Bondi Rescue : Season 5

As summer starts to heat up most Australians are winding down at work and getting ready to break for the year. For lifeguards it’s the busiest time of the year, as they gear up for holiday crowds, heat waves, and drunken revellers. The Bondi summer hits overdrive when hordes of reckless teenagers pour onto the beach and into the surf. With so many kids and so few lifeguards it isn’t long before tragedy strikes. 18 year old Stephanie was swimming with friends when she hit her head on a

18 year-old trainee Max is now in his third year, of what was expected to be, a 1-2 year traineeship. Last year he was passed over for a fully fledged position when fellow trainee got the jump on him after one year in the same junior role. Now a new trainee is on the block, and Max now faces a do-or-die season. His rival Jake Nolan, is also one of his best mates - the two of them surf and train together, as well as hang-out after hours. When Head lifeguard Hoppo gives them the hard and fast

Once every 4-6 years, a swell hits the Sydney coastline that is so incredibly huge it becomes a part of local folk-lore. On Wednesday the 20th of January, an intense low pressure system between New Zealand and Tasmania dispatched giant waves to Bondi and surrounding beaches. Lifeguards immediately went into action corralling swimmers into the safest areas of the beach, but the intensity of the waves – which reached up to 15 feet in height – eventually forced them to close the beach for the

Bondi is a party town, and her night of nights is New Year's Eve. 15,000 revellers descend on the beach front for the Shore Thing Concert. At 5am the following morning lifeguards arrive to deal with the drunk, drug-affected, and disoriented, intent on going for a swim. There are 2 thousand people on the beach and not a towel in sight. The lack of swimming attire is of little concern to many who strip naked and welcome in the new year with a bit of skinny dipping. Mid-morning an emergency call

There are as many reasons for going to the beach as their are beachgoers. At Bondi some chase big waves, while other just want to relax, find romance, or get a tan. The reality is not every Bondi wish comes true. Many beachgoers bite off more than they can chew, ending up sunburned, dumped by waves, and/or caught in rips. One 16 year old is about to discover whether or not she has bitten off more than she can chew when she arrives at Bondi for a two week lifeguard exchange program. Temika

Australia Day brings all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds to Bondi’s shores. But while it’s a party for most, celebrations turn sour for others. Alcohol fuelled fights break out and large numbers of police arrive to quell the agro and eject trouble makers. Kids use the hot weather and public holiday to full advantage, taking their chances in the pumping surf. The rocks are both dangerous and alluring, until one boy is picked up on the jetski with a major head cut and badly broken nose. And

Just 16 years of age, Coffs Harbour trainee-lifeguard Temika Wright continues her exchange program at Bondi. Deano sees an opportunity to test the youngster’s skills when he sends her out for a boy and girl caught in a rip at North Bondi. Quick to get there on the rescue board, the trainee is unsure of what to do next, and makes a decision that could have tragic consequences. Lifeguards know they must take Temika into the fold and decide to include her in routine fitness training. But she

At the beach, stripped down to our cossies, no one can tell a brickie from a banker or a musician from an accountant. But anonymity doesn’t work for everyone at Bondi. Hollywood Heart throb Zac Efron arrives to a frenzy of teenage girls intent on watching him go surfing. The crowd end any possibility of a relaxing surf, and Whippet gets Efron into the getaway car/lifeguard rhino as hundreds of screaming fans surround them. Of course, you don’t have to be a star to grace Bondi’s stage.

It’s the hottest day of the year, and it seems everyone has headed to the beach. It isn’t long before the heat casualties start rolling in and lifeguards are inundated with patients. In the mix, an Italian backpacker dislocates his elbow. Yatesy speaks Spanish, a language that shares many words with Italian. Despite Yatesy’s valiant efforts, Alex proves a prickly customer. Lifeguards are called to a teenage boy in the change rooms, who has collapsed from a drug overdose. Just 14 he has

The world’s best surfers, including 9 time world champion Kelly Slater and current world champion Mick Fanning, descend on Bondi for the Boost Mobile Surf Sho. The aerial surfing contest is the first professional event staged at Bondi in 20 years. Lifeguard, and former world number 6 pro-surfer Rod Kerr, is ecstatic about reliving former glory when he surfs with old sparring partner Slater in the celebrity event. But foul play is afoot and Kerrbox finds his comeback sabotaged. Lifeguards on

Occasionally Bondi reveals all it’s vibrant and varied colours at once. Two teenagers wake up at the beach to find their money and phones missing, leaving Deano to nut out a plan to get them home. The Bowlarama skate competition comes to Bondi, and lifeguards are called to attend veteran skater Sergie Ventura, who is knocked unconscious and bleeding at the base of the bowl. Soon after word come into the tower a man is naked on the beach and pushing children over. Sometimes lifeguards do much

Early morning, and a man reports to lifeguards that his friend has not been seen since going for a midnight-swim. Fearing the worst, a major search is launched for the missing man. The end of season offers no reprieve, as lifeguards rush to a novice surfer who has severely dislocated his ankle in the shore break. Bondi's next victim is a man rescued from a flash rip. Brought to the beach, Chinese student Leo appears out of danger, but then takes a serious turn for the worse. Rival trainees