Sydney has returned to its stormy inner self today. Rain dominates the morning as we complete a week of sunshine. Wasn’t that a treat! Let’s venture into the archives for a moment… You don’t find me venturing from the coast too much – but a short 2.5-hour flight from Sydney landed me in Broken Hill – […]

Gee, it’s getting bigger – a brand new south swell. Some chunky stuff in town and I saw waves around 4 foot+. Pity our temperamental banks cannot handle such energy – so it’s pretty straight, even in the corner. Super fresh morning, the phone said 12 degrees but wind chill was more like 9-10. The […]

These autumn mornings are like a magnet to ocean lovers, especially after our dud summer of unending rain. Scores of frothers (including my whole family) snuck down in the darkness to immerse in the sublime autumn conditions. Strangely there are waves – I must be looking at the wrong swell charts ’cause I swear the […]

Another sublime start to the day as waves continue to dribble into the Bondi Bay under a sunny sky. The surf appeared a little bigger than yesterday, surprised as I thought the charts said smaller today. A welcome treat for those that wandered down. Offshore breezes really cleaning up the water, dive right in! :: […]

[ puhl-kri-tood-n-uhs, –tyood– ] adjective physically beautiful; comely. Today is a good looking day! It looks even better after 6 months of rain. Waves were small, suitable for super-groms under 35 kilos. Not a breath of wind, solar galore, let’s party. Put the boards away, it’s gonna be flat for days. End of the week […]

With a wet day ahead – it was a nice opportunity for me to take you to a sunnier time on our travels to the Mid-North Coast, with @visitNSW. A 3.5-hour drive from Sydney will land you in open space, long stretches of white sandy beaches, lakes and some of NSW’s grandest and tallest trees. […]

Not the most impressive morning of the week – windy, grey, dark and sloppy surf. Not many people down the beach, plenty slapping the snooze button. 15 knots of dead easterly winds were corrupting any waist to chest high waves available. North Bondi looked cleaner, as Ben Buckler provided a little bit of shelter from […]

The sun was out and the groms firing. There are head high waves (double head high from some tiny groms). It was pretty straight and a little junkie, but contestable. Offshore earlier, onshore now. 80% chance of showers today. We’re hiring an Artwork Production Assistant in the Bondi studio. It’s a casual position, 10-25 hours […]

Our short fling with glorious sunshine is over, we’re back to the damp and dark version of Sydney as we enter a week of rain. I know, I know, breathe, we’re all over this rain but there’s not much we can do about it! I bought gumboots yesterday and Bunnings finally got their supply of […]

Bondi has returned back to its La Nina grey self, unfortunately. This morning it was still drizzling and the skies were dark. A few little waves for the groms but nothing spectacular. You’re not missing much today…yawn. Tomorrow, well, tomorrow I’m expecting glorious sunshine and grooming offshores. Now ya torkin! Tomorrow you REALLY should pop […]

The golden autumn light illuminated the hollow shorey at Bondi this morning. It was clean, waist to shoulder high and thumping on a very shallow bank at the south. Being selective was key – many closing out. It’s is a beautiful day, 25 and sunny. Make the most of it before a late shower arrives. […]

This island suits my touring style – action-packed! I’m not much of a ‘read book by the pool’ kinda guy – I need plenty of activities to keep me going (I’m pretty annoying to travel with – ask Deb). There is loads to do here; shark diving (amazing), snorkelling on coral reefs in the lagoon, […]

‘Just paradise’ is the island’s tagline – pretty spot on! It’s hard to believe this tiny tropical island in the middle of the Tasman Sea is a part of our NSW state – just 780 kilometres from Sydney. I also can’t believe I haven’t been here before! Lord Howe Island was forged from fire seven […]

After so much rain it’s nice to see a bright sunny morning down at Bondi. These mornings are a rarity this year, it’s been a shocker. Unfortunately, this glorious weather will be short-lived, as there’s a chance of rain and thunderstorms later tonight. So – live the now and go for a swim – it’s […]

The swell has dropped a couple of gears and finally, waves are surfable and not closing out straight. I saw bumps breaking in the waist to chest high range – clean too, as there was barely a breath of wind. No sunrise colours today, just a bit of rain and Turneresque cloudy skies. We’re heading […]

When it comes to closing out, section-less waves – you won’t find better than Bondi. So when Bondi is straight it’s pretty much unsurfable – you won’t even have time to get to your feet (as many found out this morning).  There’s a decent supply of 2-4 foot South swell, you need to go for […]

Sorry about the recent radio silence. You’ve probably worked out that school holidays mean I’m outta town and wrestling with two young tykes that wanna surf 6 hours a day. The regular programming for Aquabumps resumes tomorrow, Wednesday. Promise. For the last couple of months, we’ve been out on the open roads, exploring NSW in partnership […]

It was awesome to get a gap between heavy rainstorms to run around and shoot my morning rituals. It was short-lived but appreciated, ending with a mad dash for cover. It’s completely onshore mush. I saw high head waves in the south that were fat and burgerish, three surfers on it. Beach was very quiet […]

Photos of the beach today aren’t gonna do it – it’s an ugly day. The winds are up, the rain interminable and flooding has returned. My shoes have been soggy wet for days. (Life tip get a shoe drying rack for your dryer) For entertainment purposes, I’m showcasing images shot on “Super Saturday” – the […]

