Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Dad - You'd Love it Here

My dad likes to swim - but only in the sea, he's not a big fan of swimming pools. And he especially likes swimming off rocks rather than beaches. The problem is that these days some of his favourite places are less accessible to him (one bionic hip down, perhaps one to go?)


Well Dad, you have to check out Bondi and the other little beaches that are dotted southward from the mouth of Sydney Harbour, and open onto the Pacific (OK - it's the Tasman Sea, but to an Irishman, that's the Pacific). On almost every beach, Bronte, Coogee, possibly Maroubra, Bondi itself, there is a saltwater pool, filled by the tide with seawater. During high tide, waves break over the thick walls of the pool, creating sea-swells for the swimmers. At lower tides, the surface of these pools are smooth and calm, independent of the waves around.


Access is a piece of cake (or more accurately a slice of toasted banana bread - seems to be the local favourite), so it offers the best of both worlds: saltwater waves, with steps.


Other the the 10,000 airmiles it took us to get here, it's the ideal spot for you Dad. The girls and I are swimming a few lengths on your behalf.


Bondi



Wylies Baths, Coogee

1 comment:

Simon Moore said...

when i first read this entry i thought it was one of the kids writing about their father.

And then the scales fell from my eyes as it dawned on me that exercise, of the open water variety or otherwise, is certainly something i have never known the blog owner to admit to being partial to.