“Everything is blooming most recklessly….” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

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DID YOU KNOW THAT…

• Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia,is the largest sand island in the world covering around 163,000 ha and it has a beach 65 km (40 mi) long.
• Worldwide, tens of thousands of people die each year from accidents on the beach, mostly from drowning. The vast majority of the victims are male. In Australia alone, between 2000 and 2007 almost 2500 tourists died. Most drowning are due to rip currents. There are over 11,000 beaches in Australia and at any given time there are approximately 17,000 rip currents. Given that only 4% of Australian beaches are patrolled by lifeguards (and the vast majority of those are seasonal), it’s not surprising that approximately 50 people drown in rip currents every year. In fact, 90% of the 25,000 surf rescues each year are rip related. 
• Black’s Beach is perhaps the largest nude beach in the United States and is popular with many nudists, naturists and the general public, worldwide.  Black’s Beach is two miles long and is situated at the base of majestic cliffs up to 300 feet high. It is formally known as Torrey Pines Beach. Black’s Beach is in La Jolla, San Diego, California
• In 1934, King George V ordered 1,500 tons of sand to be taken from Essex, barged up the Thames and then dumped onto the mud flat between St Kath arine’s steps and the Tower of London. “Tower Beach” could hold 500 people at a time, and was usable for five hours at low tide. Between 1934 and 1939, half a million Londoners sunned themselves there. Despite interruptions during the war, it was in use until 1971, when fears over pollution forced it to close. It is now accessible two days each year for the National Archaeology Weekend.