Aerial, Lake MacquarieCredit: Destination NSW
Viewing the scenic coastline and beaches of Lake Macquarie on a scenic flight.
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Bordered by Newcastle and the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie is only 90 minutes from Sydney. Named after its main attraction — a 110-square-kilometre body of water and the largest saltwater lake in the southern hemisphere — it’s the ideal base for all kinds of water sports, from kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding to jet boating. Positioned between national parks and forests, as well as unique beaches such as Caves Beach, it’s also a great spot for mountain biking, hiking and 4WD touring.
Take to the air
You’ll truly appreciate the breadth and the beauty of the lake when you see it from above. Skyline Aviation’s helicopter flights will give you a bird’s eye view over Lake Macquarie’s golden beaches as well as neighbouring Newcastle beaches such as Redhead. The company also offers 25-minute sunset flights over the lake and the coast.
For a joy flight with a difference, book a Matt Hall Experience package. On this 60-minute flight over the lake and surrounds with Red Bull Air Race pilot Matt Hall, you’ll reach speeds of up to 400km/h during an Air Race simulation, and experience manoeuvres such as high-G turns, rolls and spins.
If an acrobatic flight doesn’t satisfy your appetite for an adrenaline rush, take in glorious views of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle as you freefall at more than 200km/h during a Skydive tandem beach sky-dive. After freefalling from 4,500 metres you’ll release your canopy and float back to solid ground in five to seven minutes.
Launch yourself into the water
Kayaking around the shoreline is a lovely way to enjoy your own little piece of Lake Macquarie. Lake Macquarie Kayaks delivers kayaks or stand-up paddle boards to any part of the lake or to your accommodation, and picks them up when you’re done.
The beaches and channels of the lake are great for diving and snorkelling too. Dive Newcastle offers instructor-led shore and boat dives, or can supply equipment if you know what you’re doing and want to explore rewarding dive sites such as Swansea Channel and Catherine Hill Bay by yourself.
See more of the lake with JetBuzz Water Sports’s Jet Boat Lake Thrill Ride. You’ll travel at up to 42 knots and experience high-speed slides and turns, 360-degree spins, power brake stops and fish tails. There’s also the option of extending the trip to open water, travelling along the Swansea Channel and out to the ocean, where the boat will chop, spin and surf on waves.
Anglers will also be in heaven at Lake Macquarie. Commercial fishing in the lake was banned in 1980, and fish stocks are plentiful. You’ll find species such as mulloway, bream, dusky flathead, tailor, luderick and sand whiting in abundance. Lake Macquarie is linked to the sea via the Swansea Channel, which is where you’ll find large schools of Australian salmon over the winter months. You may also spot juvenile great white sharks if you’re lucky: the lake is a fertile breeding ground for these magnificent sharks.
Lake Macquarie Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Lake Macquarie is a haven for outdoor adventure.
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Lake Macquarie Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Lake Macquarie is a haven for outdoor adventure.
Skyline Aviation Group, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Man enjoying a scenic sunset flight with Skyline Aviation Group over the Lake Macquarie region.
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Skyline Aviation Group, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Man enjoying a scenic sunset flight with Skyline Aviation Group over the Lake Macquarie region.
Naru Beach, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of stand up paddleboarding on Lake Macquarie off Naru Beach.
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Naru Beach, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of stand up paddleboarding on Lake Macquarie off Naru Beach.
Hit the ground walking
There are plenty of options for a pleasant walk around the lake — try the paved track from the Speers Point Park to Eleebana via the café strip at Warners Bay. But one of the prettiest walking tracks in the area is the Circuit walk in Watagans National Park. The half-hour circuit takes in a creek, moss walls, rainforest and the dam. And the Coastal Walking Track at Wallarah National Park is a picturesque trail; in winter you’re likely to spot passing humpback and southern right whales.
Head to the bush or the beach
And if walking backwards off a cliff is your thing, you’ll want to do it at the 45-metre Gap Creek Falls in Watagans National Park with Out and About Adventures’s abseiling tour. You’ll tackle rugged natural sandstone cliffs up to 80 metres high, tackling at least six descents during your outing.
If you’re a mountain biking enthusiast head to the Awaba Mountain Bike Park, one of the premier tracks in the country. The majority of the 12km loop has a dry, smooth, hard-packed surface, but it also takes in dense rainforest. It’s ideal for all skill levels. Beginners will enjoy the main track, while seasoned riders will be drawn to the Monkey Face downhill track, a technical descent known for being one of the most challenging in Australia.
And for an adventure of a different kind, take your four-wheel-drive vehicle to the beach for the day. Grab a permit from the Belmont Wetlands State Park website for access to Nine Mile Beach between Redhead and Blacksmiths beaches. Blacksmiths Beach is renowned for being one of the only spots where the closer you get to the tide, the softer the sand becomes. So reduce your tyre pressure to take on those big dunes.
