Tag Archives: northern beaches

Pittwater Life Magazine – Feature February 2018

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 05/11/2017

Thanks to website reader Kathryn Butler for alerting me to the February 2018 edition of Pittwater Life magazine, which had a fantastic feature article on all the northern beaches rock pools and the people who swim in them. The article covers an amazing 10 pages, with some wonderful shots of all the ocean pools and some great stories on the people who swim there. Here's a link to the online digital version of Pittwater Life. Read more [...]

Palm Beach Rock Pool – Palm Beach, NSW 2108

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 11/04/2016

Named for the cabbage-tree palms which grow around here. My experience in the pool Palm Beach is as far north as you get within Sydney's official boundaries. Palm Beach Rock Pool sits at the southern end of the beach, so you can look back up the curve of the bay towards Barrenjoey Lighthouse and out to sea where the next bit of land becomes the NSW Central Coast. This is multi-millionaire territory, the home of film stars and other celebs, not just from Home & Away, which is set Read more [...]

Mona Vale Rock Pool – NSW 2103

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 06/02/2016

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 [...]

Freshwater Rock Pool – Freshwater, NSW 2096

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 09/11/2015

In 1925, Freshwater rock pool became the first ocean pool on Sydney’s northern beaches. My experience in the pool Freshwater Rock Pool is a perfectly-positioned 50m Olympic Pool, with lane markings on the floor. It sits right under the cliff on one side at the northern end of Freshwater Beach, but unlike neighbouring Queenscliff, this doesn’t prevent the sun from warming the pool up pretty quickly in the morning because the cliff isn’t so high here. Its position also leaves you looking Read more [...]

Bruce Steer Pool - Bermagui, NSW 2546
On 26/12/2017
Bruce Steer was a local personality at the heart of Bermagui's community in the post-war years. My experience in the pool Bruce Steer Pool in Bermagui doesn't get as much publicity as the Blue Pool over the headland, but actually on the right day this is a fantastic spot for a protected swim. The first time I came to Bermagui (to swim in... Continue Reading
Berry Village Pool - Berry, NSW 2535
On 22/12/2017
Berry was named after the first family of white settlers in the area. My experience in the pool Berry Village Pool is one of those charming little 20m pools most villages in Australia seem to have. Yes, if you're a Pom, you heard that right: a village pool. Back in the UK, I can think of only one area where a set... Continue Reading
Epping Aquatic Centre - Epping, NSW 2121
On 19/12/2017
Epping was named after the east London/Essex town of the same name. My experience in the pool Epping Aquatic Centre sits surrounded by bush in this leafy northern suburb of Sydney. It's a wonderful place to swim, with those tall gum trees towering over on all sides, and the bush inhabitants squawking or cooing as you plough up and down your laps. I... Continue Reading
Blacktown Aquatic Centre - Blacktown, NSW 2148
On 11/12/2017
Blacktown's name has its origins in the Stolen Generation as there was a 'Native Institution' here in the 19th century. My experience in the pool Blacktown Aquatic Centre has one of those outdoor swimming pools that look so tempting when you speed past in the train. When I spotted it over the tracks, it looked pristine, with sky blue tiles looking magnificent... Continue Reading
Ballina Wading Pool - Shelly Beach, NSW 2478
On 06/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Yamba Rock Pool - Yamba, NSW 2464
On 30/11/2017
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... Continue Reading