Friday's at North Bondi

Happy holidays

It’s great to see the sunshine and swell hitting Bondi this morning. Waves are large but breaking quite straight. I scored it 3 out of 10 – towards the middle looked the best. Christmas is an interesting time of year; all the Bondi locals disappear, and global tourism takes over. So many of my friends […]

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Hopefully the bad weather clears and we get back to this

Laydays

It’s a very unimpressive day outside in Sydney. Rain dominates the landscape; weirdly, I’m wearing a jumper in summer. The beach looked deserted with small waves under a southerly siege. Unfortunately, Christmas Day looks to be similar to today’s weather setup. I’ve shot a lot recently, and here are some recent images that have not […]

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My favourite swim spot

Niugini 

Our time in Papua New Guinea (Niugini in Pidgin) was short but full – we saw a lot. Australia has a significant presence and is a big part of PNG’s history, administering the territory from 1914 until its independence in 1975. It is a country so close to Australia that people have jet-skied to it […]

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I used to draw waves like this on my school books.

Chocolate Slabs

I did little research before coming out to remote Papua New Guinea for a surf mission. Actually, I did try, but there’s not much information on the place. The swell forecast charts showed endless days of 0.5m (knee-high waves), so I presumed we’d be fishing or snorkelling for most of our time. I was pretty […]

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Paradise, New Ireland region, PNG

Idyllic

The surf has been a little fickle, so we’ve relocated to an idyllic part of the New Ireland island chain. Very remote, very blue and an ocean full of life. It’s like one giant swimming pool. Every time we hit the water, the kids from the local village race out in their canoes. We could […]

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Tommy Mackay, finding jungle tubes, in remote PNG

Pee-N-Gee

We’ve arrived at one of our neighbouring nations, Papua New Guinea. A place I’ve not been before but keen to explore. We’re up very north, hunting swells amongst the northern monsoon. It’s raining a lot here, and oh boy, it can bucket. It’s not famous for surfing in PNG, so there are no crowds – […]

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Fraser-D getting nasally, Mid-Bondi bank, 6:40am

Friday Swims

It is heating up and only getting hotter. You’ve all heard tomorrow is going to be a steamy 39. These warm mornings are conducive to ocean interaction – and Bondi is the capital of that! Swimming, surfing or lazing on the beach – it was all happening down at Bondi from first light. It’s only […]

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Morning rush hour, Bondi style 6:10am

Nugg Farm

Yesterday’s gale has subsided, and clean conditions prevail. Bondi had a few peaks in operation, but I favoured a little left-rip bowl, throwing out the odd 1-foot nugget. It was a glorious morning with mostly clear skies. Twenty-eight degrees forecasted, and it will only get hotter – Saturday will be a steamer at thirty eight! […]

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At Bondi, there's so many different groups

Groups

Twenty-two knots of southerly diminished your hopes for an early surf. It’s one of those rare Bondi days that it’s UN-surfable. After a warm 23-degree night, there was plenty of activity at sunrise – regardless of the surf conditions. There are groups of people doing stuff everywhere! It will be offshore tomorrow morning; that sounds […]

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Is J.O.B in town?

The Skanky Port

A port is a part of my water housing that allows me to shoot in the brine. You have different ports to match your lenses. Over the years, I’ve shot with dozens of lenses whilst swimming. Today, I swam out with an old port from the back of the cupboard, and it had all kinds […]

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Early highlights, 5:40am, Bondi

Sky Curtain

Monday is the most peaceful morning in Bondi. It was also a dark morning, which kept many in bed. (Not to mention, it’s silly season. Chrissy parties are slowing down the early risers.) A thin curtain of cloud filled the sky, open on the horizon, so light illuminated upwards. It was spectacular for a short […]

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Flyboy, Bondi 7am.

Silly Season

I’ve seen a lot at Bondi. For a beach that’s only 900 metres long – stuff goes down, and mainly this time of year, it gets nuts. #sillyseason So many people tell/ask me – it’s more nuts this year? Nah, I don’t reckon we just forget because of the break for COVID. It’s always been […]

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Lip strike, 6:20am

Excursion

I took the mini-froth-lords on an excursion to an east-facing beach – hoping for bigger waves and less crowd. We weren’t the only ones with that idea! We discovered 3-4 foot bowls amongst an early (chaotic) crowd. I always thought Bondi was the pinnacle of surfing chaos – we’re not alone! NW winds and plenty […]

