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Bondi Beach at Christmas - partying in the sunshine
By | October 28, 2007
Bondi Beach in the district of Waverley, near to Sydney, Australia, is a very popular beach all year round, and especially so at Christmas, when people like to come to the beach to celebrate. As many as 40,000 people turn up to Bondi’s half-mile of sand each Christmas. Bondi Beach has particularly become popular with European backpackers in recent years, and spending Christmas at Bondi Beach has become an integral part of the Antipodean tour.
John, who has just returned to the UK after a lengthy sojourn in Australia says, “Spending Christmas on Bondi Beach was one of the best days of my whole trip. It’s such a contrast to spending Christmas in the UK where it is inevitably cold and rainy. Spending Christmas in Sydney I could hardly believe it was that time of year at all. So what we did was we took a picnic to the beach with turkey, sausages, Christmas cake, the lot. Well, it was as near to a Christmas dinner as you could get with a picnic. Not only that, but we took Christmas crackers, complete with paper party hats, with us as well. We thought we would really stick out like sore thumbs, celebrating Christmas like that, but we were surprised to find that we were not the only ones! I tell you, there were a fair number of party hats, and people eating turkey and drinking wine.”
However, the party atmosphere does not go down well with everyone - smoking has been banned on the beach and several other stretches of sand under the control of Waverley council for some years, leading to accusations that traditional Australian culture is being destroyed by “wowsers” - spoilsports. Although I don’t appreciate having to breathe in other people’s cigarette smoke myself, I don’t have a problem with people smoking in wide outdoor spaces such as a beach.
Recent shenanigans on the beach at Christmas have also led Waverley Council to try and impose an alcohol ban for the festive season.
So enjoy Christmas at Bondi Beach while you can – the party may not go on forever.
Topics: Australia, Family Beaches |
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