And find yourself a base
There’s plenty to do on the lake, and plenty of choices for places to stay as well so you can make the most of your visit. Rafferty's Resort, at Murrays Beach between Catherine Hill Bay and Caves Beach on the shores of the lake, offers upscale self-contained cottages. Caves Coastal at Caves Beach has private beach bungalows and is the perfect location if you plan on catching the sunrise from inside the beach caves. Mid-range accommodation options include the comfortable rooms at Squid’s Ink Motel, on the lakefront side of Belmont.
Wallarah National Park, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a coastal walk through Wallarah National Park, Lake Macquarie.
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Wallarah National Park, Lake Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a coastal walk through Wallarah National Park, Lake Macquarie.
Watagans National Park, Lake Maquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Woman abseiling Gap Creek Falls in Watagans National Park, Lake Macquarie.
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Watagans National Park, Lake Maquarie Credit: Destination NSW
Woman abseiling Gap Creek Falls in Watagans National Park, Lake Macquarie.
Blue Pool, BermaguiCredit: Destination NSW
The scenic Blue Pool on the Bermagui coastline.
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You’ll find spectacular ocean pools dotted along the southern coastline of New South Wales. These handmade pools, fed by the ocean’s waves, are often built into the rocks near beautiful sandy beaches, can be hidden away along the coastline and are enjoyed mostly by locals. Ocean pools are great for kids learning how to swim, lap swimming and for a dip on the days when the waves are a little too big for your liking. Here’s where to find an ocean pool on the coast south of Sydney.
In the Illawarra
You’ll find many spectacular ocean pools in the Illawarra area, from south of the Royal National Park all the way through to the popular seaside town of Kiama. These include lovely pools at Coledale, Bulli, Towradgi, Port Kembla and North Wollongong.
Take the road through the Royal National Park to Stanwell Park and onto Coalcliff Beach, where the ocean pool is set against a dramatic backdrop of the escarpment.
Nuns Pool, at Flagstaff Point in Wollongong, is one of the oldest in the state, dating back to the 1830s. (The title of oldest ocean pool goes to the Bogey Hole in Newcastle, north of Sydney. It was built by convicts in 1819.) Located below the lighthouse, the Nuns Pool (formerly known as Chain Baths and used by the nuns of St Mary’s convent) sits in a small, sheltered cove and is accessed via a narrow path chiselled into the sandstone.
Further south at Kiama, the Blowhole Point Ocean Pool offers a safe swimming spot near the area’s famous blowhole, the largest in the world, on a headland near the town centre. This beautiful, hand-cut pool is an irregular shape and has a varied depth and rock bottom – it was also once a men-only bath. You can also take the 15-minute walk around Kiama Harbour from the blowhole to Black Beach Reserve. Here you can do 50-metre laps in the Olympic-size Continental Ocean Pool.
A 15-minute drive south of Kiama is the tiny coastal town of Gerringong. Head down to Gerringong’s Werri Beach for a swim at Ourie Ocean Pool, at the southern end of the beach. This rectangular pool, carved into a flat rock shelf, has a smooth concrete bottom and is perfect for a summer’s day dip.
Bulli Rockpool, Bulli Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over Bulli Rockpool, Bulli.
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Bulli Rockpool, Bulli Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over Bulli Rockpool, Bulli.
Ourie Pool, Gerringong Credit: Destination NSW
Scenic aerial over Ourie Pool off Werri Beach, Gerringong.
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Ourie Pool, Gerringong Credit: Destination NSW
Scenic aerial over Ourie Pool off Werri Beach, Gerringong.
From the Illawarra to the Shoalhaven
Drive an hour further south into the Shoalhaven region and seek out Huskisson Sea Pool at Huskisson. This coastal town has a rich shipbuilding heritage, which you can explore at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum after your swim.
A 45-minute drive south of Huskisson brings you to Mollymook, where you’ll find the South Coast’s famous Bogey Hole, a natural rock pool on the headland south of the beach. There’s also a lovely ocean pool at Ulladulla, a five-minute drive further down the coast.
On the Sapphire Coast
One of the state’s most famous ocean pools is found at Bermagui, a little over five hours by car from Sydney, on the Sapphire Coast. Bermagui’s Blue Pool is revered as one of the prettiest, filled with azure-hued water fading to turquoise and green. At 50 metres long it makes for a great lap-swimming pool and there’s also a shallow wading pool, ideal for kids, just next to the pool.
One of the southernmost ocean pools on the NSW coastline is the Aslings Beach Rock Pool, a hidden gem carved into the pink-and-white cliffs at Aslings Beach in Eden, a six-hour drive from Sydney. It’s only a short walk from town, but its low profile makes it hard to spot from further down the beach. Make your way over the rocks from the beach and take a dip at low tide before the waves have a chance to deposit any seaweed.
Blue Pool, Bermagui Credit: Destination NSW
The picturesque Blue Pool situated along the Bermagui coastline.
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Blue Pool, Bermagui Credit: Destination NSW
The picturesque Blue Pool situated along the Bermagui coastline.
Aslings Beach Rock Pool, Eden Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial overlooking Aslings Beach Rock Pool in Eden.
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Aslings Beach Rock Pool, Eden Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial overlooking Aslings Beach Rock Pool in Eden.