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"The Paul" in black

Rain~Sun

It started dark and stormy, but now it is a gloriously warm, sunny day (28). Hit the beach! The NE winds are howling (22 knots), which is OK at Bondi because we can seek protection inside the coat of Benny Buckler. There’s head high surf, peaky (looks low interval and weak). Don’t have huge expectations. […]

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Speed lines, Bondi 7am

Grom Fodder

The groms rated today a 2 out of 10 but still paddled out. I love their positive attitudes. They always come in saying “got barrelled”, even when it’s barely breaking. So good. I saw waves break around head-high with onshore junk. East winds are no good around here. It’s going to rain over the next […]

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Crazy times on a crazy beach. Sunday

*madhouse

After a rainy Saturday, the masses flocked to a sunny Sunday in Bondi. It was quite a lot to get your head around, and sometimes, it felt a little out of control. Let me talk you through what I witnessed: On the point, the Chilean DJ had a crack at another rave party, but the […]

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June 18, 2023 Calm Sobo Bondi Beach

Hectic Friday

It’s Black Friday, that nuts retail phenomenon when you get a million good deals, simultaneously clogging up your inbox. A little overwhelming, init? You’re probably frantically scanning your favourite brands, seeing what’s on offer – has that ceramic cat toothpick holder come down 20%? Hope so. It’s a good day for online shopping… a drizzly […]

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Door to door on my street - the man hunt - yesterday

Bondi Manhunt

Never a dull moment around Bondi. Yesterday arvo, whilst cooking my famous Beef Boganoff (Fusion edition), the police surrounded our houses along the street. I thought it must be the alluring scent of my culinary genius bellowing onto the road (again)—like when you wander past Belle’s chicken. MMMmmmmm. The POLAIR helicopter then parked directly above […]

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Bondi groups are big

Onshore Flow

It blew onshore early. That didn’t deter the masses from an early start, probably making up for yesterday. It’s incredible how many people are down the beach before I get there! Waves are much smaller today (and weak). Unless you’re 25 k-gees, I’ll give it a miss. The following five days look small – so […]

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Hidden paradises, Indonesia

Away

Most of East Coast Australia is having a rainy day, and it looks to continue well into next week. Put the cossie and beach umbrellas away for a bit. We’ve had a good run of beach weather – it’s time to do some work now. Today’s photos are from my annual trip to a group […]

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Crazy busy on Saturday.

Bondi Active

Gosh, it’s been busy around Bondi lately. The weather on the weekend was A1 – seducing so many people for a swim or surf. I know, I know…at 5:30 am the skies blew up into pinks. I missed a cracker. I only missed it by a few minutes; please forgive me. I’m still slapping myself. […]

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The motherland. Bondi

Bondi Magic

Bondi is famous for its busy-day postcards. If you mention Bondi to anyone overseas, they ask, “Is that the crazy busy beach with the TV show?”. Ah-huh. Yeah, it’s busy down here, but not all the time. Like today – it’s empty, onshore and conducive to office work (and photos taken on better days). The […]

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Don't be caught off guard, it's flat then a big one wipes everyone out

Long Interval

With a 12-second mid-long period south swell in town, it’s looking very straight down the beach. Virtually unsurfable. It’s such a shame. It’s big, but we have nothing for it to break on. Don’t turn your back on the ocean today. You’ll go in for a dip thinking she’s flat as, but then a 4-6 […]

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I like this reno on Warners, retro is good.

Big Increase

Geez, it came up big this morning. I blinked, and it was 4-6 foot solid, long interval, south swell bombs. That size is useless to us as our tempermental sand banks can’t handle anything above 2-3 foot. Jordi got the wave of the day and one of the only waves that didn’t completely close out […]

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Ed Ryall, dancing on the lip before popping out a finbox

Clean

Finally, it’s gone offshore and there’s treats down the beach. Bondi was super fun at sunrise, with twin peaks feeding off a solid rip. Swimming with a camera was good exercise! Plenty of loops. How big? Shoulder with a few rare bombs overhead high. Crowds? Nah, not busy really for Bondi. Sun? Ah-huh. Yeah baby. […]

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Paradise! Saturday at North Bondi

eGress

Bondi Beach was busting at the seams over the weekend with activity. Wow, there was so much going on – I was glad to see a quiet, rainy beach day today to give it a break. So what did you miss? The Australian Open of Surfing finals were held at Bondi yesterday in the worst […]

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The little creeps were all over it this morning. Jetty pocket snap

Pockets

It’s quite tiny but surfable. A shallow bank was putting on some pockets for the mini-humans to stab. Not much above chest high. It was clean, dark and cloudy earlier, but that cleared by around 7ish. 27 degrees today, yeah! The Australian Open of Surfing – Better Beer Open: Grand Finals are being held on our […]