Unbelievably it’s pouring with rain, again. The kind of rain you normally only see in the tropics – it’s torrential. Let’s just hope those saturated low areas don’t get inundated. 6:00am Bondi Carpark I saw small 1-2 footers with a constant easterly onshore. It was very junkie. One of my kids surfed it and said […]

Now we’re talking – finally, those glamour autumn days where everything is just right. The water is a comfortable 23, winds zero, sunshine is a 12 outa 10 and the waves were shoulder to head high on sets! Bingo! A huge crowd frothing over the early autumn delights – a bit too busy for my […]

Well, it’s been a rather exciting couple of days. I am not sure where to begin. We’ve gone from dull rainy days to non-stop action in the ocean. It all began late Friday when a gale force wind hit Sydney. It rattled my house all night, and on Saturday, we woke to an enormous, unprecedented, […]

Guess what? It’s still raining. Oh man, the archives are getting a real workout on my blog during La Nina. This morning Bondi has horizontal rain, howling onshores and it’s deserted. Huge swell coming tomorrow – Bondi will be off the charts big. Let’s take a 1 minute trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy, […]

In between heavy rain squalls, I visited the beach. There’s not much happening in the surf department but at least you could go outdoors and enjoy the fresh air or take a dip in the bath-like water (it’s still very warm, which is a worry). The onshore winds were up early and the swell is […]

The Rona made so many changes to our lives and routines. For me, as overseas trips were off the cards, it was a great opportunity to discover my own backyard – Sydney. During CV19 I took on some domestic photo work in 2020 for local tourism bodies as our gallery doors were shut. Seeing it’s […]

A fantastic supply of easterly swell rolling into Sydney this morning. With grooming offshores most beaches looked super fun. Low crowds too! Sadly, a week of rain to come. It will begin this arvo and get heavy for most of the week. Even the northern rivers will get a dowsing, so let’s really hope there’s […]

The surf was smaller, dribbly but still clean at sunrise. The clouds are dark (std) and threatening whilst the winds are lightly blowing onshore. As you all know, rain forecast for today, tomorrow and another week (oh the joy). avagoodweekend! :: uge

And just like that, the weather defaults back to a dark rainy morning in Sydney. Surely those clouds are depleted! At 7:30 am it was so dark you’d be convinced it was still nighttime. There’s a little grovelly wave on offer, south end. Looked a little junkie for my liking. The water remains a warm […]

The predicted southerly is here, and doing its thing – smothering! Bondi had small junkie waves – with a handful of guys out. At 6am it looked like the sunrise was gonna be magical – before a large cloud parked right in the middle of it. Patchy weather is forecasted for days as this prolonged […]

The ocean is clean again! No more gagging on the pooey browns from recent floodwaters – I see mighty-fine blue-greens once again. The sunshine was blanketing the beaches as the swell produced head high peaks. Gentle winds, currently 7 knots from the north. High tide midday, low was 6am. Lots of people up early this […]

This morning was one of those that nearly got there – but didn’t. The sunrise had promise, clouds in the right spot but it just didn’t bloom as anticipated. The cloud bank just got thicker and thicker – blocking the potential of a postcard morning. The surf looked clean and the supply of swell was […]

One of the main reasons I shoot daily is capturing the golden light that seeps over Ben Buckler in the mornings. I love it. It’s very flattering light, making the mundane into something appealing. When it’s been raining or cloudy for 85% of the mornings this year, these sunny mornings are a treat! Let’s party! […]

Twenty-three years ago, I had this groundbreaking idea of posting a ‘photo a day’ from the beach. Social media hadn’t even been dreamt up yet, a website called google had just started, and mobile phones were for talking to people. In the nineties, digital cameras had just become semi-affordable (well, kind of – the first […]

When I was a kid, we’d surf Bali a lot. I can remember one day we saw an empty a-frame on the outer Kuta Reef, and 3 of us frothed out there – thinking we scored (everywhere else was packed).  It was pumping and broke in the same spot consistently – 800 metres from the […]

Is it safe to go in the water? Well… it’s incredibly brown and smells funny after all the flooding. There’s quite a bit of sewerage in our harbour ways and oceans right now – so it’s really up to you. I’ve been surfing (good waves on the weekend), but I make sure I don’t drink it […]

I’ve returned from the outback and did my morning rituals down at Bondi – the weather is still volatile, just like when I spilt town. Indeed…surely, the clouds are now spent? Sydney has had its wettest 16-day period on record (617.4mm) – half of our average rainfall (1213mm). Still, nothing compared to our devasted northern […]

Sunshine? Yeah, you bet – but I had to go 1000 clicks inland to find it, well away from the coastal drenchings this week. Where? Broken Hill or ‘The Silver City’ (as it is sometimes called) is a city forged out of a hill that consists of almost pure silver, lead and zinc. Broken Hill […]

On Saturday, we had a brief pause from the rain – what a treat! I hope you finally got outside without the gumboots. The waves also cleaned up on the weekend, and most of Sydney was on the cook.  Today – well, today…it’s back to 15 knots of southeasterly onshore and a large storm saturating Sydney. […]

How amazing were the rainbows down the beach this morning? Every five minutes, a new one sprouted, and I could locate the end of it – North Bondi holds the pot of gold! Several rain squalls danced across the beach – it’s going to be drier than yesterday (20mm of rainfall). Now we’re watching the […]

When the big storms rip through Sydney, the strange novelty waves come a live – that little piece of reef that never works, that protected corner that is always flat or a harbour beach with a half-assembled shark net and the city in the background starts to pipe up! Before you get too excited, the […]