Australian summers see both locals and visitors flock to our world-famous beaches. But a British woman was left baffled after realising she appeared to be the only one undertaking a particular activity on the beach - and couldn't understand why other Aussies weren't doing it too.
Sarah Bolson, who hails from the UK but now lives in Western Australia, said she'd received funny looks and pointed comments while changing on the beach under a towel.
'I've been asking myself this since we got to Australia - why don't Australians just change using their towels on the beach?' she questioned in a video.
The 30-year-old explained that this was the way she had always got changed out of her bathers.
'Growing up in the UK, I would just wrap a towel around me. Kind of do a little bit of a jiggle jiggle, try and keep myself somewhat covered as I change out of my wet swimmers into whatever else I’m changing to,' she explained in a video posted to her @ozlifewithsarah account.
'But here... I’ve noticed that Australians don’t do this.'
The British woman, who is currently living in Perth with her husband Jamie, added that she'd even been called out for it midway through the changing act.
'On several occasions in Australia, I have been changing on the beach as I have done my entire life (using a towel to preserve my modesty), and I’ve been approached by someone pointing out the nearest changing room,' she explained.
British woman Sarah Bolson, pictured with her husband Jamie, moved to Australia in 2024
The 30-year-old observed in a video that after visiting Aussie beaches, she cottoned on that she was one of the few people getting changed on the beach under a towel
'I’m like, "Why would I walk several minutes in a direction I don’t want to go, just to change behind closed doors? You’ve just been watching me prance around in a bikini? What’s the difference between watching me wriggle around in a towel?"'
'Maybe I’m missing something,' she concluded in the caption.
Sarah's video quickly generated thousands of views and hundreds of comments, with many locals at pains to explain why Aussies would have spoken up after seeing her attempt the towel-change on the beach.
'They were being polite letting you know there are change rooms because they saw you changing on the beach and thought change rooms would be more comfortable for you,' one person explained.
'We can all do the jiggle jiggle - it is a skill we learn as kids. We like to go home and have a shower rather than put clean clothes on a salty, sandy, greasy-from-sunblock body.'
One person added: 'Common decency to go and get changed in a changing room. Even better, just dry off and go home.'
A third person added: 'Because the beach is a family environment and it's not worth risking accidentally flashing the whole beach for your own convenience.'
'All fun and games until someone drops their towel...' another cheekily surmised.
Sarah told Daily Mail that while she has now come to understand why Aussies generally don't change on the beach under a towel, she has decided to stick with the practice
However, a vast number of replies noted that perhaps the most common reason Aussies wouldn't bother changing on the beach is because it's usually so hot that your swimmers will quickly dry out in the time it takes to walk back from the beach - making it much easier to change later rather than attempting the precarious on-the-beach shimmy change.
'We stay in our bathers and rinse the sand off at the outdoor beach showers before getting in the car,' one person responded. 'Shower and change at home. Helps you keep cool staying in your bathers. Otherwise, you get changed and by the time you're home you're hot again.'
'We go to the beach ready and shower and change at home,' another agreed.
'I’ve been swimming in the middle of winter and still gone home in my bathers. Who changes at the beach?!'
When Sarah questioned some of the responders about their car seats potentially getting wet on the drive home from the beach, many explained that they would simply pop a dry towel underneath themselves - and that a little dampness often dries quickly in the summer sun.
Sarah told Daily Mail that she realised she was 'the only one changing on the beach' about a month after moving to Australia.
Nowadays, Sarah says that while she has come to understand why Aussies generally don't change on the beach under a towel, she has decided to stick with the practice.
'Very occasionally I succumb to the social pressure and change in the changing rooms,' she said. 'I have even once worn my swimmers home as suggested by many Australians.'
'But nine out of 10 times I’ll still get changed at the beach.'
'In my opinion, I do a pretty good job of staying covered up during the process.'