There are 18,000 islands in Indonesia, and I’m doing my best to see them all. After a few nights on the “Peaceful Hill” (Amankila), we’ve relocated to a much more remote, quieter island called Moyo in Sumbawa, bobbing in the Flores Sea. They call this tented eco-resort the “Peaceful Forest” (or Amanwana). The crystal blue […]

Like most Australians, Bali has been embedded in my vacation DNA since I was young. I fondly remember riding to Ulu’s via scrambler through the dense jungle on a tiny trail, boards underarm before the warungs. Yes, it’s changed so much in the decades I’ve been visiting (even just in the past 5 years) – […]

It’s currently 28 degrees and about to skyrocket to 36. The weather people have now declared an official El Niño year with dry and hot conditions to follow. The beach has been filling up since 5:30 am this morning, and I’m not just talking Bondi – all the beaches around here at mega-activity. The water […]

The warm weather draws everyone to Bondi early. Looking around at 6 a.m. and seeing so much life on the beach at dawn was incredible. Rigs out, selfies firing, sunscreen wafting, ice baths overflowing, training groups sweating and all the dogs of Sydney on show down the prom. Summer’s come early! 34 degrees today. The […]

I have to admit, with the warmer temps forecasted, I escaped the city to chill on quiet country beaches over the weekend. I heard it was crazy busy around here. Bondi had plenty of warmth, sun and waves this morning. Surprisingly, it was shoulder to head high on sets under an offshore regime (NW). Northwest […]

It’s currently 24 degrees and heading to 26 degrees. Bondi is filling up as many call an early mark and hit the beach. It’s going to be a busy sunset! Gentle NE winds are tickling the bay as we still have chest-high waves. Swell will continue to drop, but the temps will continue to rise […]

Today has a similar theme to the rest of the week – smokey and straight. We have so much swell in town; it’s relentless, but there’s just nowhere handling it well around here. I barely saw anyone catch a non-close-out all morning. Uber clean conditions, gentle winds and ubiquitous sunshine. Swell will start to taper […]

It’s bigger today, but debatable if it’s better. I browsed all the beaches in the neighbourhood, and it just seemed like closeouts everywhere. Yeah, it’s well over head high and some double head high sets…plenty of water moving…but little joy, I thought. At sunrise, this was my verdict anyway. The surf community were up early […]

The fireys are madly back burning in preparation for this weekend’s hot weather. Sydney’s choked up with smoke right now. Hopefully, we’ll have a safe summer. There are waves from this south swell – but not many good ones. Expect to find the odd head high set under optimal light offshores (3 knots of west). […]

There’s smoke in the air, reminiscent of the bushfires two years ago. Hazard reduction burns must be happening west of Bondi – hopefully making our summer safe as they forecast a dry one. This weekend is going to be 28 & 30! Yes, hot. There are waves! (head high) But they’re not breaking great. Frustratingly, […]

I clocked five k’s and 45 mins before snappin’ my first shot this morning (rare). That’s not good. That means we’re served up a mundane, vanilla flavour Bondi morning, and there’s not much to shoot. Typically, I’d shoot between 50 and 400 shots in a morning session. Only 10-12 make it to this post. I […]

Today will be the warmest day we’ve had in a long time. 25. As we transition into spring, the sun rises earlier and the days longer. The swell has bent around to the East, meaning south-facing Bondi will be neglected and small. Other east-facing magnets should be attracting the odd head-high wave, but I found […]

Another mighty fine start to a day: sun, waves and light winds. It was very cool (7) at sunrise but rapidly heating to its forecasted maximum of 21 degrees. (tomorrow will be 25!) Unfortunately, like the rest of this week, mornings are a terrible time to surf with the dawn lower tides. These abundant sandbanks […]

The 5:30 am low tide was detrimental to wave quality at sunrise this morning. There’s quite a lot of sand in Bondi’s Bay, and it needs sufficient water levels to provide waves that don’t completely shut down straight. It was an excellent start to the day; the water felt cooler, typical of northerly winds. Waves […]

This morning started dark and cloudy but has blossomed into a magnificent spring day; go outside! We’ve got a SE swell at 130 degrees; that means that east-facing beaches will attract a bit more size. NW winds early swinging NE. The sun is out, and it’s warm – max 21. (but it feels warmer). Watercolours […]

Former Aussie WSL star Owen Wright, heard about our heavenly sand banks and has driven down from Byron to see all the excitement. His visit coincides with the first day of Spring and Surfaid’s “MAKE A WAVE” September program. MAKE A WAVE is a Surfaid initiative where you raise money for remote communities of Indonesia […]