Sandcastle spectacular

Brett’s sandcastle at Omanu beach is, frankly, a masterpiece. Photo: Supplied

A sandcastle doesn't have to be two buckets of sand plonked on top of each other and adored with sea lettuce and a shell or two.

And during summer Brett Muir definitely proved that a sandcastle can be an architectural marvel on Mount's coastline.

But this isn't Brett's first sandcastle. He's been crafting the sand sensations for a few years now, saying he appreciates the temporary nature of the art – which can take about four hours.

'It's something to do on the beach, and people enjoy it. It's a very temporary type of art form – the tide will take it if a kid or a dog or a beach ball or a flying umbrella doesn't.

'It's a performance art – it's like drawing pictures on the footpaths. If you're not there to see it, you're not part of it.”

And – whether you want to believe it or not – you don't need fancy tools to create something that looks like it belongs in a Disney movie.

A bucket with the bottom cut off, a butter knife, some sand and water, and a good amount of sunscreen.

'The main thing,” advises Brett 'is to get a bucket and cut the bottom out of it so that gives you a form that you can pack full of sand”.

'And the sand has to be really, really, really wet. So you preferably do it on an outgoing tide as close to the water as you can so you can dig down a bit and then you don't have to carry water.

'You make cow pats of wet sand piled on top of each other, and then you just get a butter knife and you carve [your detail]. You start at the top and carve down because the sand is always falling down.”

If you want to try out your skills making a sandcastle, head over to Mount Main Beach on Thursday, January 19, for the MORE FM Mount McDonald's Sand Sculpture competition from 10am.

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.