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.

Wylie’s Baths – Coogee, NSW 2034

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The oldest surviving communal sea baths in Australia My experience in the pool They'd closed Wylie's Baths the day before I came in February 2016. Strong surf from the remnants of Cyclone Winston was battering the east coast of NSW, making swimming dangerous, even in ocean pools like this one. Winds had dropped by the time I turned up and the pool was open (thankfully, because I'd come a long way for this swim), but lifeguards were on hand to make sure visitors didn't go anywhere near Read more [...]

Bulgo Pool – Bulgo, near Otford, NSW 2508

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Two swimming opportunities in one place – if you get the right tide My experience in the pool It took about 25 minutes to walk down the cliff from Otford to reach Bulgo Beach, but it was definitely worth it. Bulgo is one of the few remaining shack communities inside the Royal National Park. Thankfully the locals were friendly and were happy to send us in the right direction to reach the little rock pool at the southern end of the beach, because without their help, I think we’d just Read more [...]

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 [...]

Bowral Swimming Centre – Bowral, NSW 2576

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Don Bradman’s childhood home but he was 63 by the time this pool was opened My experience in the pool It was a cool, cloudy Sunday at the end of the summer holidays when we pitched up at Bowral’s lovely swimming centre. I couldn’t help remembering that in country South Australia, they wouldn’t even open an outdoor pool like this on a day when the air temperature is only 19C, but they’re a hardier lot in New South Wales. This is a lovely swimming complex, with a 50m Olympic Read more [...]

Giles Baths – Coogee, NSW 2034

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Named after a Mr Giles who owned the Hot Sea Baths here from 1929 My experience in the pool It was a hot, humid morning when I turned up at Giles Baths, at the northern end of Coogee Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs. A visit to Giles Baths is a great experience, from the moment you pass under the big archway with the word Baths engraved up high, and the poignant memorial to the locals who died in the Bali bombings 13 years ago now. Walk through the arch and you see the water below. Read more [...]

North Narrabeen Rock Pool, NSW 2101

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Narrabeen beach gets a mention in a Beach Boys song… My experience in the pool North Narrabeen rock pool is something of an icon among Sydney's regular rock pool swimmers, and it's easy to see why. The 50m laned pool is separated from the rest of the pool area by a wooden boardwalk which has apparently been there since the pool was built in the 1930s. I think you can swim under the boardwalk to get from the general swimming area to the main pool, though nobody seemed to be doing that Read more [...]