South Australia – Chinaman’s Hat

Welcome to Chinaman’s Hat — the rugged outcrop just off Stenhouse Bay that looks like it’s been dropped by a wind god with a flair for drama. One of the most romantic and sketchy spots you’ll ever kite, where beauty and danger hold hands and laugh at your trim settings.

The beaches around here sit in a wind shadow most of the time — don’t expect a clean entry from shore. You’ll need to launch with intent and head out behind the Hat, here a reef-protected lagoon dishes up super flat water… when it's not trying to suck you out with a gnarly rip.

On days with a bit of swell, that rip turns into a conveyor belt to the abyss. Booties and bravery recommended. Behind the Hat itself the wind can get gusty — it funnels, it dies, it reappears sideways — so watch your lines and your edge. But if you manage to find the sweet spot, it’s like kiting inside a postcard. Glassy, surreal, with towering cliffs and reef fingers just under the surface — the kind of place that feels like it shouldn't be real.

Definitely not for learners. This one’s for the romantics who don’t mind their kite sessions with a shot of adrenaline.