I don’t like groundhogs. They eat my garden, they taste like hell, and they remind us we have plenty of winter left. Groundhog day means nothing more than low Vitamin D, dry skin, short days, and no good 2017 snow whatsoever. What to do? Where to go?
The answer ended up being a long weekend at Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia – a bit outside of Sydney.

How perfect:
- Southern hemisphere means middle of summer in February
- Daily highs around 80F; Lows each night never below 66F
- Clean, sandy beach
- Beautiful people with accents that make you automatically like them
- Healthy in-season food prepared with care
- Fourteen hours of pre and post meditation on a plane to let it all go (westbound) and reflect on feeling total relaxation (eastbound)
Qantas is the way to go. Get some AA points early on (codeshare).
The beach and surroundings are gorgeous.
Equally wonderful is the Australian approach to beach food, which no doubt is a major reason why every single person in Australia looks beautiful.
Hungry? This is their takeout turkey sandwich combo meal at the beach.
Notice the sandwich has more wonderful crisp vegetables on it than meat (as it should). Notice instead of fries you get two fruits, and instead of soda you get pineapple-passion juice and Sauvignon Blanc. It worked.
Another day I got fish, chips, and salad from the beach stand. Delicious. The fish is so good it stands alone without that thick batter-coat.
Alcohol break? Can’t decide between Ginger beer or Bundy (rum) and Coke in an ice cold glass? Get both!
If you do decide to go for a long weekend, remember three things:
- Different hemisphere means opposite seasons. Our winter is in-season.
- Do not step into a street without looking in every single possible direction (because you will never make it reflexive in a mere 3 days).
- US Citizens need a passport and a kind of eVisa called an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to go. Though that still may not get you in……oh wait.
Whoa! That looks great, Paul.
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