All posts by Simon Duffin

Born in Yorkshire, now living on the beautiful south coast of NSW. Have lived and worked in eight different countries over the years and swum in nearly all of them. Now in Australia, I want this website to reflect a new life, where swimming takes centre stage and there's a pool in nearly every small community.

Revesby Aquatic Centre – Revesby, NSW 2212

Posted by: on:

Named after a Lincolnshire village where the first European settler here came from. My experience in the pool My swim at Revesby Aquatic Centre was a classic Aussie experience on so many levels. Actually I should just say the venue is officially called the Max Parker Leisure and Aquatic Centre. I forgot to ask who Max Parker is of course, so I hoped for help from a quick Google search after my swim, only to find that Nicole Kidman's new son-in-law happens to have the same name, and he Read more [...]

Prairiewood Leisure Centre – NSW 2176

Posted by: on:

Prairiewood hosts Australia’s oldest Eid Festival every year My experience in the pool It's almost a year since I swam in the Olympic pool at Prairiewood Leisure Centre in Sydney's west. But since I didn't find anywhere decent for a coffee after my swim, I was holding off posting until I had a chance to revisit the area. A bit of a gap in my outdoor swims this year has pushed me into posting now, and let's see if any Prairiewood locals read this and have an idea where to go for a Read more [...]

Parramatta Swimming Centre – Parramatta, NSW 2150 – NOW CLOSED

Posted by: on:

The second oldest city in Australia - See the comment posted March 2020 about a new pool open to the public nearby My experience in the pool I was horrified to learn that Parramatta Swimming Centre is under threat from the planned expansion of the stadium next door. Surely they won't rip up a beautiful spot like this with a great combination of social history and community use still today? There is a campaign on to keep this swimming centre open and build the stadium around it or expand Read more [...]

Copacabana Rock Pool – Copacabana, NSW 2251

Posted by: on:

Named after the beach in Brazil... My experience in the pool The first time we pitched up at Copacabana Beach was on a grey Sunday morning after attending an outdoor concert in Singleton, further up the central coast in the Hunter Valley. Funnily enough one of the singers in that concert was from Copacabana and she had mentioned the place in her intro, so we were quite excited to find the place the next morning. Sadly, neither the weather nor the tides were that kind to us. It was a Read more [...]

Terrigal Rock Pool – Terrigal, NSW 2260

Posted by: on:

Named for an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of little birds' My experience in the pool I'd read somewhere that the best time to come to Terrigal rock pool was around high tide, so we checked our tide times and the weather forecasts before heading up the coast from Kiama for a day trip to the Central Coast. When we got to Terrigal it was mid-morning on a warm Saturday at the end of May, with some sort of surf carnival going on to add a bit of colour on the beach itself. The rock pool Read more [...]

Ramsgate Baths – Ramsgate Beach, NSW 2217

Posted by: on:

Named after the Ramsgate in Kent, also a seaside resort. My experience in the pool The air temperature may have been up at 22C and the morning sun still warming the back of my neck as I undressed on the sand at Ramsgate Baths, but the water has got a whole lot cooler in the last few weeks. The guy who dipped in head first next to me and pushed off along the side of the shark net had a heavy duty swimming cap on, and this reminded me of the advice I received almost a year ago when I Read more [...]

Monterey Baths – Monterey, NSW 2217

Posted by: on:

Named after the Californian town, but only in the 1970s officially My experience in the pool Monterey Baths came as a bit of a surprise. I didn't even know they were there. Though better studying of another pool blogger who came here a few years ago should have been enough to make me keep an eye open for them (see the links below for their take on the baths). I had set out on a bright, warm morning in May to swim in the baths closest to the runway at Sydney Airport. But to swim in Kyeemagh Read more [...]

Brighton Baths – Brighton-le-Sands, NSW 2216

Posted by: on:

Named after the UK Brighton beach maybe, but why le Sands? Anyone know? My experience in the pool They call Brighton-Le-Sands 'Little Greece'. I didn't know this when I arrived for my swim at Brighton Baths but virtually all the old guys lounging around the beach seemed to be speaking a language that sounded a lot like Greek (not that I'm a Greek speaker myself), but since I'd passed Greek restaurants, Greek lawyers, Greek travel places, I kind of guessed. The Brighton Baths Athletic Read more [...]

Fairlight Rock Pool – Fairlight, NSW 2094

Posted by: on:

Named after a village in Sussex near Hastings My experience in the pool Is it an ocean pool or should I call them harbour baths? Fairlight Rock Pool could be called either. There's no surf here; it's far too tucked away, protected from the ocean by Manly and the other stony outcrop that houses Balgowlah. But if they took away the pool wall at the eastern end and you just kept swimming, you'd end up out in the middle of the Tasman Sea heading towards New Zealand. It certainly has more Read more [...]

Whale Beach Rock Pool – Whale Beach, NSW 2107

Posted by: on:

Origins of the name uncertain:  a beached whale or the shape of the headland? My experience in the pool It was a sunny April morning, with temperatures rising to over 30C, when I turned up at Whale Beach Rock Pool. Well, to say ‘turned up’ hides the considerable effort you need to make to get here if you’re doing it in public transport. The buses were particularly slow that morning and then there’s a ten minute walk from the nearest bus stop to get to Whale Beach. But that ten Read more [...]