Gallery: From Kirra to Sydney

East Coast surfers didn't have to wait long for the first tropical swell of the season.

Even before summer had begun, the long-range charts were consistently forecasting a deepening tropical low off the south-east Queensland coast. As the models aligned and the date approached, it wasn't a matter of if, but more so how big and also how wet?

The worst case scenario was a severe, coast-hugging low which would flood an already saturated landscape, and also tear apart the sand banks - the cursed 'bankbuster' - right at the start of the prime swell season.

Fortunately, late movements saw the low shift quickly offshore which meant the rain was heavy yet brief, while the surf was large but not destructive. There were other benefits of the low deepening further offshore but we'll come to them later.

Friday morning WAM showing SE swell concentrated around the Gold Coast/Tweed regions, but also a secondary development forming further offshore

A sharp rise in swell energy late on Thursday had Gold Coast surfers going to bed full of anticipation. The early risers had to dodge rain squalls on Friday morning as the close-range energy also brought moist, low clouds.

With multiple holes in the Superbank's sand, it was Kirra that sparkled when the winds went offshore and the swell peaked.

With a new lens to play with, Josh Bystrom went scouting for unique angles of Kirra. Here he nails a shot that captures both the open ocean maelstrom south of Point Danger, and the corduroy lines as the swell bends into Coolangatta Bay, being groomed by the same winds that created it (Bystrom)

Despite scouting new angles, Josh still found time to do a few laps of Kirra while lugging his camera and waterhousing against the sweep. Here he captures Kipp Caddy who flew north from his Cronulla base and into this Kirra screamer (Bystrom)

The size made for occasional wash throughs, especially with the mid-morning low tide. Wade Carmichael navigates a Kirra blizzard (Bystrom)

Another southern visitor in the slot. This time it's Hughie Vaughan from the Central Coast (Bystrom)

Guilt-free paddling. A rare thing at crowded Kirra (Bystrom)

An unidentified surfer swoops onto centre-stage with all eyes on him (Bystrom)

Further south, conditions were wild with choppy eight foot sets across the Northern Rivers, only surfable in protected bays and corners. Local surfers looked to the weekend when the swell was expected to settle down and the wind swing more south-west.

Later on Friday, reports began to filter in of the swell reaching further south and arriving with more push than was initially expected. The 'coast-hugging' low had a longer tail than initialy forecast, with a secondary development whipping up swell from further offshore, hence allowing for more radial spread. This wasn't going to be a bankbuster swell, and nor was it going to be localised.

As the week rolled into the weekend, the strongest stages of the low created large E/NE sets that began moving down the East Coast. They arrived with vigour on Saturday morning.

Local conditions were close to perfect under light land breezes as step-ladder sets built from three feet at dawn to six feet by mid-morning. The late developments caught many surfers off guard, allowing for a few hours of grace before other surfers twigged to what was happening.

Between the alluring water colour, boardshorts, and relaxed stance, it'd be easy to believe this wave is a breeze. What you don't see is the waist-deep rock platform and the boulders just out of view. Scotty Appleton, above and below, making it look a cinch on Saturday morning (Sequence Brokensha)

Same spot, different surfer. Michael Lavers, above and below, freefalls into the pit and races to get under the lip (Sequence Brokensha)

Scotty Appleton calm positioning (Brokensha) 

The tight arc at the base of the wave tells the story of this image. Michael Lavers about to hit the flats (Brokensha)

Gordon Dreyer with all the hard work done (Brokensha)

Sam Nolan playing with fire as the reef here is only inches below the surface (Brokensha)

Gordon Dreyer again, though coming from deeper and on board number two (Brokensha)