Two lovely days by the sea! Yesterday, we set off for a bushwalk in the Royal National Park but our plans were thwarted because the paths are still closed due to bushfire risk. So we drove to Garie Bay – a small beach on the edge of the park which few people visit, as you can only access it by one small road. The waves were enormous – some of them must have been about ten feet high, and they were fascinating to watch. What I loved watching was the tipping point, as the wave curled and then rolled over. We took some photos but I’m not sure they quite capture the size!
Today we did a coast walk from Austinmer to Wonoona – across thirteen beaches. Because it was low tide, we were able to do almost all of it on the beach itself, by clambering over rocks at each of the headlands marking each beach. I did most of it in the water, sploshing through waves as they broke on the beach. Fantastic! Grandad plodded along on the sand with his shoes and socks on! Until on beach 12 out of 13, he decided to take the plunge. Or perhaps not so much a plunge, but a dabble! See what you think!
Nana Down Under 
Are there many surfers with wetsuits on or just shorts and rash vest ? Are the beaches patrolled by lifeguards keen to have a go at a 10foot wave however gaining about 5 stone and about 4 years since I last surfed gives a 50/50 survival rate
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These were the biggest waves we’ve seen – the ones at Wollongong have been smaller (and of course a lot depends on the wind direction). All the main beaches are lifeguarded between the yellow flags: it’s made us chuckle to see how small the lifeguarded area is, but I guess there’s a limit to how much they can watch! We’ve seen no lifeguard action so far, other than megaphone warnings – we keep waiting for, ‘Please leave the ocean – there is a shark right behind you!’ But the most exciting so far has been, ‘Please take your dog off the beach.’ Most people just wear shorts and a rash vest. To be honest, we’ve seen very few successful surfers, and hundreds of people either swimming through waves with their surfboard, or being wiped out the minute they stand up.
Perhaps you should start with the bodyboarding -and there’s still 5 weeks til you come. You could lose a stone a week!
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Today is the first day of summer so there’s a lot of time for the water to warm up. After all, it’s only 19c at the moment (air temperature varies daily but 33c has been the hottest and 20c the coolest).
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