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Bondi Beach - the quintessential Australian paradise
By | October 24, 2007
No discussion about world beaches of note is complete without mentioning Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The beach is actually seven kilometres east of the central Sydney.
The beach itself is about one kilometre long and is popular throughout the year. The sea at Bondi Beach is particularly noted for its good surfing quality, with its northern end being rated as a gentle 4 (with 10 as the most hazardous), but the southern side rated as a 7 due to the famous rip current there which has become known variably as the “Backpackers Express”, the “Bondi Tram” or “Bronte Express” – the reason for this latter name being that you would end up at Bronte, two beaches south, if you get caught in it. There are in fact, possibly up to five rip currents operating along the beach, the Backpackers’ Express being the one closest to the designated swimming area. An underwater shark net is provided, which makes use of the water considerably safer.
Bondi Beach is the end point of the City to Surf Fun Run which is held each year in August, with over 63,000 entrants completing the 14 km run from the central business district of Sydney to the beach. Other annual activities at Bondi Beach include the Flickerfest in January, which is Australia’s premier international short film festival, World Environment Day in June, and Sculpture By The Sea in November. Every Sunday there is a market at the beach. On Christmas Day, a lot of people choose to come to beach to celebrate – particularly people of UK and Irish origin, for whom a Christmas Day at the beach is something of a novelty – so much so that I will give this fact some attention in my next post.
Topics: Australia, Watersports, Family Beaches, Surfing |
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