There are few things worth waking up at the ungodly hour of 5 am.
Flights, for sure. To watch an Olympic final, absolutely.
A large plate of bacon? Definitely.
And especially for me: catching the sunrise in a foreign city. It’s a risky wager; I once spent two hours traveling and sitting in wait to catch a sunrise in Bali, only to have it totally rained out — but I figured Australia in the summertime was likely to deliver.
Which is how I found myself dragging my sleepy head out of bed on my last morning in Australia to see the famous Bondi Beach at sunrise. For anyone debating if it’s worth the early wake-up call (spoiler alert: it is), let me break it down for you:
5:30 AM: Arrive at Bondi Beach. (Takes all of twenty seconds, seeing as our airbnb is across the street.) “LOOK HOW EMPTY IT IS! OOH PRETTY COLORS!” I suddenly have the vocabulary of a four-year-old.
5:37 AM: Jump around. Jump around. Jump up, jump up, and get down.
5:42 AM: The sky grows a gorgeous pink; a few other sunrise fans arrive. One guy in the distance brings a radio-controlled surfer, which will bring endless joy for the rest of the morning.
5:53 AM: Hark! A sun!
Watch said sun rise while sitting on the beach in near-total silence. There’s no one else around, really; just the low roar of waves crashing and breaking.
5:56 AM: The sun is fully over the horizon. Three minutes was all it took — that star does not dawdle.
6:05 AM: Bondi Beach sunrise: complete. As golden hour peaks, the surfers begin to arrive.
6:13 AM: Surfer toy dude is catching some serious waves.
6:18 AM: …It’s getting pretty warm.
6:21 AM: We’re probably going to start burning any minute now.
6:24: We’ve been out here for an hour. You athletic folk enjoy having Bondi all to yourselves! This was totally worth it, but now we need a nap. And then maybe to find some bacon.
Anyone else enjoy waking up ridiculously early to catch sunrise?
16 Comments
ChinaMatt
April 29, 2015 at 02:43I haven’t been awake for many sunrises while traveling and I’ve had mixed experiences–it was disappointing at Angkor Wat, but beautiful over Perugia (of course that was when I was working from 2am to noon, so doesn’t count as waking up). Maybe I’ll try to find a good spot for it in Taipei.
edna
May 8, 2015 at 08:47I imagine it’d be pretty if you can get a good shot with Taipei 101…
Felicity
April 29, 2015 at 16:26Man makes me want to go back to those summer days…
edna
May 8, 2015 at 08:54At least summer is coming on the West Coast soon?
Mari
April 29, 2015 at 16:59I love sunrises! Beautiful.
edna
May 8, 2015 at 09:00Thanks Mari!
Heather
April 30, 2015 at 09:08I wouldn’t say I enjoy waking up early to catch a sunrise, but I do enjoy those rare moments when I do happen to catch one. I wish I were a morning person, but I’m not. Thankfully the sun rises super late during Northern European winters so I managed to see a few this year :-)
edna
May 8, 2015 at 09:02I know what you mean, I got some great sunrise shots at 9 am in Paris during the winter!
Sara @ Simply Sara Travel
April 30, 2015 at 14:33Gorgeous, gorgeous photos! I’m with you – getting up that early is not easy, but sometimes the prospect of a sunrise helps lure me out early in the morning! Thankfully for people like us, there are sunsets too so we don’t have to miss out altogether on pretty skies :-)
edna
May 8, 2015 at 09:23Yes! And it helps when you’re able to take a nap after — I can’t catch sunrises on work days!
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence)
May 1, 2015 at 17:38Alas, I’ve yet to wake up early for a sunrise and have it be worth the agony! Tony & I just uniformly have the worst luck when it comes to all things solar, whether it’s sunsets or sunrises… Inevitably it winds up super overcast and we sit there feeling like the biggest suckers. I’m much better off living vicariously through posts like this!
edna
May 8, 2015 at 09:32Oh man sorry to hear that! At least you know your pattern of unluckiness and get to sleep in :)
Mo
May 8, 2015 at 06:49I too love sunrises! That one looks incredible, the colors are more like a sunset. One of my favorite memories of traveling with my family was being in Modena, Italy when I was 12. My sister and I shared a hotel room and woke up very early from the street noise. So we parked it on our balcony and watched the city wake up, complete with little old Italian ladies opening their shutters to let the morning in
edna
May 8, 2015 at 09:33That sounds so peaceful! Makes me want to return Italy again :)
Ceri
May 15, 2015 at 10:44Oh, Edna, that whole photoset just gave me such a warm feeling. I miss the beach and seeing things like this so much. Absolutely stunning! <3
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June 25, 2015 at 21:04[…] in the mornings, Bondi was all ours […]