Sorry about the late post; I’d like to say I’ve been soaking up the day’s sunshine and small, clean waves! Nah, that’s next week. What a beautiful winter’s day—sunshine galore and neat little two-footers to keep you entertained. We’ve got some north winds, which bring the warmer temps. Tomorrow will be an incredible 22 before […]

It’s a tad cooler than the water in the Maldives; it was very invigorating this morning! I’m awake now. Another glorious winter’s morning. Small two-footers were peeling left of a groomed central bank. Really fun for the higher volume surf vehicles. Loving the clear skies…hope it continues. :: uge

Hello! I know you were probably opening today’s post thinking what country now? Home it is – Bondi in peak winter. This cold winter morning feels extra cryogenic after five weeks of tropical 30-plus weather! Crispy offshores, 2-3 footers and glorious clear skies have welcomed us home. The middle of the bay bank looked the […]

“Aman” means “peace” in Sanskrit, and “Pulo” means “island” in Filipino /Tagalog – a perfect description of this heavenly island in the Palawan Province of the Philippines. Amanpulo, a world away from the hustle and bustle of Manila, south of the capital, is one of the planet’s most exquisite beach paradise islands. The sea’s colour is […]

Chapter 3: We’ve switched islands to the tiny Como Cocoa, a stone’s throw from one of Maldives’ surfing jewels, Kandooma. Cocoa is an island so small that you can kick a football across the middle of it…or a lilo circumnavigational will take you around half an hour. At low tide, a 500-metre sand spit emerges […]

In the Maldives, the working week is Sunday to Thursday, and Friday & Saturday is the weekend! The waves are still ripable here on Kandooma, and there is not much over head high (perfect for the tykes). Their surf season is May to September, which is good as it is the opposite of the general […]

Welcome back to the Maldives, chapter 2 of my overseas winter odyssey, where I am hunting warm water, waves, and idyllic beaches. After surfing left in the Mentawais for two weeks, it’s time to go right on one of the Maldivian jewels—Kandooma. I’ve been to the Maldives six times and have never scored decent waves […]

It’s rare for the ocean to go quiet here, especially in June (peak season), but it happens. Even when the waves go to sleep, you can still find these freak spots that draw everything from the ocean and still break over head high. The problem is that every camp, dug out, and charter joins the […]

Strangely, ‘The Boogeyman’ that monster who supposedly lives in children’s bedrooms, could have begun life as a pirate…a pirate from Indonesia! The Bugis are Indonesian people from Sulawesi who were bandits of the sea, feared by many along the spice routes in the 17th-19th centuries. So when you hear “Beware of The Boogeyman”, they could […]

The Indonesian archipelago of Mentawais (‘Ments’) consists of 70 islands, but four larger islands dominate the landscape. The wave-rich area lines the outside of Sumatra and cops the full brunt of swells from the south. June, July, and August are typically peak seasons with the biggest waves of the year, but so far, we’ve only […]

I know, I know, it’s been a while between posts. I’ve been on the move and migrated north to the warm oceans of Indonesia. They’ve had a great run of swell up here for the early season, and it’s been very well documented on socials. We’re a few days into our journey through the islands, […]

Oh wow, it was a cold morning (and still is). The wind chill was bringing it right down. As we approach winter solstice, the sun rises very late, I’m waiting around tapping my foot for most of the morning. Waves are bigger but not better. No one surfing Bondi says it all. Showers are due […]

It’s gone from a glorious winter sunny morning to cold and overcast. The wind has arrived and is letting rip in Sydney, circa 25-30 knots. Forecasts reveal a steep increase in swell, from 1ft to 8ft overnight. That is quite exciting. Everyone loves a big tanking swell. I saw heaps of whales splashing around just […]

It was a comedy of errors that made me miss a glorious Bondi sunrise today. I felt like a fumbling amateur getting to the beach 10-15mins late. Considering I’ve only done this approximately 6,000 times, you’d think I’d have this sunrise shooting thing on lock! Hahah. Sorry, tomorrow I’ll be up at 5 am, tripod […]

The swell just keeps giving, day in and day out. Today, there are high waves under partly cloudy skies. Light winds currently before a decent chunk of rain. A top of 18 degrees, cooler and typical of this time of year. Aquabumps is 25 years old this year and we’re in the process of rebranding, […]

After a very dark, cloudy morning, at around 7 a.m., we were blasted with red light rays – it was spectacular and unexpected. Light is everything, freshening up my regular subject – Bondi. Coincentently, the waves were cooking this morning. Multiple peaks hosted 3-4 footers at sunrise. Everyone was on for hump day, scores of […]

It’s incredible what a difference 24 hours makes in the ocean. Yesterday, it was unsurfable and thundering into the bay, bouncing off the back walls. Today, it’s completely dropped off and only 3 foot – how good! Nice clean offshores grooming the multiple Bondi peaks. Large crowds up early, tackling the cooler mornings. It will […]

It’s huge. I saw three surfers paddle out at North Bondi, weaving in between sets, to try to score a wave at South Bondi without success. There’s just so much going on out there, water moving everywhere you’d need a ski to fling you, I reckon. Wait for it to calm down. How big? Well, […]

It’s a very grey, dark, 1ft Bondi Friday—SO—I’ve chosen to show you some pics from the wave pool archives I shot a couple of weeks ago. I love that pool. It’s a fun machine, good times for everyone—kids, shredders, wives…hail rain or onshore, it’s on. Showers are coming today in Bondi, I am guessing around […]

It’s smaller, sunny, and crunchie. A shallow South Bondi was on the “mini tube” setting for tiny humans. The froth levels were high, as 25-35 kilo tykes dominated. Been outside, nice, isn’t it? Sydney at its best. It could hit 24 degrees today before going bad with rain, rain, rain and a whopping swell on […]

