Sisterhood of the Traveling Sea Glass

australian crab with beach bead

What started out as a meetup of two friends in Sydney, turned into the Seaglass Sisterhood Sydney weekend.

In early September 2019, Suzy Casement and Belinda Lorking-Tanner started making plans to get together in Sydney. Belinda already had her ticket for the one-hour flight south to Sydney, so all they needed to do was figure out what they would be doing. Of course, the weekend would involve beachcombing. They decided to do a Halloween sea glass hunt and invite a few locals. They began making the list of whom to invite, it grew and grew.

Left to right: Karen, Fi, Lainie, Belinda, Suzy,  Danielle,  Rowy (kneeling), Liz, Alla, Cathy (kneeling), Julie.  Not pictured:  Joni and Kim (it was hard to get everyone to sit still for a photo!)

“We decided to just ask all the Aussies we regularly chatted with, and some overseas glassers, and see what would happen,” says Suzy. “I started an Instagram message group and it skyrocketed from there. It turned out fabulously, with seasters coming from as far as Tasmania, Melbourne, Queensland, and the Central Coast.”

More than a dozen beachcombers made it for the long weekend, starting on Halloween, with the main beachcombing day on November 2nd. “More would have come if we had given them earlier notice,” laughs Suzy.

australian sea glass collector meetup

The group did sunrise beachcombing trips, fun group dinners, and sea glass hunts at different beaches with whoever was around. On Saturday, the whole group gathered on the beach for the first time. “Saturday was a meet up at the beach for introductions for those who hadn’t met yet, dress ups for those who wanted, and sea glass hunting at low tide,” Suzy explains. “We also had gift-giving, lots of laughter, all-around good fun, and plenty of pictures.”

The women got together and found apartments and rooms to share close to the beach. “As the girls weren’t too familiar with Sydney, we did some wonderful sightseeing while sea glass hunting,” Belinda adds.

sea glass sisterhood

Some of the group brought their favorite finds from their collections and showed them around, and then the group had dinner at another beach. “I was happy to connect on a personal level and share stories with new friends,” says Belinda.

The long day ended at about 9:30 pm, and the group did a final sunrise beachcomb the next morning before people started heading home.

“It was so lovely to finally meet so many in person, and to have a group of like-minded people enjoying the simple things,” Suzy says. “We were all buzzing and thankful for many days after, and the second meet up is now locked in for 2020. We cannot wait!”


best beaches for beachcombers

Learn more about the best beaches and destinations for sea and beach glass, seashells, fossils, rocks, and more beach finds around the world. Articles ›

This article appeared in the Beachcombing Magazine January/February 2020 issue.

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