34°C (nights 25°C), 27 sunny days, 1 rainy day
March: 22 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 14 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 26°C, air 34°C (nights 24°C), 30 sunny days, 2 rainy days
April: 15 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 1.4 m, water 26°C, air 30°C (nights 21°C), 29 sunny days, 2 rainy days
May: 11 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.4 m, water 26°C, air 29°C (nights 18°C), 29 sunny days, 2 rainy days
June: 10 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.6 m, water 24°C, air 24°C (nights 15°C), 26 sunny days, 6 rainy days
July: 10 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 11 knots, waves 1.7 m, water 23°C, air 23°C (nights 13°C), 29 sunny days, 3 rainy days
August: 12 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 12 knots, waves 1.8 m, water 22°C, air 25°C (nights 15°C), 29 sunny days, 4 rainy days
September: 22 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 14 knots, waves 1.8 m, water 22°C, air 27°C (nights 16°C), 30 sunny days, 1 rainy day
October: 26 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 15 knots, waves 1.8 m, water 22°C, air 28°C (nights 18°C), 29 sunny days, 1 rainy day
November: 24 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 15 knots, waves 1.5 m, water 23°C, air 29°C (nights 19°C), 30 sunny days, 1 rainy day
December: 26 windy days (15+ knots), average wind 16 knots, waves 1.6 m, water 25°C, air 31°C (nights 22°C), 31 sunny days, 1 rainy day