Beaches close in Sydney after strange blobs appear

Two of Sydney's most popular beaches remain closed after mysterious marble-sized balls started washing up on their shores.

At first, authorities decided to shut nine beaches while they investigated the unusual grey and white blobs - although most have since reopened.

It's not the first time that strange objects have popped up on Australia's coastline.

Last year, smelly round blobs appeared, which were later discovered to have been made up of a mixture of chemicals, cooking oil...and human poo.

What's happened?

Sydney's Manly Beach is one of those which has been closed

In October 2024, thousands of black blobs started popping up on some of Sydney's famous beaches, forcing them to close for several days while a massive clean-up operation was carried out.

Each blob was dark in appearance and slightly different - but they all had a firm surface.

It was later discovered that inside the balls was a mix of lots of different things, including cooking oil, chemicals, soap, hair and poo.

This time round, the blobs appear to be a little different.

The balls are slightly smaller - described as marble-size - and white or grey in colour.

Authorities say they are working closely with the state's environmental agency to find out what they could be.

Sydney's Northern Beaches mayor, Sue Heins, explained that the latest balls "could be anything."

Speaking to the Guardian Australia, she said: "We don't know at the moment what it is and that makes it even more concerning."

"There's something that's obviously leaking or dropping... floating out there and being tossed around," she added.