Il Defino 7:32 AM (11 hours ago)
We didn’t exactly nail the timing on a north coast road trip to visit the coastal town of Yamba. Whilst the weather has been tricky and the surf unworkable, it was nice to see Byron’s quieter cousin, a town based on the Clarence River.
Yamba’s got that unpolished charm, a pub with a view, a short main drag close to empty beaches and an unhurried vibe. It’s a really great ‘Aussie’ beach town, popular in the holiday season.
It is surprising to find Il Defino, a tiny 5-room boutique Seaside Inn inspired by Italian timeless styling. If you woke from a deep slumber, you might think you’re in Positano or Capri, for a second.
All the recent cyclone action has also affected the beaches here. Sand seems to be missing on most beaches, the ocean pool shut and constant onshore flow seem to put the junk on the bump. Angourie, a surfing reserve was even suffering a little. Maybe Friday’s enormous new swell will shake things up? Hope so.
The Bondi Aquabumps Gallery Easter hours are:
Good Friday – Shut
Easter Saturday – 10am to 6pm
Easter Sunday – Shut
Easter Monday – 11am to 5pm
My family and I are incredibly humbled to be awarded SurfAid’s Humanitarian of the Year 2025. This is a true honour after 20 years of being associated with Surfaid. Remember that the Bondi SurfAid Cup is on soon, and we’re starting to raise donations, which is our one time of the year. Can you help us out?
Alla spiaggia! (‘to the beach’)
:: uge
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Dip, Click, Repeat 9 Apr 4:13 PM (7 days ago)
Half-asleep and half-hoping for a few little peelers, I rolled down to South Bondaka for a swim in the bathlike conditions. The tide was high, and the waves were fat – but it was a fruitful hour of shooting in golden light.
The shorey was chest high and really the only surfable option, kinda unrideable from out the back. Mid, or mid-low should be appealing.
The swell machine is easing, and it will be tiny by nightfall. I’d still swim, as this time of year is just too good.
With Mother’s Day approaching, I’d suggest gifting her our 25-year anniversary book…and if instructed in your order, I’ll scribble something on the inside cover for ya mum – ’cause she’s the best! Order online (leave special comments e.g. Mums name, etc etc)
Adios!
Ugios
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Bondi Bowlo 8 Apr 3:36 PM (8 days ago)
The conditions aligned for Australia’s most hectic beach. Bowls in the south turned on with the right tidal and rip mix. It’s head high+, busy and clean at sunrise. It seems we’ve got a new south swell feeding directly into the bay.
The new bank set up seems fickle on the tide, too high and it’s a blob, too low and it’s a quarter of the size. Choose your moments!
The swell will decline for the rest of the week. Grey morning with showers last night. This afternoon should be sunnier.
Enjoy.
:: uge
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Clocked out 6 Apr 5:40 PM (10 days ago)
Daylight saving has officially ended, and we’ll have more light in the mornings. Combine this with some fantastic head-high waves and clean grooming offshores, and you get most of the 2.5 million Australian surfers paddling out at Bondi!
$10 bucks says you can’t get a wave on your own today! Between 6am to 7am Bondi was hectic – it takes the right mindset to surf this beach on these days, and a lotta patience, resilience & restraint!
With 27 degrees of Autumn bliss and the possibility of showers tomorrow, I recommend getting down to the beach for a walk, surf, swim, or run. It’s just so damn nice.
:: uge
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Friday Shindigs 3 Apr 3:07 PM (13 days ago)
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). The vibe is very high on Fridays!
As the swell retreats, it’s now 3-4 feet at Bondi, much more manageable than the rest of this week. What an incredible week of swell, much bigger than most anticipated.
D I O N.
Tomorrow, Saturday from 6 a.m., at South Bondi (the big man’s favourite spot on Bondi), we’ll say goodbye to our beloved mate Dion Horstmans with his memorial service. The paddle will be held at sunrise (6:30am). All welcome. More info
:: uge
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Thumping Sets 2 Apr 6:33 PM (14 days ago)
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 Suburbs.
While today’s swell is smaller, the swell machine isn’t giving up. This morning, there were 4-6 footers from an unlying ground swell. The weather is nothing short of magnificent. Go outside—it’s salubrious!
For the people who like data:
27 degrees
Offshore 7 knots of NW
High tide 1:30pm
Avagoodoney’all:: uge
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Neptune’s Fury 1 Apr 6:11 PM (15 days ago)
It’s no secret that our coastline is being battered by an enormous rogue swell. Although it’s smaller than the peak last night, it remains seriously chunky. I’m calling 5.5-metre waves from this South Easterly swell.
Remarkably, it’s clean offshore, so somewhere other than Bondi would be completely cranking. Bondi is tidak bagus in giant swell. All we have is a weird point break when it’s big, Ben Buckler, where you can surf giant foaming pillows. Once you’ve caught one of two, the novelty wears off, and you’ll seek more excitement.
Key big swell news:
- The iceberg’s water tank has broken loose and sits at South Bondi on the shore. This isn’t the first time this tank ended up here. Check out this post from 2016, where a mega swell did the same thing but bent all the steel bars at Icebergs.
- Last night, waves broke through all the glass at the lower levels of Icebergs. That’s a first for me.
- I witnessed swells bending the steel bars of Bronte Pool – see my Instagram stories.
- Apparently, all the brick pavement in front of Bronte SLSC has been ripped up.
- Deadmans is on. Just watching any social media, and you’ll see people getting shacked.
- For the next 4 days, it’s going to be firing but still solid (beginners and newbies chill for a bit)
Ok, have a good day, uge
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Truly Unruly 31 Mar 5:11 PM (16 days ago)
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.
Tomorrow it starts to ease, but will still be triple head high…so be patient, wait it out, head to Manly or something with serious protection for the south.
:: uge
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March in Review 27 Mar 4:58 PM (20 days ago)
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 cracker sunrises and beach days.
Tomorrow is gonna be wet, a day inside – maybe 60mm.
The Manly Inflatable Boat race is on this Sunday. A quirky event held on the north side, grab your rubber ducky and head out.
We all miss Big Dion Horstmans, on Saturday April 5th from 6:00am at South Bondi his memorial service will be held. From 6am a gathering in silence, 6:30am ceremony followed by a community paddle out/swim. All welcome to say goodbye to the local legend. More info
:: uge
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Salty Bathtub 26 Mar 3:17 PM (21 days ago)
I ventured south to Bronte Pool—AKA Icebergs-Lite—to mix things up. There’s always a lot going on down there, as well. The pool was full, and lots of people were up early chasing those elusive sunrise spectacles that have graced our horizons lately—unfortunately, it was a bit of a fizzer.
We’ve still got a massive period south swell in town, which basically means LOOOOONG gaps between waves, and you might even mistake it for flat…it’s not. When they broke there was the odd 3 footer….
It’s raining now as I type. It could get wet today, tomorrow and Saturday.
There’s a massive swell arriving Monday, and here come winter swells. Hooray!
:: uge
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