Sydney Beach Culture

G'day! This blog is written by, Allison. Enjoy🌻

With the majority of our administrative tasks (i.e. finding a place to live, getting tax documents, setting up a bank account) are taken care of, the past few weeks have been filled with ocean-based tasks. These are very important tasks for "Sydneysiders" and include: surfing, swimming, snorkeling, evening beach walks, and watching local surf competitions.

Pre-surf smiles

To kick-off, Ferg took a surfing lesson at Bondi Beach (Thanks, Michael!) The lesson was successful and he's since gone out surfing independently a few times since then. 

Ferg promptly went out and bought two surfboards off Facebook Marketplace. The first board turned out to be a bit too small and not the proper material for a beginner. After realizing this, Ferg found a different board. This board is taller, a 'foamie' board, very buoyant, and way more Ferg's style (reminiscent of a certain pair of shorts our austin friends might be familiar with). Thus, the surfboard collection has started. Ferg has also become my surf instructor and was so good that I was able to stand on the board and catch a real live wave! That was an incredible feat for me, considering, as some know, my lack of balance.

Board #2

Ferg after a softball game in Austin

Sydney, notably, has a lot of beaches throughout the city. There are a many along the Pacific Ocean, but also a bunch on the Sydney Harbor. It feels like we've been to quite a few of the beaches, but looking at all of them around the city, we've only made it to a handful. My goal for 2022 is to visit as many of the beaches in Sydney as I can!

Next, I'll go through a few of the beaches that we have visited.

Manly Beach - This beach is on the Northern Shore of Sydney. To get there we took the ferry, past the Sydney Opera house.

Bronte Beach - This beach was the closest to the Airbnb that we stayed in when we first arrived in Sydney. It's a smaller beach and at low tide, the rocks form a protected section where fish and snorkelers alike gather.

Clovelly Beach - This "beach" isn't the standard beach. Clovelly is lined with concrete slabs and is a very narrow cove. This creates calm conditions, nearer to the shore, which is also great for snorkeling. 

Bondi Beach - Our new home. This beach is the most famous in Australia and less than a 10 minute walk from our house. We frequent here for our evening walks and after work swims and surfing.

North Bondi Beach rocks

Closing up on 2 months being in Australia, we have really been able to settle into more of a routine. We continue to enjoy exploring more of our new home.