We visit several beaches on a regular basis while on holiday. Two are nearby at Falcon and one is about 5km away called Florida Beach.
Last year we visited Preston Beach a couple of times as well, but the surf is much stronger there and we were concerned the twins could be caught in a rip.
Florida Beach is good because it usually has moderate waves with not too much undertow. Some days it has no waves but there is nearly always a pleasant swell.
Compared with last year though, we’ve noticed the sandy area between the water and the vegetation has diminished. In fact, there’s a three-foot drop from a narrow strip of sand to the waterline, which varies depending on the tide. The drop remains constant though and it didn’t exist last year.
The bigger waves flow into the sandy cliff and sometimes go above. It seems inevitable that more beach will cave in to the sea. Climate change, man or nature? I don’t know, but in two years I doubt that beach will exist if the trend continues.
The same thing has happened at the Perth Metro beaches, or at least at my haunts between City Beach and Scarborough – they are much thinner and steeper than usual. It’s a result of a big storm maybe 1 or 1.5 years ago (?). I remember it happening sometimes when I was a kid, and it eventually gets back to normal.