Beautiful Bondi Beach

Did you know that most beaches in the world face east? Bondi beach faces south.

It can be found in the suburb of Bondi, 7 kilometers from the hustle and bustle of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, Australia, and 15 minutes walk from our home in Tamarama.

"Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning "water breaking over rocks"  see Aborigine History.

Bondi beach is a splendid picture of nature at its finest, with its crescent-shaped  sweep of golden sand, and its green swathes of parkland.

Bondi beach has a reputation among surfers and board-riders alike for being one of the best around. Bondi beach offers topless bathing and great nightlife too.

Bondi beach is a trendy tourist stop, with cafes and restaurants overlooking the water, back-packers hostels, and 5-star accommodation.

The heritage-listed Pavilion was built in 1928, and, in front of it, a promenade curves around the sand. The painting on the wall is not graffiti – it is done by commissioned artists who lease a small area for a period of time to express themselves in the way they want.

 The promenade along Bondi beach stretches southwards into a coastal walk for 8 kilometers, and northwards, 5 kilometers to the South Head of Sydney Harbour.

 In 2004, Surf Life Saving Australia gave different hazard ratings to Bondi beach. The northern end of Bondi beach is rated a gentle 4 (with 10 as the most hazardous), while the southern end is rated as a 7, due to a famous rip current known as the "Backpackers Express". (Tourists can be carried southwards by it very quickly out to sea.)

Warnings about current conditions at Bondi beach are constantly given, as swimming tourists are sometimes not aware of this rip, and can get into difficulty in the water.  see page on Surf Lifesaving

 Can't you picture yourself at Bondi beach –

 * surfing (you can learn how at the beach).

* roller-blading (in the new specialty park).

* competing in the City to Surf Fun Run held in August each year (it starts from Sydney city centre and ends at Bondi beach and attracts many overseas marathon runners).

* visiting the annual 'Flickerfest' (Australia's premier short film festival held in the Pavilion each January).

* visiting the annual 'Sculpture by the Sea' outdoor exhibition (held along the coast walk between Bondi beach and Tamarama beach).

see page on "Sculptures by the Sea"

* watch the spectacle of The Festival of the Winds (kites from all around the world dancing in the wind on Bondi beach every September).

* spending Christmas day on Bondi beach along with thousands of Irish and British tourists (they have a tradition now to put up their own Christmas trees in the sand and celebrate there).

* or just picnicking on the expansive lawn gazing out on the summer scene.

* and, of course, hiring a sun lounge for the sand and sun-block for your skin or splashing in the clear Pacific Ocean.

Locals sit and watch their toddlers paddle in the special shallow pool in front of a wall where mosaics depict sea life.

Would you like to travel to Bondi beach?