AUSTRALIA: Australians celebrate Christmas the old fashioned way - going to the beach

Australians spent Christmas on the beach on Monday (December 25, 2006), surfing and having fun in the sun. Bikini clad backpackers flocked to Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach wearing santa hats in the festive spirit. Some even brought their own christmas trees. Backpacker Matthew Chadwick said he enjoyed the sunny christmas, unlike his traditional christmas in his England home. "Yeah it's amazing, one of the most amazing Christmases ever actually. It's sunny and I'm from England so it's sunny, and sunny is always awesome," he said. Surfers also donned the santa hats, skillfully keeping them intact despite the strong surf. Beach-goers managed to have a good time, despite the zero tolerance bans on alcohol at the beach for the day. Lifeguards took a break from patrol to enjoy a game of beach cricket, even becoming acrobatic when diving for high shots in the sand. In a long-held tradition, the members of the Clovelly Beach Lifesaving Club held an egg-collecting competition in the bay. After dyeing the water bright green with non-toxic food dye, eggs were thrown into the water. As the call was given for the race to begin, the children raced in the water to collect their eggs. Two contestants, brother and sister Jess and Alex Innis, said they couldn't believe how green the water was. "It was great it was fun....Really interesting having the dye in the water...Yeah it was the first time we'd done it, I can imagine how they got the water so green," they said. At the end of the race the children exchanged their eggs for Christmas puddings which proved to be well-earned tasty treats.

ITN Source | December 28, 2006

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