During Tony’s time at Stockton Sand Dunes he had the opportunity to sand board down some of the largest sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere with local tourism operator, Sand Dune Adventures. Sand Dune Adventures is a not-for-profit enterprise owned and operated by the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council (WLALC). Tony also had the opportunity to gain insight into the richness of Aboriginal Culture and heritage, while riding a 400cc Quad Bike, and guided by an experienced Aboriginal guide.
Tony’s visit to the region is ahead of the Australian Bowl-Riding Championships and Surfest, two Newcastle events secured by the NSW Government through Destination NSW.
It’s not just Bondi that has great skate action. Dozens of skate-parks with steep bowls, ramps and rails are popping up all around NSW.
Professional vertical skateboarder, Renton Millar said, “At the moment NSW is going through an unprecedented boom period with skateparks. You’ve got timeless existing standouts like Bondi, Five Dock and Bar Beach, but getting added to the mix are amazing state of the art new ones at Mona Vale, Bateau Bay, Carnes Hill and Coffs Harbour.”
Here are just some of the places to skate in NSW:
- Bateau Bay Skate Park, Bateau Bay Known to locals as the Bato Yard Skate Park, Bateau Bay features the deepest bowl in Australia measuring four metres at its deepest point with a one-point-five metre vertical fall. Bato Yard Skate Park on the NSW Central Coast is fast gaining attention across the country as one of Australia’s top skate parks after a $2.25 million transformation. Professional Skateboarder Renton Millar now calls it his ‘dream bowl’. He said, “To me Bateau Bay typifies exactly what you want in a modern park. Creative street tech, as well as some super fun small trannys. I think it’s just about the best skatepark in Australia. It’s skate dream material!”
- Empire Park Skate Park, Bar Beach The ‘gold bowl’ at Empire Park Skate Park overlooks the surf breaks at Bar Beach. This brilliant world-class facility has recently been restored and is already a favourite destination of visiting pro skaters. According to Tony Hawk, skating at Empire Park is not only a challenge, but a memorable experience. He said, “I’d never ridden that bowl prior to 2015. It’s a lot bigger than most concrete bowls I’ve ridden in the past. I’m a big fan of transitions, and I really enjoyed trying it out.”
- Mona Vale Skate Park, Mona Vale A predominantly street style park with a mini bowl and a refurbished historic vert ramp, Mona Vale Skate Park is a new addition to the Northern Beaches of Sydney skate scene and is ideal for all skill levels.
- Holborn Skate Plaza, Wollongong Sitting on a prime waterfront location on Lake Illawarra, Holburn Skate Park was built by the community after they were invited to ‘have their say’ on construction and design ideas about the skate park facilities. Serious skaters can sharpen their skills and newbies can try their hand at carving it up in the bowl.
- Port Macquarie Skate Park, Port Macquarie Constructed on the foreshore of the Hasting River, Port Macquarie Skate Park has a clover style bowl with steel coping and a street style area with mini-half pipe, quarter pipe and grind boxes. It’s suitable for everyone from beginners to the elite. To ensure fans don’t miss a moment of the action, this year’s GENERAL PANTS BOWL-A-RAMA Bondi will have free sideshow access to all of the activities happening in the area, and free viewing of the big screen right next to where all the bowl action is taking place. In addition, all-day single seat and special front row seats are available to purchase.
For more information on GENERAL PANTS BOWL-A-RAMA Bondi www.bowlarama.com.au
For more information about Sydney and NSW go to www.sydney.com or www.visitnsw.com
To access the content library and download images go to content.destinationnsw.com.au.
Download a PDF version of this media release (PDF 226kb)
Media Contacts:
Laura Kelly
Destination NSW
P: 02 9931 1164 E: laura.kelly@dnsw.com.au
Image(s) available for download





