Travel to Sydney

Australia, the world’s largest island, has some of the best surfing beaches to be found anywhere. Here, visiting the beach is as much a social experience as an opportunity for relaxation and water sports, since the beach is integral to Australian culture. While there will always be disagreement over which of the thousands of beaches are the best, the following selection represents a variety of urban and regional surf beaches that are popular with both surfers and those looking for a fun day on the beach.

Noosa Heads, in Queensland, is one of Australia’s best family beaches. Facing north, it is more like an ocean cul-de-sac, with generally gentler surf conditions than might be found on the more open beaches. Just behind the beach is the famous Hastings Street shopping strip. High fashion boutiques, art galleries, and trendy restaurants run along its shopper-friendly pavements, shaded by lush, leafy trees.

The Gold Coast’s Burleigh Heads is famous for its pine tree backdrop and great point break surf. The famous Burleigh Barrel, a power-packed tube loved by all surfers is driven by solid swells and prevailing SE winds. Burleigh’s shopping precinct just off the beach is a quiet and eclectic collection of shops and cafes.

Byron Bay, in northern New South Wales, is considered Australia’s alternative lifestyle capital. The trendy town centre, boasting top-quality eateries and pubs, is fronted by a superb beach. The lack of high-rise development adds to the clean, laid-back appeal of this pristine location. Close to the beach strip are subtropical rainforests and national parks that you can easily visit.

On Sydney’s northern coastline, Palm Beach is noted as a residential suburb for the wealthy as much as for its surf beach. Situated on a peninsula, the beach has stunning Pacific Ocean front expanses with a variety of swells, and there are gentler waters on the west of the peninsular at Pittwater. Surrounding bushland adds to the feeling of genteel serenity.

Australia’s most famous beach, Sydney’s Bondi Beach, is where Australian beach culture originated. This stunning beach, bounded by rocky points at either end, abuts a vast promenade with a distinctively old world charm. Its wide stretch of sand is dominated by the grand old Bondi Pavilion, built in 1928. Campbell Parade, running parallel to the beach, is a people watcher’s delight.

Two hours’ drive south of Sydney is Kiama, where the beautiful Surf Beach offers a deep beachfront of pure white sand, gentle incoming waves, and an open park with cooking facilities and picnic areas. The beach is popular with families, and many visitors come to view the breath-taking Kiama Blowhole nearby.

At Portsea, in Victoria, Melbourne’s wealthy come to retire for a summer respite. Set on the western-most point of the sweeping Mornington Peninsula, Portsea boasts a fascinating, rugged ocean front beach as well as a quieter bay beach nearby. Stark rock formations, shaped by the area’s often savage winds, feature prominently around the beach landscapes. The tiny village has a feel of understated exclusivity.

Many would claim Bells Beach as Australia’s best board surfing beach. Located 100 km south west of Melbourne along the majestic Great Ocean Road, Bells is a largely untouched ocean beach with almost never-ending swells undulating across deep blue water. The beach ends abruptly with soaring cliffs of yellow and orange clay. Designated a state reserve, its unspoiled status is assured.

Margaret River, in Australia’s south west, is virtually unrivalled for the quality of its waves. The clear, open water swells and forms some of the world’s best and most consistent board and body catches. Dazzling views across the mighty river and its mouth as it spills into the Indian Ocean are plentiful. Margaret River township is a mellow precinct dotted with great cafes and art galleries.

Perth’s Cottesloe Beach is understandably that city’s pride and joy. The now ritzy suburb, just outside Perth CBD, affords unbeatable views across the ocean to gorgeous Rottnest Island. The westerly-facing beach, part of a long strip, is a fantastic place to watch the sun set on another day. The stately old surf club and restaurant provides a regal focal point.

Today the Harbour Bridge has many uses. Firstly and probably primarily it is a major road between the northern suburbs, populations of Sydney and the Sydney Central Business District. There are six right lanes, three to four lanes either way of thick traffic, particularly during peak hour it could get very congested. So it is a big thing the fact that there is traffic there. There is also a train line that goes each way across it for the same kind of thing.

There's also a pedestrian access on the eastern side, you can actually walk by pedestrian access and we'll talk a little bit about that in a minute, about how you can do that. Hundreds of commuters actually walk across Harbour Bridge to get to and from the city to go to work everyday. So this is a serious pedestrian thoroughfare to get from the north side down to the south. Interestingly enough, also there's every year in Sydney they have a running event, a marathon running event called The Bridge Run or The Bridge Marathon. What this is, is as the name implies it is a running event of varying lengths, but a key focus of the running event is actually running across the Harbor Bridge.

I have participated in this and it is fantastic event and it really is something, and they close up all the traffic obviously. And as far as the eye can see, thousands of people running across that Bridge embarking on their marathon or half-marathon or fun-run, varying distances are available. So that is another use, and that is really only once or twice a year that they run those runs and it causes a lot of problems for the traffic, because you have to re-route it in different ways. But it is one of the ways, that Sydney siders use their bridge, it affords magnificent views as well.

When you are actually on the bridge walking across it, beautiful views of the Harbour and the foreshores by following the northern or the southern side is pretty good. Another big one which you have probably seen on television is New Year's Eve. Now what Sydney has done in every since well it will be many years now, since well before 2000, is that the Harbor Bridge itself because it so such a public high icon, thousands and thousands of fireworks are actually fired from there at midnight on New Year's Eve. It's a focal point there, it is zoomed all across the world and very much from Sydney, at midnight everyone knows to look to the Harbor for the fireworks that run 15 to 20 minutes. And really is a New Year's Eve spectacle.