Sun Smart beach getaway + WIN Australian beach shade and bags!

In my third Paint The Town Ford challenge as part of the Kidspot Voice Of 2014 program, our family of four drove up to Avoca Beach for a weekend getaway in my borrowed Ford EcoSport Titanium. We had glorious weather and spent lots of time on the beach with a cast of thousands.

We're always conscious of being Sun Smart, and covered up in style with great Australian products. Read more for details on our weekend, my favourite Australian-designed kids' swimwear, and how you could win the amazing Hollie & Harrie Sombrilla beach tent and stylish-and-practical waterproof beach bags from Project Ten.

It was a great weekend to get away from the city and we were lucky to stay with friends at theirbeach house at Avoca Beach, 90km north of Sydney. The Ford EcoSport Titanium proved its' Eco-worthiness, completing the round trip of just over an hour each way on less than a quarter of a tank of petrol. Love that.

Our friends' house is set amongst trees on a hill overlooking Avoca Beach - such a peaceful spot. We kept our agenda very simple - family time on the beach before the heat of the day, down time at the beach house when the sun was at its hottest, and good old fashioned games of Rummikub into the night. Oh yes, and chocolate. And wine.

After breakfast and coffee on the deck, it was time for the beach. We scored a great car park right near the surf club and outdoor shower. All our gear fit beautifully in the boot of the Ford EcoSport Titanium with plenty of room to spare. We also popped the kids' water bottles into the air-flow glove box to keep them cool (nice feature!). Another handy feature is the Intelligent Access push button lock on the front door handles - perfect when your arms are full of beach gear.

We arrived at the beach with every other Sydney-sider and pitched our Hollie & Harrie Sombrilla for instant shade. Assembling the tent was straightforward and we were ready to go in no time. I can't tell you how much we loved the Sombrilla - it is stylish and provided lots of shade without feeling suffocating. The sea breezes flowed straight through, so we weren't hot, either. And at least five people approached us to find out the brand name - definitely a head turner.

Then it was time to get stuck into some serious swimming and sand play. When the tummies started rumbling, we picked up excellent fish burgers from Avoca Beach Seafoods and devoured them in the shade - plenty of room for two families: four adults and four kids! After lunch it was back to digging in the sand and dips in the ocean.

Aussie beach style: new season Sun Kissed beach towel from Kip & Co., sun screen (of course!), beach bags from Project Ten, yellow striped kids' towel from Teeny Me, well-loved hat from Country Road and sun shade from Hollie & Harrie. The Project Ten bags were particularly good for the beach as they are waterproof, hold an enormous amount of beach necessities, and look super-cute too. 

We are so lucky to have the option of great swimwear brands that are creating quality swimsuits to suit the Australian climate. Last Christmas Harris bought me a Babes In The Shade rashie which has completely changed my life. With fair skin that burns in minutes, I've always avoided spending much time on the beach, but now I can join in the family fun with my cute rashie, feeling fully protected from the sun. I immediately bought rashies, matching swim shorts, one pieces, and swim hats for the kids too. Here's my 7-year-old looking super cute in her Babes In The Shade swimwear:

And here's a round-up of some of my favourite Australian brands making great sun-safe swimwear. They make it easy to buy local and support our homegrown designers:

You can find these great sun-safe swimwear options at Mini Sandcrabs, Sandy Feet Australia, HeavenLee Swimwear, White Soda, Platypus Australia, and Babes In The Shade. Also try out CuddleFish, Cupid Girl, Honky Tonk, Tayla lu, and Sea Jewels for more Australian swimwear for kids.

After the swim our friends popped on their cool Betty and Lola cotton towelling cover-ups with pom pom trim. We loved them!

For more great Australian-designed pieces to cover up with after beach or pool time, try Choodie organic towelling tops, Three Sun Possum playwear, and Kaftan Kids kaftans for kids.

Then it was back to the beach house for a long night of Rummikub (and said chocolate. and wine). What an amazing weekend; thank you to our friends for having us at their beautiful beach house, and thank you Kidspot and Ford for the loan of the amazing Ford Ecosport Titanium. This is my final post in the challenge; you can also find my first Paint The Town Ford post Family Day Trip to Dural and Brooklyn, NSW, and my second post Living Local: Behind the scenes at Bondville here on Bondville. And to keep your and your littlies protected, learn more about being Sun Smart here.

Win Stylish Australian Beach Goodies

But wait, there's more. The very kind folks at Hollie & Harrie and Project Ten are offering gorgeous Australian Style beach prizes for two Bondville readers! First prize is the Sombrilla beach shade featured in this post, valued at $198, and the second prize pack is a medium blue zebra tote and zipped pouch valued at $26.80 (plus free shipping).

Simply comment on this post with your favourite Australian beach. Entries close midnight Friday 24th October 2014 AEST (Daylight Savings). If your blogger profile does not include your email address, please leave an email in your comment, or link to your contact information.

Terms and Conditions:
1. This is a game of skill. Entry via comment on this post on Bondville with your favourite Australian beach.
2. One entry per person.
3. The winner of the giveaway will be chosen by Steph Bond-Hutkin based on the most interesting answer.
4. This giveaway is open to all Bondville readers in Australia.
5. This giveaway is hosted by Steph Bond-Hutkin via the Bondville blog at blog.stephbond.com.
6. First prize consists of oneAfternoon Delight Sombrilla beach shade RRP $198.00 from Hollie & Harrie. Second prize consists of one Blue Zebra Medium tote RRP $16.85 and Blue Zebra Zip Pouch RRP $9.95 from Project Ten.
7. The giveaway opens on Saturday 18th October 2014 and closes midnight AEST (Daylight savings) on Friday 24th October 2014.
8. The giveaway winner will be announced on Bondville on Saturday 25th October 2014 and notified by email (if provided). If no reply by midnight 26th October, a runner-up will be chosen to receive the prizes. The Second Prize winner's name and address will be sent to Project Ten to dispatch the prize.

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville