Swimming The Sydney Coast (By Rock Pool and Tidal Bath)
In April, 2009, I decided to swim in all the rock pools and tidal baths along the coastline of Sydney. My conceit was that I would adapt the idea behind Roger Deakin's book, "Waterlog", (itself adapted from an idea contained in John Cheever's story, "The Swimmer"), that is to cover a given geographical distance by swimming bodies of water situated along that distance. Essentially, I would swim along the Sydney coastline from South to North (therefore from Port Hacking to Broken Bay), using the ocean pools and saltwater public baths on the beaches, and in the bays and the rivers. My only rule was that I must swim at least one length in the direction of completing the overall swim.
Now seven years later, I have finally completed my swim trek. Strangely, I had essentially finished in April 2011, but the Freshwater ocean pool took me five years to swim (plus I discovered another enclosure at Cockatoo Island).The eighty swimming enclosures along the route are listed below. Seven of these enclosures have been closed completely or have had the shark nets removed. In two of these I was unable to swim at all, but in five I swam the original area without the shark nets. Also one pool is restricted to women and children, so I was unable to swim there.
Here they are:
Port Hacking
1. Gymea Bay Baths
2. Lilli Pilli Baths
3. Gunnamatta Bay Baths
Cronulla Beaches
4. Oak Park Pool
5. Shelley Beach Pool
6. Cronulla Ocean Pool
7. Cronulla Rock Pool
Botany Bay
8. Kurnell Tidal Baths
The Georges River
9. Como Baths
10. Oatley Bay Baths
11. Jewfish Bay Baths
12. Carss Point Baths
Botany Bay
13. Sandringham Baths
14. Dolls Point Baths
15. Ramsgate Baths
16. Monterey Baths
17. Brighton-le-Sands Baths
18. Kyeemagh Baths
Eastern Suburbs Beaches
19. Little Bay Rock Pool
20. Malabar Rock Pool
21. South Maroubra Rockpools
22. Mahons Pool (Maroubra)
Rob Walker Rock Pool
23. Ivo Rowe Rock Pool (South Coogee)
24. Wylies Baths (Coogee)
25. McIvers Baths (Coogee) (women and children only) (did not swim)
26. Ross Jones Pool (Coogee)
27. Giles Baths (Coogee)
28. Clovelly Bay
29. Clovelly Pool
30. Bronte Baths
31. Bronte Bogey Holes
32. Bondi Icebergs Pool
33. Wally Weekes Pool and Children's Paddling Pool (Bondi)
Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson)
34. Watsons Bay Baths
35. Parsley Bay Swimming Enclosure
36. Nielsen Park Swimming Enclosure
37. Redleaf Pool (Double Bay) (since renamed Murray Rose pool)
The Parramatta River
38. Balmain (Dawn Fraser) Baths
39. Cockatoo Island Swimming Enclosure
40. Chiswick Baths
41. Henley Baths (closed) (swam within the original area)
The Lane Cove River
42. Woolwich Baths
43. Tambourine Bay Tidal Pool (closed) (unable to swim)
44. Lucretia Baths (Woodford Bay)
The Parramatta River
45. Greenwich Baths
46. Balls Head Tidal Pool (closed) (swam within the original area)
Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson)
47. McCallum Pool (Cremorne)
48. Clifton Gardens (Chowder Bay)
Sydney Harbour (Middle Harbour)
49. Balmoral Baths
50. Edwards Beach Swimming Enclosure (Balmoral) (shark net removed) (swam within the original area)
51. Northbridge Baths
52. Garrigal National Park Swimming Enclosure
53. Guerney Crescent Baths (Pickering Point)
54. Sangrado Baths (closed) (swam within the original area)
55. Clontarf Pool
Sydney Harbour (North Harbour)
56. Forty Baskets Beach Pool
57. Fairlight Beach Pool
58. Manly Cove Swimming Enclosure
59. Little Manly Cove Pool
Northern Beaches
60. Fairy Bower Rock Pool (Manly)
61. Queenscliff Pool
62. Freshwater Pool
63. Curl Curl Pool
64. North Curl Curl Rock Pool
65. Dee Why Rock Pool
66. Collaroy Rock Pool
67. North Narrabeen Rock Pool
68. Mona Vale Rock Pool
69. Newport Rock Pool
70. Bilgola Rock Pool
71. Avalon Rock Pool
72. Whale Beach Rock Pool
73. Palm Beach Rock Pool
Pittwater
74. Paradise Beach (Avalon) Baths
75. Taylors Point Baths
76. Salt Pan Cove Baths (closed) (did not swim)
77. Bayview Wharf Baths
78. Scotland Island Swimming Enclosure
The Basin
The Hawkesbury River
79. Illawong Bay (Kur-ring-gai Chase National Park) (shark net removed) (swam within the original area)
80. Brooklyn Baths