The swell has slipped a few gears, and the little tykes dominated the south peak. The low tides made it tricky, but the groms tucked in. It’s only 2-3 feet and clean at sunrise. It was a cold morning, with only 8 degrees on the mercury. The wind was particularly brutal, but the brine was […]

It’s pretty frustrating out there on the lower tides. Basically, you paddle into a set and pray it stays open for a bit before exploding on the shallow banks. It’s a board breaker and claimed Glynnie’s board before sunrise. It’s a shame, as it has all the ingredients of a cooking day: sun, swell, and […]

I copped a bit of a pounding at South Bondi earlier this morning. I guess I underestimated the sets as, at first glance, it looked reasonable. It’s very shallow, with a 5 am low tide and a lot of sand gathered at the South. Trying to slip under sets with a large camera and nowhere […]

The Goldie never fails to put on glorious weather and waves. It feels like summer up here; everyone’s in shorts and surfing in boardies. There’s been a healthy swell supply, and Snapper and D-bah have had plenty (plenty of crew too!) School and work seem to take a back seat when there are opportunities to […]

I’m just up the road at The Superbank, aka Coolie. This place is a mecca for surfers, a hive of talented wave riders who dominate every wave along the Gold Coast. Schools are out, and there are kids everywhere, as many are here to try their luck at the Australian Interschool Championships running over the […]

The talk of the morning around Bronte and Tamarama was a very large pod of Dolphins frolicking in the morning light. They were having a great time pleasing the morning walkers. Waves are bigger, messy and not ideal. Bondi looked junkie, and with cross-onshore forecast, I’d pass. Bronte has some lefts back into the corner, […]

It’s the first cold morning of the year as the mercury drops below 12 degrees. The strong southwesterly bites deep, especially when exiting the ocean in ya togs. There is a lot of swell with waves breaking well overhead high. The lineup was relatively empty, with just the Dutch Olympic Surf Team out and a […]

The Bondi SurfAid Cup is currently on down at Bondi, and there are plenty of waves and sunshine. There are few shots from the actual comp because I’m in it with the groms as their mascot. Thank you again so much for all your support and donations. The Aquabumps groms raised 9k for Surfaid, which […]

Our fantastic run of swell has come to an end, and today’s swell is smaller yet still surfable. Clean conditions at sunrise under very dark, cloudy skies. A massive pack of hungry 20-30 kilo groms out, feasting on anything moving into the bay. The little ones have such a good time in the water – […]

Autumn in Sydney never fails us, a constant supply of swell and some really curving water at South Bondi. Sets broke over head high, crowds were hungry and the water reasonably warm for this time of year. The day began dark under threatening dark skies, but at 9 a.m., it cleared for a glorious sunny […]

I found waves of the chlorinated variety this morning – yes – the long-awaited URBNSURF Sydney is now open at Homebush Olympic Park! Phoooar. Before URBN Sydney, I had never surfed a wave pool. They’re fascinating. You can’t stop hooting at iridescent blue nuggets pulsating from the top corner as you enter the gates. The […]

There’s a massive high-pressure system smothering Australia right now. I’m told it’s stubborn and won’t move on, blocking change (that sounds like my tykes). The pressure pushing down on the ocean is also creating very low tides. Weird huh? I won’t mind this rain period moving on, though… One of the benefits of the current […]

Nothing is worse than donning a wet wettie in the dark before sunrise. This persistent nemesis onshore rain pattern seems stuck over Sydney – and won’t push offshore. Nonetheless, there are plenty of waves this morning in the chest to occasionally head wide variety. Huge pack of groms up early, feasting before school. Currently, the wind is holding off […]

The onshore pattern continues today and will hang around for days to come. Earlier, the winds were light so that you could find the odd clean face; now it’s 11 knots onshore and probably a tad junkie. Waves broke around head high, few rip bowls littered up on the beach. Quiet morning at Bondi, the […]

The ark doors have flung open, and we now walk out into the sunshine, a little dazed and confused. What’s this? Clear skies? Nooooooway. For how long? Looking at the charts, it could turn any minute now, so enjoy a coffee outside. The southeast winds are howling 20-25 knots, and Bondi is a 4-6 foot bay of […]

Several times today, I thought there would be a break in the rain long enough to perform my morning rituals and capture Bondi Beach.  Yeahhh,Nahh. This damn rain just won’t let up! I thought we were out of Nino, Nina, and Nonna. Surely! We’ve been tossed into Winter (unwillingly), and I’m currently browsing airline websites looking for […]

Wasn’t that a relief, a morning of glorious sunshine after all the constant downpours in Sydney? The forecast is calling for another week or more of rain, so I really hope you got out, as it’s now raining again. Surprisingly, the waves were good, head high and clean. The junior Dutch surf team was out […]

People’s perception of Bondi is always postcard sunny skies, 3-footers (straight), large glamourous crowds, Bondi Rescue, outdoor gyms, and record-breakingly priced luxury apartments. Sometimes, not today. The grime is still in Scum Valley; we have stormy days, and waves are bigger in your bathtub. The beach was quiet as most started to retreat into the […]

I’m back in the hood and enjoying the glorious sunshine. Lap it up my friends, as starting tomorrow, the weather will decline into showers, and from Friday onwards, it will be super wet! A pink hue surrounded Ben Buckler’s pre-rise as unsurfable 1-2 footers shut down—straight as a ruler. Several people tried to negotiate the […]

We’ve arrived at the Noonu Atoll, Maldives, searching for the bluest water on the planet. We’re on the island of Medhufaru where Soneva Jani lies. It’s a dreamy, idyllic place where two long jetties into a giant lagoon connect your room to the land. It’s like living on a boat; everywhere you look, there is […]