You can try to avoid the sharks and stingrays by staying out of the water, but that does not mean that the sea can’t find a way to get you.

My dad and stepmom arrived in Sydney yesterday for a visit. We drove them around Sydney a bit yesterday and we planned our Monday. One of my favourite things to do in Sydney is the Coastal Walk from Bondi to Coogee and when I suggested we do that they were up for it. So Monday was a go. I got up this morning, checked my email, had a quick look at the news and noticed a tsunami warning for northern Queensland due to an earthquake off the coast of the Solomon Islands. I didn’t really give the story much thought as I rushed out of the house to pick up the ‘rents.

An hour and a half later found the three of us arrving at Bondi…a very empty Bondi. I’d never seen the beach so empty (bar a visit on a grey September day). As we got closer to the beach we noticed a crowd sitting on the steps, a Channel 7 news van, and a number of cameramen. We wondered what the hell was going on as I still hadn’t pieced it all together. It wasn’t until I saw some crazy dude standing in front of a videocamera holding a sign with the word ‘tsunami’ on it that it clicked: the tsunami warning now included Sydney.

Sydney’s beaches were subject to a voluntary evacuation which meant no lifeguards. Surfers, however, were loving it; an empty beach and the potential for some abnormally large waves meant that today was a great day to be in the water. Of course, the sea swell from the ‘tsunami’ amounted to a ten centimetre sea rise (how would they even notice that?) but it did make for a slightly more interesting day on the Coastal Walk. We just kept our eyes on the ships on the horizon to make sure that ten centimetre swell didn’t drag us out to sea.

On a sidenote, the Coogee Bay Hotel kicks ass.

Photo from here.