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Swim to Manly and back, then 20 pushies. A'right

Chug

There is a small easterly swell in town, and some of it is chugging in Bondi. It’s weak, 1 foot, maaaaaybe 2 foot and very crowded at sunrise. From here on, we’ll see a steep increase in human activity at Bondi as we progress into summer fun times. There is a 70% chance of showers […]

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Jaggar Phillips, sunrise hooks. Maroubra

Maroubra Cohort

The swell is now more from the East, so beaches facing that way will be more fun. A early morning drive to Da Bra found a little fun shorey around 2 foot. The 6 a.m. high tide made waves fat, but it may not be better on the low tide – as it’s pretty weak […]

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Spikey deep diving. 6:15am

Wide in the Brine

Go for a swim, surf, before your Cup lunch. It’s sublime down the beach. Currently, light winds, glassy conditions and a forecast of 25 on the mercury. Waves are bigger than yesterday, yet still small. (1-2 ft). There’s something special when your family is out in the water with you, sharing the ocean. When these […]

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Bondi lines, 7am

Muted

I spoke to a visitor from Manila this morning, Aaron. He’s like, “Bondi’s hectic, can everyone calm down!” Hahaha. To me, it was dead quiet this morning. Mondays always are. People gotta work! Well, Mondays, at least. Tourists are starting to come back to Bondi, and I think this summer is going to be a […]

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Think it is gonna rain, Bondi 6:30am

Darkness

The thick clouds are in town, and it was a dark morning at Bondi. There’s a 60% chance of some showers, probably more likely this arvo. Only a mild 24 degrees on land. Comfortable. The winds are light, and it’s all neat and tidy – now – but will swing onshore easterly later in the […]

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Bondi, the capital of the drop-in

Textured

We’ve had some impressive surfing moments this week. I saw some footage of Manly cooking after a surprise under-forecasted east swell. Some say there were sets 8-10 feet, and Manly Bombie was on. Wow. Today’s surf conditions aren’t included in these impressive moments – as the beaches look textured, junkie, with lower tides and south […]

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Daz, torpedo down the line

Halloween

The swell spiked up strong this morning from the east, just in time for Halloween. I was surprised to see the odd four-footer out there; nonetheless, it was offshore earlier & fun! Bondi had a few peaks running. The recent big swell pounding didn’t ruin our banks – good. Early strong SW wind will swing […]

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The sun is back, the surf is fun and it's good times

Overflow

This week is kicking off in glorious spring fashion – waves, gentle winds and sunny skies. So good! I spent the morning swimming with my camera at South Bondi. It was great exercise, swimming against the ridiculously strong rip, but was tough to sync up with crew to shoot. My method: simply jag a shot […]

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I found some light and blues at Bondi. 8:30am

Squalls

In between rain storms, I took some photos. No, not of waves and beach – as that’s having a bad day …some pics around the ‘hood. Even though Bondi has changed so much since I started my photographic odyssey 24 years ago, some cool retro buildings remain in 2026. It’s not surfable at Bondi. Head […]

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Indonesian water clarity

Unruly

The beach was a write-off. Unruly surf with breezy onshores (25knots) making a giant mushbowl. I don’t expect clean conditions until Sunday. Cloudy, infrequent showers and very cool temps – put the jumper back on and let’s revisit INDONESIA, where the water is still warm, clear and blue. :: uge

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Bondi's most famous door. North Bondi

Smotherly

The smothering southerly has arrived early, and wreaked havoc on our beaches. It was dead still upon my arrival at the beach, but it rapidly changed around 7 a.m. – mushie onshore junkyard! Cloudy earlier, sunny now (25). 12 knots of SE wind.The water felt warmer, like a degree warmer. Big surf forecast for tomorrow, […]

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Swim time, 7am.

Drifter

An extensive south weather system is coming this week (Thursday/Friday), bringing wind, swell and a few showers. Enjoy these days of light northerlies and blaring sunshine until it arrives. Bondi had a little wave today, waist to shoulder high. The charts say it’s a south swell, so Bondi will be making the most of the […]

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Bondi - rammed!

Swamped

Sydney was graced with a special kinda weekend, small (yet fun) waves and exquisite weather. Today is no exception; it’s another cracker. Yesterday, the beaches of Sydney were packed, and to double that, Sculptures drew its usual crowds. Bondi was a hive of activity. Wow. Monday 6am, all back to normal, quiet days. I saw […]

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