Tag Archives: rock pool

Sawtell Memorial Rock Pool – Sawtell, NSW 2452

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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 [...]

Avoca Beach Rock Pool – Avoca Beach, NSW 2251

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Avoca is an Irish name meaning 'great estuary'. My experience in the pool Avoca Beach rock pool is really more of a wading pool than a swimming pool, to be honest. Even at high tide, the water barely gets above my thigh level even on a big wave, with the depth most of the time hovering around my knees. On a previous visit - in winter and to visit the fabulous cinema right by the beach here - a lifeguard told me the rock pool here is really more for kids to play safely in the water and Read more [...]

Whale Beach Rock Pool – Whale Beach, NSW 2107

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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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Mahon Pool, Maroubra – NSW 2035

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Aboriginal word meaning place of thunder My experience in the pool When I first came to Maroubra Beach a few years ago to kill some time before a flight out of Sydney, I had no idea there was this gem of a rock pool just around the headland to the north of the beach. What a miss. This is surely one of the most delightful ocean pools in NSW. You see it first as you approach past the big Mahon Pool sign on the grassy expanse above the ocean. Down a snaking path to the rock platform and Read more [...]

Clovelly Ocean Pool – NSW, 2096

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Indirectly named after a North Devon village My experience in the pool The great thing about Clovelly is you can have two completely different rock pool experiences: there’s the 25m lane pool with marked lanes and nice clear water; and there’s the big ocean water in Clovelly Bay itself. The bay is basically one big rock pool, since it’s protected from most of the surf and rips by a reef or old wall at the bay entrance, which is the remains of an attempt to build a causeway back in Read more [...]

Ross Jones Memorial Pool – Coogee, NSW 2034

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Long before the rock pool was built, Coogee Beach had an English-style pier, though it only lasted six years before a storm destroyed it. My experience in the pool There was bright sunshine over Coogee when I arrived mid-morning for my dip in this delightful pool. It’s only a short pool – about 17m probably, or maybe even less – but when the sun is blasting down and the sea is glittering all around, getting into a pool like this is one of life’s pure pleasures. I rather like Read more [...]

Kiama Ocean Pool – Pheasant Point Baths 2533

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Kiama Ocean Pool The former "ladies'" baths in Kiama My experience in the rock pool This must be one of the biggest ocean pools along the south coast of NSW. It’s about 40m long and wide enough for lots of lane swimming. But you hardly ever see anyone in it, which is really a shame, because the less it’s used, the less frequently it gets cleared out. And this has been the problem for me in each of my dips in this pool. Because the tides only clear the ocean end of the pool thoroughly, Read more [...]

Woonona Rock Pool – NSW 2517

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‘Place of young wallabies’ , though the swimming group that meets here on Sundays through winter is called the Ockies… My experience in the pool This is a breathtakingly beautiful pool, perched up on a rocky headland; it’s not really a rock pool as such anymore, as it has been built into a proper Olympic size pool with lanes (though the lane markings are largely faded now). Water quality and temperature were excellent for my visit in early March. And there’s a great spirit Read more [...]