Australia Beach

Swimming, surfing or sun baking, Australia beaches have the lot

Australia beaches are some of the most enjoyable in the world. Where other parts of the world, such as England, suffer so-called "beaches" covered in pebbles or gravel. Yuk! Australia beaches have great weather, and usually have fine yellow or white sand. Just great for getting in between your toes!

The best-known Australian beach in Sydney would be Bondi Beach, which is a half hour bus ride from the city.

Another great Australia beach is Manly, which is a half-hour ferry ride across Sydney Harbour from Circular Quay.

Of course, there are scores of other great Australia beaches in the Sydney area which you can reach by bus or ferry.

Coogee, Bronte and Cronulla are all Australian beach suburbs along the 'Eastern Beaches' area of Sydney. They are quieter and less well-known than Bondi - but they are great places to swim, surf or to just laze about 'catching the rays'.

The Aussie sun can be really fierce, and even on cloudy days our high ultra-violet radiation can cause very bad sunburn - and it increases the risk of skin cancer years in the future. I know when you're young the future seems forever away, but our rates of skin cancers is very, very high.

So be very cautious when sunbathing here. Do use a high rating sun-blocking cream or suntan oil, and don't forget to wear a hat and use sunnies (sun-glasses) while you're out and about in the open air.

And when you expand outwards from there and go north or south along the east coast of Australia, the number of great Aussie beaches becomes almost as large as the grains of sand...

Just remember, if the Australia beach you are at is patrolled by Surf Life Savers, they will place two red and yellow flags on poles in the sand. The Life savers will have checked out the beach - they do this several times each day - and then they mark out the safest area for you, away from any rip-tide currents.

It is important that you swim only between the flags. This is the safe area on any Australia Beach, watched over mostly by volunteer (unpaid) Life Guards. These super-fit athletes are trained to do Surf Rescue and Emergency First Aid.

The Surf Life-Savers also keep an eye out for sharks (a pretty rare occurrence) and stinging jellyfish. They will raise the alarm, ring bells and call swimmers out of the water if it becomes dangerous.

Lastly, don't leave your valuables on the beach to get stolen. Many people leave their wallet or keys in their shoes or covered by a towel when they go into the water. There are many thieves about, and the police do their best but cannot catch them all. Leave your valuables with a friend guarding them, or back at your hotel, in the hotel safe.