Saturday, May 05, 2007

Toowoon Bay clean winner

This photo was taken this morning, just a few hours ago. Magic moment: not an ounce of breeze, sea so calm it would drive a surfer nuts, and water still warm - summer isn't that far behind us.
This beach, Toowoon Bay north of Sydney, has just been named Australia's cleanest beach in the annual 2007 Keep Australia Beautiful awards. With a new modern and eco-friendly surf club, clean amenities, ample parking, mitilingual signs, a pleasant park offering playground and great picnic and barbecue facilities, Toowoon Bay performed well across all the award criteria. But on this saturday morning, fame hasn't affected my local beach, which remains delightfully quiet. Have a good weekend everyone.

Cette photo a été prise ce matin, il y a quelques heures à peine. Moment magique : pas un souffle de vent, une mer plate à désespérer un surfeur, et une eau encore chaude - l'été n'est pas encore bien loin derrière nous.
Cette plage, Toowoon Bay au nord de Sydney, vient de remporter le titre annuel de plage la plus propre d'Australie décerné par le label 'Keep Australia Clean'. Avec un tout nouveau surf club respectueux de l'environnement, des toilettes et des douches impeccables, des panneaux multilingues, un grand parking, un parc offrant des jeux pour enfants, des tables de pique-nique et des barbecues électriques, Toowoon Bay a marqué des points sur l'ensemble des critères du label. Mais en ce samedi matin, la célébrité n'a pas encore affecté ma plage locale, qui reste délicieusement tranquille. Bon week-end à tous.

18 comments:

Pod said...

such a beaut day hey? sorry for being slack. we must have a cuppa soon! x

Gregory Sey said...

Encore un endroit de rêve!

Dina said...

that is a great shot!! I love sitting down on the beach .... relaxing kids playing talking to a friend oohhhhh summer is on its way here..

Pod said...

oh ye of little faith!! i shall email this week...mark my words, else my botty is yours to smack!
;0p

Kala said...

beautiful beach and the award speaks for itself - the locale of our islands in the middle of the Pacific catches alot of ocean rubbish from California and Japan. It takes a lot of human effort to keeping the beaches as clean as this!

Icarus said...

This immediately reminded me of a beach just over on the Spanish side of the frontier with Portugal in the South, Isla de Canela. It is that gentle curve.
Isn't it magic to have local beaches like this? Excellent for the emotional & physical health, particularly when they are empty...

Dsole said...

wow, I wish we had a beach in Madrid too... Have a great day there! :)

M.Benaut said...

Toowoon Beach surely epitomizes Australian beach culture. Nice shot. Perhaps you may care for a small smile, n'est-ce pas?

Jean-Marie, Ségolène et le petit Nicolas sont aux portes du Paradis.
Et Dieu les interroge:
"Que croyez-vous?"
Je crois, dit Jean-Marie, que la France sera sauvée!
Bien, dit le Tout Puissant,assieds-toi à Ma Droite, Jean-Marie!
Et toi, Ségolène, que crois-tu?
Moi, je crois tout ce que Vous voulez, du moment que Vous votez pour Moi!
Viens, Ségolène, assieds-toi à Ma Gauche!
Et toi, Mon petit Nicolas, que crois-tu?
Excusez-moi, mais je crois que vous êtes assis à ma place!

Anonymous said...

It is a really spell-binding scene and tranquil too.

And thank you for visiting my blog.

The price of gasoline went from $2.95 for a US Gallon to $3.19 yesteday. It is a guess what it will cost today.

Sally said...

We are so lucky being able to have such natural beauty on a daily basis. Thanks to your photo it can't be taken for granted.

Unknown said...

Quelle belle plage et quelle chance d'être juste à coté ;-)

Nathalie H.D. said...

We are incredibly lucky here that apart from heavy loads of seaweed after big storms, very little rubbish gets washed ashore coming from across the ocean. Australian beach are naturally clean.

The people frequenting the beach do leave a fair bit of rubbish behind them though (essentially in the form of empty take-away food and drink containers)and it takes some concerted effort to clean behind them.

Felicia said...

It is a challenge for everyone to keep our earth clean. What struck me about your photos is that the air, water, and beach look clean & pristine!

Sab said...

You're trying to make us jealous, huh? Or trying to forget you're not in Paris to 'enjoy' the craziness of the French presidential election?

It's all happening today and we're all waiting for 8 pm when we'll know the result - exciting, although unfortunately a poor Brit can't vote, even after 13 years in France.

pusa said...

wish i were there so i can swim in your beautiful beach

Deb said...

Nathalie it seems like forever since I last visited your site! Thanks for dropping in on Minneapolis recently...I really miss visiting everyone's site on a daily basis...but now there are just sooooooo many!
This beach is just 'beautiful', and you caught the photo at the perfect light!

Marguerite said...

J'adore tout simplement cette photo pour la frange de sable humide...
Elle me fait rêver cette frange mi-mer / mi-terre...

hpy said...

Ah que j'aiemerais m'y promener...