Monthly Archives: February 2016

Nielsen Park Swimming Enclosure – NSW 2030

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Named after a former Minister of Lands from 1911 My experience in the pool This is the best beach in Sydney to go for a swim, at least according to the lady who got off the bus with me at Nielsen Park, which sits towards the ocean end of Sydney Harbour. It's a great spot for swimming, with or without the shark net, she added. That shark net protects about a 100m stretch of water off what is disconcertingly called Shark Beach (and the net is taken down for four months in winter). There Read more [...]

Currarong Rock Pool – Currarong, NSW 2540

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The remains of the shipwreck ‘Merimbula’ (1928) can apparently be seen at low tide My experience in the pool This is a real rock pool. Basically it’s a sandy channel, deep enough to swim in, in between two sets of rocks along the edge of the bay. I got there about an hour after high tide, and it was perfect. The pool is about 30m wide (ie running parallel to the coastline rocks) but only three or four metres long. So it is strictly speaking possible to do laps, and I did do a few, Read more [...]

MacCallum Pool – Cremorne Point, NSW 2090

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Named after Hugh MacCallum whose local work helped establish the pool in its current form in the 1930s My experience in the pool It was a damp, grey morning in February when I turned up at MacCallum Pool. At first there was nobody else there so I had the pool to myself, though I had taken the precaution of checking what time the coffee shop back at the wharf closed so I knew I only had half an hour or so in the water, if I was to get that cherished post swim coffee. This is a little Read more [...]

Mona Vale Rock Pool – NSW 2103

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Some say Mona Vale is named after a place in Scotland, but where is Mona Vale in Scotland? My experience in the pool There were half a dozen lap swimmers already in the water when I turned up at Mona Vale at about 11am on a sunny February morning. And lots of grandparents were in the toddlers' paddling pool next door - with their toddlers, I should add... It was a warm morning without the searing heat of some days recently and no sign of thunderstorms for the first time in a while. Read more [...]

Cabarita Swimming Centre – NSW 2137

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Cabarita is an Aboriginal word meaning by the water My experience in the pool What a great spot for a swim. This is a saltwater pool right by the harbour, though the salt levels didn’t seem high to me, so they’ve achieved the best of both worlds with easier buoyancy but avoiding the nasty taste when a mouthful (or noseful) gets in as it does far too often in a real ocean pool. I also love those pools where the water laps over the sides – it does make for a much easier swim with far Read more [...]