Bondi Beach - Icon whether you like it or not!

Now apologies for this being the day after the day after Today in Sydney...

I thought this was going to be soooooooo easy. Just a note to my self - it's not! It doesn't allow for being ill with the flu, unless I write about that or being flat after a night out.

So this is actually what happened after the morning walk I did the other day.

I went to Bondi Beach; North Bondi to be specific.

It's where the most beautiful bodies hang out - it's right in front of the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club rooms - a surfing school is there and also an out door gym where you can train using your own body weight.

On the weekends it's where a pretty large gay crowd hang out but generally it's where if you train hard at the gym or like to look after your body, you're a surf life saver (they are normally working or training), or just like to pose or perve - you go to hang out and see and be seen.

Bondi has been called an Icon and the thing about Icons is they always have so many expectations foisted on them that it's hard to live up to all of them for every body.

For me Bondi has always been fantastic and worth it's Icon status.

I have had people usually complain about Bondi being scruffy or too large and impersonal, too commercial or just a messy mish mash of shops and bars - all of these have roots in some small truth. But if you ask the locals they love it. It has it's own vibe because it mixes the super rich with the unemployed, the glamorous gay boys with the average family, the surfies with the back-packers and people of all races and nationalities. It's a melting pot of different ingredients with a common love of the beach.

The beach itself is truly spectacular. It's huge for a start and has soft white sand that rolls into the ocean and the sand doesn't end at the high tide point. It's gentle enough to do your 'surf-life saver run and dive' without ripping your feet apart when you hit the water mark.

This is important if you like walking into or running into the water - so many other beaches around the world end up making you walk like some bizarre insect just to get into the water - the rocks always seem to start at the water's edge. And if they are sharp rocks it's even worse.

Bondi is an enormous back-drop for people to train on or beside - soft sand running is incredibly popular because the beach is about a kilometer long and there are skating ramps and a promenade in front of the beach where people walk or jog or rollerblade along.

It's also a great place to come and hang out, meet up with friends and lie in the sun.

My friends, Jonathon and Philip...

Looking down my feet toward the sea - not many people at all!

Two of my best friends Kieren and Jonathon and I met up there. I bought a steak-sandwich from the Hobbit's Cafe and Take-away (North Bondi's greatest burgers and fries- with great, friendly service) and then sat on the beach watching the passing parade of fantastic bodies.

Then after a decent amount of time, we all went and body-surfed.

Oh, did I mention Bondi has some great waves for surfing and body-surfing? Well it does.

Proper surfers surf down at South Bondi while body surfers reign at North and in the main body of the beach. We all just hang around in the water waiting for perfect waves - it's awesome!

Today the water was crystal clear. There weren't any strong rips on the beach - that's where there are sections where the tidal current is strongest and can drag you out into the bay.

If you swim between the yellow and red flags, not only have the surf life-savers made sure there are no rips there but also that section is patrolled by them to. The surf life-savers are some of the most respected people in Australian society - most of them are unpaid and voluteer their time to look out for everyone else. Remind me to get a photo... too just so you get the idea...

that was 'Today in Sydney'.