Ocean Baths / Rock Pools

Ballina Wading Pool – Shelly Beach, NSW 2478

Posted by: on:

Ballina probably has both Irish and Aboriginal connections linguistically My experience in the pool Ballina Information Centre at first shook their heads when I asked about the whereabouts of the ocean pool in town. "Well, there's a local campaign to have a new ocean pool built in Ballina," they said, "but there isn't one yet".. When I pressed them and mentioned a wading pool, they still looked bemused, but finally a face lit up and one lady talked of the children's pool, 'but it's tiny Read more [...]

Yamba Rock Pool – Yamba, NSW 2464

Posted by: on:

Yamba is an Aboriginal word for either shellfish or headland. My experience in the pool Yamba Ocean Pool is the most northerly of the real ocean baths along the NSW coast. It may well also be the most recently built - constructed in the 1960s - though it may also be the more modern building methods and materials that made it more vulnerable to closure on a regular basis. It was officially closed still on the day we visited in mid-November - locals told me there was a crack in the concrete Read more [...]

Sawtell Memorial Rock Pool – Sawtell, NSW 2452

Posted by: on:

Mr Sawtell was a local landlord in the early 1900s. My experience in the pool Sawtell Memorial Rock Pool sits at the northern end of a beautiful sandy beach, which we reached at low tide. The pool lay empty when we turned up early on a Friday afternoon in November, and from the cliff top where we parked it looked at first a bit shallow to swim in. But once we got down to pool level, we could see the deep end was actually probably about 2m depth, and when we got in the water down at the Read more [...]

Figure of Eight Pool – Royal National Park, NSW 2232

Posted by: on:

My experience in the pool All the blogs I've read about getting to Figure of Eight Pool talk of how tough the route is to get to the spot, and many emphasise the need for energy to get back up the cliff afterwards. The estimate in the Garawarra Farm Car Park, which is the nearest place to leave your car, is that the round trip to Figure of Eight Pool takes 2.5 to 3 hours. With a pause for a dip, a quick remedial massage treatment on someone I came across with sore legs, and a rest in the shade Read more [...]

Newcastle Bogey Hole – Newcastle, NSW 2300

Posted by: on:

My experience in the pool It took me five attempts to actually get into the water at Newcastle Bogey Hole. But wow, it was worth it in the end. I really don't know how those convicts built this bathing area almost 200 years ago, because there seem to be so few days when it is reasonably safe to get into the water here, let alone build the walls and fencing that keep the place 'safe' and made sure that the old convict colony commander could cool off when he needed. I couldn't help thinking Read more [...]

Killcare Rock Pool – Putty Beach, NSW 2257

Posted by: on:

My experience in the pool The best time to come to Killcare ring of stones rock pool is at high tide on a calm day. Then, locals tell me, it's like being in a swimming pool. I almost made it on both counts, so managed a bit of a splash around on my back, but didn't really get to do a lap or even turn those arms over for freestyle or back stroke. I had noted down high tide times but got snarled up in traffic through Sydney so by the time I got to Killcare, I'd missed the high by about an Read more [...]

Black Head Ocean Baths – NSW 2430

Posted by: on:

My experience in the pool Black Head Ocean Baths ticked all my boxes. The pool is nearer 30m than 50m but that's a good enough lap length, and with the surf pounding just beyond the pool wall, a pod of dolphins darting about in the bay near the pool, a friendly local to talk to, and best of all a local community fully behind the preservation of their fantastic facility, putting on time, money and labour to keep it going. So go to Black Head Ocean Baths and put a donation in the box by the Read more [...]

Forster Ocean Baths – Forster, NSW 2428

Posted by: on:

Forster is named after a 19th century NSW Premier. My experience in the pool Forster Ocean Baths are an absolute delight. If you're heading north, as I am on this quest to swim in all the NSW outdoor swimming enclosures, make the most of Forster because there aren't many more genuine ocean pools between here and the Queensland border. Forster Baths must have been all the more amazing when they were first built, when they had tea gardens, a dance hall and, of all things, a casino, attached Read more [...]

Little Bay Rock Pool – Little Bay, NSW 2036

Posted by: on:

Former home of Sydney’s Smallpox Hospital My experience in the pool I got to know a few of Little Bay's secrets when I got chatting to Kevin and John last Friday when I popped down after my Sans Souci swim to take a look at the old rock pool here. I knew this was the ring of stones rock pool put in place for the nurses at the local hospital when sharks were first seen in the bay itself, to give the nurses a safe place to freshen up on hot, unhealthy days. What I didn't know until Read more [...]

Merewether Ocean Baths – Merewether, NSW 2291

Posted by: on:

Named after the 19th century gent who once owned the land here. My experience in the pool Merewether Ocean Baths has to get my vote as the best ocean pool in NSW. With only a few left to visit, it will take something special going north in the state to beat Merewether for sheer joy, great setting, and a wonderful mix of space for laps with ample room for messing about in the water. We even got lucky with the weather on this end-of-summer Saturday, as clouds rolled in on the horizon and Read more [...]