Hey everyone
In a few weeks I finally have a weekend of 
and thinking of trying to kite with a mate around lake alexandrina/Milang. I have never been there and was just wondering if the lake is any good, and what the better spots are around the lake for a beginner? Or can anyone advice some other good spots that are on day trip distance from Adelaide?
Now just have to hope for some wind
Cheers
elise
Milang is the perfect spot.
Just need good wind. As long as it's not Dead west ( off shore) it will be good.
Just beware launching can be a pain due to Trees.
Milang is a good spot, but not ideal for beginners...
On the plus side, no sharks, shallow, not much chop.
But there are solid objects to hit, rocky shoreline, and a boggy walk if you can't stay upwind.
I would suggest learning at Largs Bay and hit Milang once you have more experience.
Check out boggy lake its a bit safer and there is generaly some down there kiting or windsurfing
Thanks guys!
what winds would be good for boggy lake then? Is it the same as for milang (no Westerly?) Is this ok for beginners?
thanks!
Jack5566 are you serious? Boggy Lake is definitely not a place for a beginner! Gusty winds, submerged obstacles (feeding troughs, star pickets, fences), shall i go on! From my mind Milang is much safer than Boggy given the level of the water these days if you did want to try some inland fresh water kiting.
Ok so there seem to be some issues with the beginner friendliness of the places. This makes me a bit worried as I don't want to go there, have things go pear shaped and tear my kite apart. Are u recommending to just not kite at the lake for now, but at the beach instead?
Thanks again
Hi Lovelife, I wouldn't be kiting in the lakes if your still learning as Rooboy said it has a few issues even for the more experienced it can be dangerous .
Stick to nice clear sandy beaches at the beginning for learning and once you feel safe with your kite and skills, start to explore the more advanced spots. I learnt at port parham because of the shallow water for miles, but it isn't sandy , has rock spots and is boggy out further. I wore booties and just suffered with the rest as I knew I would learn quicker if I could get decent long runs and stand up when ever I stacked it. You have to really look and check new spots out carefully for any potential dangers which may cause you harm, its good to see people asking before they go out.
Hope this helps abit.
cheers
I tend to agree with Genetrix, ocean beaches are better for beginners to learn on then the lakes. I've kited both at Boggy and Milang and at the current water level I would classify both of them as intermediate spots.
If you want to avoid waves and deep water while ur learning then Parham is definitely a good beginner spot (just remember to stick to high to medium tide if you go there - not much water to kite on at low tide).
Hey, I too am also learning and the places I have found the best are Parham and North Haven. (Plenty of other places out there but these are most accessible for me)
Parham inspires confidence as the water is nice and shallow and you don't have the fear of losing your board or getting stuck as you can just stand up and get sorted out.
North Haven on a NW is great there are usually a lot of people down there so that is handy for getting good advice and someone with experience will normally grab your board and help you out if they see you in trouble.
I tried Hindmarsh Island in the river section when I was just starting because I thought the water would be nice and flat and good to learn on. The reality was I had to launch at a boat ramp got my kite firstly stuck on a spotlight then in a tree and it was very muddy under foot and no one around apart from my other beginner mate. Mind you we didn't know where to go and the wind was from a poor direction and we ran out of time so decided to launch where we could.
One day of good conditions in a good location makes a huge difference. (Find somewhere you feel confident otherwise you tend to worry about everything else apart from standing up and cruising)
Cheers everyone 
this helps a lot. Looks like we will not hit the lake until we've got a bit more experience.
So parham sounds pretty good if the tides/winds are on our side. are there any other non-metro spots that are good for beginners (not more than a 3hrs drive from adelaide)?
Cheers
elise
It's the conditions that make a spot suitable for a beginner, more than the location. If you get a sandy beach with 18-20 knot side-shore or cross-on sea breeze, that's perfect.
But with different tide, swell or wind conditions, the same spot can be challenging.
If you are looking for an out-of-town location to learn before you mix with other kiters, I would say don't bother.... You are better off having others around to judge the conditions, answer questions and help out. There's plenty of space for us all.
Hey mick14. Having nobody around and not wanting to mix with other kiters is not the reason for going out of town. I never have weekends of from work but soon i do and my mate does as well. We were just thinking to explore some other places in SA, take a tent and have a good weekend, which is why I asked if anyone knew some nice spots that happen to be beginner friendly within a 3 hr radius.
If there is none we will stay in adelaide anyway as we both want to be safe and have a great weekend at the same time. The reason i asked is cause probably everyone on this forum will have more experience than me, and could probably recommend somewhere good that would also be nice for the sake of going away ( I didn't mean an isolated place, but surely there are
Some nice other towns/areas where others kite too)
Cheers
Elise,
If thats what your after try Sultana Point at Yorks (Edithburgh). Thats where i first got up and riding on a board. Super flat water, good wind and a few local kiters over there to help. Havent done a road trip over there in ages but its an amazing spot, need a few road trips to loactions like this this summer i think! There are free camping spots just out of town if u want to rough it or good facilities at the Caravan Park.
Alternatively try Whyalla. Awesome crew over that way who are always happy to help. Summer Seabreezes are amazing and its super flat water. Both are worth a look at some stage.
Go to Pt Hughes. quick drive and great spot.
Great spot to learn at the southern side of the caravan park.
Nice caravan park too.
thanks luke.
Is that on the left hand side of the jetty if you're looking at the sea?
(see photos) sorry no idea how to turn them..
cheers
This is right of the jetty.On this day it was a bit too S & off shore at about 20knots. Some Poleys were out where your photos were taken but it was fairly choppy. They were gunning along ! I went to Wallaroo 5 minutes up the road where there was more true west in it.
Moonta bay is pretty fun too. Check your tides.
I was on a 12m this day at moonta as it filled in.
Kited here before and its amazing..... watch the shells tho... a few sharp ones under the sand!! Wallaroo is also pretty good, high tide offers shallow water.
^^ +1 for Yorks, Wallaroo or Saltana Pt depending on the wind direction. Cool vid Martynbone.
Yeah, we have been to the beach on the left. not so many rocks etc once you get down a bit.
There are some good sandy beachs just north of Wallaroo too.
The Best person to ask is Matt Stringer from Windsup as he is from that area and knows it well.
He sometimes organises kiting/windsurfing trips up that way and offers lessons, hire gear etc.
Just have a chat to him via his facebook page: Windsup
Cheers,
Luke.
@ martyn: awesome vid! can only dream of doing what you do
@ellemenophee: moonta bay looks fantastic, never been there but judging from google earth it seems like a big beach with lots of sort of shallow water when the tide comes in.
@luke:Thanks for that, I may send matt a msg
@ gjochoa: I so Agree
cheers everyone! very helpful!! now lets hope for some wind
Hey Jas, we would probably look at doing a couple of weekends at Pt Hughes when the weather warms up so will give you a shout when that happens...
Its a great place to go but just a bit cold at the moment for the missus!
yeah I know what you are saying... It's two hours drive to a hot shower!
But you only live once and a little bit of cold never hurt anybody ;-)
I reckon I'll just play it by ear!
Cheers
Jasper
Its more that the missus would be sitting freezing her pants off and that never ends well....
There is a specific forecast for Moonta somewhere as the wind can be very different to what is going on in Adelaide.
am starting to think I should trade my 8m Naish Bolt for a Naish Fly or some sort of low wind kite....
I have never used the 8m as Im a bit on the heavy side and prefer my windsurfing gear when the wind picks up!
she windsurfs....and complains when its too cold so she only goes out in the summer.
She will sit and watch me for hours while reading the paper in the car though....
