Every year on Australia Day, Sydney’s incredible beaches come alive for some of the best beach parties of the year. Some of them get shut down before they get started, but if you’re lucky enough be at one that kicks on until the sun goes down, it’s nothing but good times. With a massive swell cancelling our first stop and police closing off Vaucluse’s most infamous party beach, our Australia Day got off to a rocky start.
We’d planned on starting the day down at Bondi Beach for the Havaiana’s Thong Challenge. None of us had done it before so we were pretty pumped – but the weather had other plans. A huge swell came in that morning forcing the inflatable race to get called off. It was raining, it was cold and the vibe was down. We grabbed our Havaiana inflatables, had a swim and went back to my place to regroup.
Our good friend Tess from Ames Collective was in town from the Gold Coast and we wanted to show her Sydney’s famous harbour beach parties. So we prepped some coconuts with a splash of Sailor Jerry rum and fresh lime, pumped up the Giant Swan and freaked the neighbours out as we lowered it off the balcony past their windows.
We did reccy of Milk Beach – the police had the entrance blocked – the only way in was via boat or jumping a fence. It was way too much effort for a public holiday so we decided to hit up the inflatable party at Rose Bay Beach instead. After a quick skate down at Watsons Bay, we cruised through the suburbs with the Giant Swan on the roof and the Triple J Hottest 100 pumping.
Rose Bay Beach was in full party mode when we got there with every kind of inflatable imaginable floating across the harbour. There were parties on nearby boats, on the sand and in the houses and apartments surrounding the usually quiet harbour beach. We floated and mingled until the sun went down, and then headed down to Bondi for dinner and drinks at Mamasan. It was the perfect end to an imperfect day.
A MASSIVE thanks to Hyundai for loaning us an incredible ix35 to transport our beach party toys around. When I realised we needed something bigger than my tiny hatchback, Hyundai were my first choice. I worked on the brand as a junior copywriter in my very first agency job almost 10 years ago. The agency was given a bunch of Hyundai’s to drive around in and I was lucky enough to snag the Tuscon for a week – that’s where my love of Hyundai’s SUVs begun. Giving the ix35 back at the end of the weekend hurt bad – I’d gotten super used to the rear camera, leather seats, epic sound system and the ability to fit all my buddies and our gear comfortably. If you’re in the market for an SUV, make sure you check out the Hyundai ix35 – it’s a dream to drive.
(AUSTRALIA DAY VIDEO COMING SOON!)
Photography by Michaela Skovranova and Scott Portelli.
LAURA: Ames Collective custom ‘This Island Life’ soul deck (exclusive collab coming soon), Watson X Watson ‘String Bikini’ and ‘Ricky Shirt’ in leopard (similar), Ksubi Albuquerque cut offs in ‘hayday mayday’, Pared ‘Salt and Pepper’ pink mirror sunglasses, Tiffany & Co letter necklace, assortment of rings, bangles and bracelets from all over the world.
TESS: Ames Collective ‘Coconut Dream’ soul deck, Jets bandeau bikini top and gather bikini bottoms in ‘Iridescent’, First Base ‘Classic Men’s Shirt’,
My kind of party…reminds me of Bermuda & our Non-Mariners in August!