Pool Reviews

Lane Cove Aquatic Centre – Lane Cove NSW 2066

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Named after either a cartographer in Cook’s time or the son of a London Lord Mayor. My experience in the pool Lane Cove Olympic Pool has lots of the attributes I love in Australian outdoor pools. There are the tall gum trees towering over one end, the magpies warbling like only Aussie magpies do, it has a lovely 3m deep end, where once there must have been a diving board presumably, but there is still a set of viewing windows, which you hardly ever see except in competition pools. Read more [...]

Little Bay Rock Pool – Little Bay, NSW 2036

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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 [...]

Sans Souci Leisure Centre – Sans Souci, NSW 2219

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Named after Frederick the Great's palace in Postdam in Germany. My experience in the pool I wonder how any French expats living in Sans Souci pronounce the place. 'Sannz Suzie', said the lifeguard at the Leisure Centre entrance when I asked. So now you know, and don't make my mistake of chucking in a French accent when talking about this suburb tucked between Botany Bay and the George's River. I must have driven past Sans Souci Leisure Centre 100 times without ever knowing it Read more [...]

Merewether Ocean Baths – Merewether, NSW 2291

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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 [...]

Shoalhaven Heads Village Pool – Shoalhaven Heads NSW 2535

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My experience in the pool Shoalhaven Heads Village Pool is probably the nearest outdoor swimming pool to where I live (if you don’t include ocean pools in that definition). I’m amazed that I didn’t know it existed until someone who lives in nearby Nowra suggested I have a swim there. It’s a lovely spot, within earshot of the surf at Shoalhaven Heads, with beautiful gum trees and a tall pine tree in the grounds just to the side of the pool, and a rather nice set of murals and other Read more [...]

Como Tidal Baths – Como, NSW 2226

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My experience in the pool I'd never seen anyone swimming in Como Tidal Baths on the Georges River until the morning I pitched up for my swim here. The lifeguard at the little Como Learner's Pool had told me the most popular time for swimming in the tidal baths was early morning, and since on this warm, sunny day in February it was also high tide, I decide to test his theory. And sure enough when I stripped off at about 7.30am, there were two other blokes already in the water plodding up Read more [...]

Kurnell Baths – Silver Beach, Kurnell, NSW 2231

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Kurnell is very close to the spot where Captain Cook first landed. No agreement on where the name Kurnell comes from, though. My experience in the pool Kurnell Baths at Silver Beach in Kurnell is just a stone's throw from where another Yorkshireman first landed his boat on Botany Bay back in 1770. I don't suppose Captain Cook's crew were too bothered about sharks back then, but Botany Bay has been the scene of quite a few attacks over the years, so I was glad to have the netted enclosure Read more [...]

Lucretia Baths – Woodford Bay, Longueville NSW 2066

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Lucretia is just the name of the nearby street in Longueville. No Roman connections here. My experience in the pool Lucretia Baths! Even the name somehow conjures up 1920s glamour (although the original Lucretia was apparently a woman in Roman times who had water sprinkled on her belly by one Sextus!), and given the pool’s heritage status, there may well be tales to be told of daring costumes showing a bit more than an ankle or collar bone in the early days of the baths. There was Read more [...]

Lilli Pilli Baths – Lilli Pilli, NSW 2229

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Lilli Pilli was named for the native tree that grew here on the point. My experience in the pool Our visit to Lilli Pilli Baths on Port Hacking didn't quite go to plan, but when we did finally get into the water here, we loved it, and will surely return before too long. We had underestimated the traffic levels heading towards Cronulla on this hot Sunday morning in February, and by the time we got near to Lilli Pilli, we realised we wouldn't have time for swim followed by post swim coffee, Read more [...]

Aslings Beach Rock Pool – Eden, NSW 2551

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My experience in the pool A swim among the fish in the clear waters of Aslings Beach Rock Pool at Eden started our day off perfectly, with an audience of black crabs looking on from every wall and crevice along the sides of the pool. This must be one of my favourite ocean pools yet, for the setting as much as the pool itself. As NSW ocean pools go, Aslings Beach rock pool is a relative newbie, having been built only in the 1960s. It doesn’t always get the best reviews, either from locals Read more [...]