NLand Wave Park in Austin Re-Opens Friday

You can book sessions starting tomorrow morning.

Gaff, when you wanna go....?

 

Booked: not the taco truck; NLand this wknd. Well, maybe the taco truck, too, whilst I'm there

 

Three sessions this wknd. Interesting experience. Report to follow....

 

Here's my 2 centavos, buoys....

Been wanting to try this NLand wave park place, but it shut down only weeks after opening in 2016. I made the journey here to see how it is once it re-opened in May 2017.

NLand wave pool is different than the ocean. You have to be paddling full steam, getting up to speed, straight ahead, with everything you've got, to make this wave. You have to make sure that you paddle straight ahead & then quickly angle, instead of angling in from the peak. As well, your bottom turn better be lightning quick.....& not at the bottom of the wave. Otherwise, the wave passes you by very quickly. It's just a very different feeling wave than in the ocean.

There are a max of 5 surfers in each reef group. There are 4 positions to sit at, spread over the course of the wave. If you get more than 2 good surfers in your group, meaning surfers who will catch this wave & not miss & not fall, then you will not get many waves to ride.
Reason being that the good surfers will surf end-to-end, thus ending up with priority, again, on the wave that comes from their side of the lagoon. If you're in one of the middle two positions, you can pretty much forget about grabbing a wave unless the good surfer falls. Which, happens, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't happen often.

The math is simple: you get 50 minutes per session: from the top of the hour to 10 minutes prior to the next session. They stop your 'hour' at 10 mins to the hour to clear the water, let the new group enter the water & (presumably) to allow the lagoon waters to settle down. You need to be in the water & ready to go before your actual starting hour, otherwise you will miss opportunities.

So, yah, the math: The wave runs every 2 mins & 10 secs. That's 23 waves per 50 mins. NLand has a priority system in place. They have staff in the water, on boards, to enforce it. If not.....chaos would reign.

Anyways, if you have 5 good surfers in there, that's about 4 or 5 waves that you'll get a shot at riding in your 50 mins.

Your wave opportunity aka possible wave count goes up if the surfers in your group are lousy, can't catch the wave, fall a lot or if you have less than the full complement of 5 in your group.

At $90.00 per session.....well, value is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?

The boards for rent are Lost EZ Ups or Lost Lazy Boy models. Top out at 50 litres, on down to 25 litres or so. Those rentals are $25 per hour.

 

IMHO, you're better off with one of the foamies for your first session. Those foamies are no-charge. You pick that board up from dozens to choose from along the sides of each lagoon. Why the foamie, esp if you're an experienced rider?

Because, as I indicated, this man-made critter is definitely different than the ocean. It's on you very rapidly. You have to really dig (foamie helps you in that aspect) to get on this thing. You must go straight, then turn hard to stay on a high line to maintain your spot on the wave. Otherwise it slides out from under you so fast.

And then there's the very odd sensation of surfing directly towards a chain link fence & a middle pier that is never more than 15' from your face. Yet, you never quite run into.

The fresh water makes boards a bit less floaty. And the board gets pretty slick so wax up - - yep, even the foamsters.

You might consider booties, reef shoes. Here's why. After about 20 mins into your sesh, the wave machine has churned & roiled the heck out of the lagoon that you're sitting in. The currents become unreal. I'm not exaggerating. You can easily spend the entire several minutes between waves paddling your buttockals off merely to maintain your position. Within minutes, most people start hanging onto the center chain link fence with their hands or feet - - ergo, the feet protection. Or, you can go 10' over & stand in knee deep water on the 'reef' & then scoot over when the wave starts approaching.

The west lagoon is my pick for where to surf. Simply because it's wider than the east lagoon. Thus, the massive swirling currents that plague the east lagoon aren't quite as severe as in the larger west lagoon. Even several of the staff commented on how bad the currents are.

They have an on-site restaurant - - didn't eat there, no insights as to the food.

Lockers are $6 or $9 - - waste of money. Just change in the parking lot, stow your gear in the car, take a shower in the open locker room near west lagoon.

I wore boards & rash guard, brought my own. Check the air temp on the NLand website to know what to wear in the water.

Parking is plentiful & free.

Staff is, as you might imagine, young & uber-friendly, well-trained in the customer service thang. Some know more than others, and mis-information is common - - ask around for second opinions if you have doubts about any local wisdom imparted to you by the young staffers.

They will close if lightning is spotted. Your refund will be pro-rated as to how much time you spent in the water. Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near those lagoons in a lightning storm.

Hotels are in abundance. Airport: AUS is only 10 mins away, literally. If you want to stay in Austin the city proper, you can do so. You'll likely pay up for your room, due to the large tourism trade. And you'll wait in lines with hipsters & turistas for the hep happening restaurants that don't take reservations (most). Save money, time & angst: stay in Buda, approx 20 mins south of the wave park.

Side benefit: 80 mph speed limit on Texas freeways: there IS a gawd! Didn't see one state trooper the entire time I was there, unlike the east coast where the staties derive massive amounts of tax revenue from nailing people doing 62 in a 55 on the highways.

The cost of the session at NLand drives down the value. Thus, only 3 stars. It was fun, and I'd return, but once NLand has competition from Slater's wave pool & other places, I think it will have to become more competitive on price.

 

The Bay & the other offerings are only for beginners, btw.

 

You can bring your own boarts for sure. No fees or charges for that.

Note that they had so many problems with fins tearing apart the liner of the lagoon that 'real' boards with 'real' fins are allowed to surf the reef wave only. Foamies everywhere else. The foamies all have a light rubber coating over the edges of the fins.

 

My pleasure, mon ami Gaffer Your running commentary: spot-on.

leetymike808, so I have to admit no carving turns from this guy; in fact, I never saw anyone do any carving turns & there were a couple of decent surfers up at times. Seems like you'd have to be quick as stink to pull off a snap or a tail slide or even a layback. Didn't seem to be enough room nor time to do a carving turn into a cutback. That wave is moving quickly with little room for error.

Although I'm sure that the pros who visited NLand & posted videos / promo vids were shredding it up, don't forget, they had all friggin day to get those shots.

It's more like guys are doing the mid to high to low up & down hinkin' & jinkin' on the face of the wave. Not actual real turns. Because......in a short time, you realize that you don't want to fall, 'cause you know your wave supply is finite. Unlike in the ocean...ergo, your average Joe surfer won't try radical shiiiite or anything outside their comfort zone. Not that I saw, anyways.