Taj Burrow, pre-dream at Bondi Beach, NSW

The glory of I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-winter continues on Oz’s east coast, and this morning we find Mr Taj Burrow at the Bondi Beach doing the surfing. Ain’t this an unremarkable moment? But, why is it still so engaging? First, ’cause it’s Taj, who has every reason to command the respect of the collective surfing internets. And second, because of the realism, the accessibility. We’re all about The Dream, but every now and then it’s nice to dabble in something that us everyday pals could dance with.

But Taj will soon be right back there living our fantasies, landing in Fiji tomorrow with a borrowed quiver of step-ups, because of this. He’ll be greeted there by the same swell that’s been licking eastern Oz, but it’s looking like it’ll be peppered by the wrong kinda wind. Never mind that, though – the long range forecast for Sydney shows a real solid pulse in a weeks’ time, and those always hit Fiji two or three days later. The Volcom Fiji Pro could still be event of the year. It sure was last year.