Tag Archives: shark net

Bruce Steer Pool – Bermagui, NSW 2546

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 the Blue Pool), I took a look at Bruce Steer Pool but the shark net was down for repairs so I didn't really fancy getting in, and nobody else was in Read more [...]

Yamba Rock Pool – Yamba, NSW 2464

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 [...]

Parsley Bay Swimming Enclosure – Parsley Bay, NSW 2030

My experience in the pool I did finally get into the water at Parsley Bay swimming enclosure, with its wonderful footbridge taking pedestrians across the bay high up over the baths, and its views of passing ferries to Manly and Watson Bay. It was a close-run thing, mind you, and even though two blokes were swimming right up against the shark net, a good 80m from the shore, I stayed pretty close to the shallows, not venturing further out than the footbridge. The thing is when I came to Parsley Read more [...]

Tuncurry Rockpool – Tuncurry, NSW 2428

Tuncurry means 'plenty of fish' in local Aboriginal language My experience in the pool Tuncurry Rockpool would not count as a rock pool in most people's definitions of the term. There are no rocks anywhere, unless you count the material used to build the harbour wall, and it is more a netted beach than a pool as such. Still, for my ocean pools site, which has now expanded into any outdoor swimming spot (as long as it's safe or protected), Tuncurry Rockpool counts. It is a funny place, Read more [...]

Clifton Gardens Baths – Chowder Bay – NSW 2088

My experience in the pool I was the only one swimming at Clifton Gardens Baths in Chowder Bay on a sunny but chilly May morning. Well, unless you count the heron that kept bobbing up and down in the water around the shark net, or the school of pretty big fish - about 50cm long I'd guess - darting about around me in the water. Oh, and the scuba divers in their thick suits just outside the baths themselves. The air temperature might have been a brisk 13C or so but the water was warm, probably Read more [...]

Como Tidal Baths – Como, NSW 2226

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

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 [...]

Lilli Pilli Baths – Lilli Pilli, NSW 2229

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 [...]

Chiswick Baths – Chiswick, NSW 2046

Chiswick is named after the riverside suburb of London My experience in the pool Chiswick Pool in south west London is where I finally learnt to do front crawl, or freestyle as they call it in Australia. That was back in the 1990s. But I couldn’t help thinking of those swimming lessons as I strode into the water at Chiswick Baths. The name is about where the similarities between the two Chiswicks end, though. And the Thames is a very different beast from Sydney Harbour. Chiswick Baths Read more [...]

Manly Cove Swimming Enclosure – Manly, NSW 2095

My experience in the pool I'd never seen the swimming enclosure at Manly Cove so busy as on the hot morning I visited in mid-December 2016. With overnight temperatures barely falling below 28C and a daytime high of 38C forecast, the waters by the Manly Ferry wharf suddenly became popular. I've walked past this shark-netted enclosure hundreds of times over the years and hardly ever seen anyone in the water. I was here myself just a week earlier and had stared at the choppy waters for a good Read more [...]