When travelling to Australia, understanding the ocean is hugely important - the more you know about how waves, wind and the tides can affect ocean conditions, the more you'll be able to keep safe. Recognising danger signs and awareness of surf conditions are essential skills to have.

Here are a few handy hints:

* Never swim at unpatrolled beaches
* Never ever swim at night
* Never swim under the influence of alcohol

* Never run and dive into the water

Before entering the surf, always make note of a landmark such as a building or headland that can be seen from the water and used as a guide for maintaining a fixed position.

Stick your hand up for help - if you get into trouble in the water, stay calm, raise your arm to signal for help. Float with a current or rip - don't try and swim against it.

Rips

A rip is a strong current beginning around the shore, extending through the surf and running out to sea. Rips are the cause of most rescues performed at beaches. Rips can be dangerous as they can carry a swimmer or wader out into deep water in a matter of seconds.

Identifying a Rip, One or more of following features might alert you to the presence of a rip:

* darker colour, indicating deeper water
* murky brown water caused by sand stirred up off the bottom
* smoother surface with much smaller waves, alongside white water (broken waves)
* waves breaking further out to sea on both sides of the rip
* debris floating out to sea

* a rippled look, when the water around is generally calm

If you're caught in a rip:

* don't panic - stay calm
* float with the current, don't fight it, and signal for assistance

* if you're a confident swimming, swim parallel to the shore until you reach breaking water, you'll then be able to swim back towards the shore

For more detailed information on surf safety, please visit Life Saving Australia