Monthly Archives: December 2016

Pickering Point Baths – Seaforth, NSW 2092

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George Pickering was an early settler in the area near these baths. My experience in the pool Pickering Point Baths on Middle Harbour near Seaforth are an idyllic place for a dip on a hot afternoon. I came here on the bus from Manly after sitting for twenty minutes looking at the swimming enclosure next to Manly Ferry wharf and deciding it was just too windy and the water not tempting enough for my swim that day. It’s a ten minute walk down steeply-winding streets from where the bus Read more [...]

The Blue Pool – Bermagui, NSW 2546

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Some say 'Bermagui' comes from an Aboriginal word meaning canoe with paddles. My experience in the pool Bermagui’s Blue Pool is every bit as special as everyone told me it would be. It sits out on the rock face, way further south than most of the other NSW ocean pools, and although it was more green than blue, it was a pure delight on a warm December morning. I took a bit of a gamble on the weather because when I left my own home 3 hours and more north of Bermagui, it was grey and Read more [...]

The Pool Community

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This Ocean Pools NSW website has so far been all about mapping the pools as I swim in them. By my reckoning, I still have over 30 ocean pools, harbour baths and other protected swimming enclosures to do before I finish that part of my quest. My idea with this new blog is to broaden the scope of the website to include anything new happening around the pools, whether it be events people let me know about, exhibitions, works of art or other projects I hear of. One of the things I love about Read more [...]

South Maroubra Rock Pools – South Maroubra NSW 2035

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My experience in the pool You've got to pick the right tide to go for a swim at South Maroubra's ring of stones rock pool. I managed it on my third visit, though the earlier attempts were not a waste of time as they helped me find the right spot when I did come back at high tide. Basically, at low tide, you have the best views of exactly where this rock pool is, and can visualise where you might swim when the water is deeper, but on that low tide you'll be lucky if you can do more than Read more [...]

Forty Baskets Swimming Enclosure – NSW 2093

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Forty Baskets name came from the quantity of fish caught locally for soldiers at the Quarantine Station nearby in 1885. My experience in the pool Forty Baskets pool across the harbour from Manly is best at high tide, I'm told. It's not the easiest harbour baths to get to on public transport, so I had postponed my visit several times after checking the tides on days I was free. But I finally made it on this warm morning at the end of November and the tide was just an hour past high. I Read more [...]

Enfield Aquatic Centre – Enfield, NSW 2136

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Sydney's first freshwater Olympic Pool. My experience in the pool My first lap of Enfield Aquatic Centre's Olympic pool was an absolute delight. It began simply enough, in fairly shallow water for maybe the first 30 metres or so, but then dips away dramatically to form the 5m deep diving area - or rather what was the diving area till they removed the diving board! I love swimming in such deep pools and Enfield must have been a fantastic place when they hosted the national diving championships Read more [...]

Albury Swimming Centre – Albury, NSW 2640

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Wikipedia reckons Albury was named after a village in Kent, but there is only an Albury near Guildford in Surrey! My experience in the pool Albury Swim Centre had a lucky escape in October 2016, just a month earlier than my own visit to the place. It sits right by the Murray River on the NSW/Victoria border and floodwaters crept perilously close to the centre when the river burst its banks a few weeks ago (see the link to the video looking over the area and see the pool sitting just above Read more [...]