In a town known for its wild coastline, a surfing star is born

It's not a technical term, but as our ute hurtled along a steep track down onto an isolated beach, I finally understood why the bar above the front passenger seat is nicknamed the 'oh sh*t handle'.

I shouldn't have worried. It might have felt like my 18-year-old driver was flinging the four-wheel drive left then right, but Ruby Berry was navigating the sand gullies as well as she commands the waves on the ocean — like a pro.

The rising international surfer wanted to show me one of the West Australian beaches close to home near Augusta where she trains.

And she was determined to get me in the water and standing on a board.

She's a bit disappointed when we get there to discover we're not alone. Half a dozen cars are parked on the sand, and their occupants are already in the water. That's the problem with secret surfing spots — someone always spills the beans.

This is Ruby's first year on the pro circuit, and she's one of the reasons Back Roads has headed to Augusta.

The town, around three hours' drive south of Perth, is known for its wild coastline. And, as we discovered, the weather. It definitely puts the gust into Augusta, and with predictions of 50 kilometre per hour winds we knew it was going to be a challenging week.

At the famous Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, you can see that you're at the very south-western tip of Australia. It's where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, and Augusta is also bordered by the impressive Blackwood River.

No wonder so many of the 1,400 people living here spend their days in the water. Ruby's mum is convinced she'll be a world champion. That's the dream and there's no reason to doubt it. She's confident enough to take on tubes that would overwhelm some of the most experienced surfers.

"It's just so exciting. It's hard to explain, you feel at one with the ocean," Ruby told me.

"I always still get a bit nervous when I'm going out to a big wave — which is natural 'cause you can literally die — but once I'm in it, I'm pretty calm.

"I guess I'm a bit desensitised to it from being out there from an early age. Dad used to surf some pretty big waves, and I just got bored watching and wanted to have a go… so I did!"

The majority of Augusta's residents are old enough to be Ruby's grandparents, but they show the same kind of take-no-prisoners approach to life.

I get another lesson in how these spectacular natural features inspire people when I meet up with Noongar custodian Zac Webb.