With manageable surf conditions the crowds are back

Friday Shindigs

By 7 AM, the work crowd hit Bondi Beach, squeezing in a quick dip before trading saltwater for spreadsheets. The coffee queues at Glory and Prom were already at critical mass by the time I got there. A DJ was spinning tunes in the middle, typical of a Bondi Friday (yes, that’s becoming the norm). […]

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Thunderbumps from the outer banks

Thumping Sets

It’s been exciting around here lately, with enormous swells lashing our coast. Everybody loves a big swell story—and this one was surprisingly big – kinda caught us all off guard. I mean, that wave that Lifeguard Chase Hardaker paddled into on Tuesday was a monster, quite possibly the largest paddled in wave for the Eastern […]

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Ben Buckler Stormrider, 7am today.

Truly Unruly

We’re experiencing huge, unruly, unmanageable surf and winds in Sydney right now. After days of stormy weather, the ocean roars to life and pushes water high onto our beaches. North Bondi resembled a semi-surfable wave, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Ben Buckler has some legends on Rhino Chasers, but that’s always a nice novelty wave. […]

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March 21 - cracker sunrise

March in Review

To be honest, my shots from this morning were pretty boring. The rain, dark skies, and onshore breezes do not make for beautiful photography. There’s still a 2 foot crumble on offer, but it’s not perfect. And so… I won’t show you imagery from today; here’s a little March in review as we’ve had some […]

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Hints of a new day showing on the toilet block

Light vs. Dark

This morning was a battle between light and dark. Since we’re heading into autumn in Australia, the sun rises later each morning. The days are getting shorter, and soon, daylight saving time will end (the first Sunday in April), making mornings even darker for a bit until the clocks shift back. I spent most of […]

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When all the elements align, Bondi 6:30am

Golden Hour Glory

When I was a young sigma, going out late was all the rage—and sleep ’til lunchtime kind of thing. Today, it’s all happening between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., in particular at Bondi Beach. It’s bizarre how it’s flipped. These Friday beach run, swim, and ice bath clubs are popular with the young and single […]

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Sky painting at 6:20am, Bondi Beach

Drenched in Pink

This morning, Bondi Beach put on a show—one of those sunrises that stops you in your tracks. The kind that makes early alarms worth it, where the sky doesn’t just wake up—it explodes. Before the sun even peeked over the horizon, magenta and fiery pink streaks bled across the sky, reflecting off the ocean like […]

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The old post office on Hall

Cooling

After a weekend that had us all feeling like we were living inside an oven, with temperatures rocketing to a sizzling 39.3°C, today we’ve got a cooling smotherly giving us a break from the bake. This morning at Bondi, we’re greeted with partly sunny skies and a much more civilized 17°C. It’s rare to see […]

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Party waves all day long, Bondi 7:30am

Sunrise Bustle

It’s Friday, and the sunrise beach party vibes are here. It’s a cracker, sunny, hot morning, and thousands of early risers have flocked to our little beach for a good finish to the week. One-foot waves rolled in lazily, barely enough to stir the foam, but no one seemed to care. Surfers paddled for anything […]

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The sun is back, smothering the Bondi lineup

Sublime brine

After what seems like weeks of junky, limp, undersized surf – we’ve been gifted some decent surfing conditions this morning. Waves are breaking clean in the waist to shoulder-high vicinity and operating on multiple peaks. Groomed by a light NW offshore breeze and dowsed in the sunshine – the morning crew was out in significant […]

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Surfing in the trees at South Bondi

Post-Rain Glow

There’s something magical about the air after a rain shower. The dust settles, the horizon sharpens, and the light is crisp. The ocean reflects the sky like a polished mirror, and even the sand looks cleaner, washed smooth by the downpour. Around 7am the Alfred’s heavy clouds roll back, revealing a blanket of sunshine, illuminating […]

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Typical Monday's are not busy, was quite crammed this morning

Ah, Mondays

Ah, Monday. The start of a new week. Alfie’s remnants are making for dark skies, Northerly breezes, and a small limping 2-footer at Bondi. It will be much more significant at beaches oriented to Alfred’s swell machine – anything facing east or north (Bondi faces south). Today and tomorrow should be cloudy with patchy, odd […]

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Occasionally a nice set up on the right

Envy

Hello? Is anyone on here? I know, I know, with Tropical cyclone Alfredo spitting out the tubes of a lifetime on the Gold Coast, the last thing you probably want to see is shots of 3-4 foot onshore Bondi. Those points up there are so suited to the current conditions whilst we grind it out […]

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