Whale Beach

Whale Beach Rock Pool

Visitor info

Highlight: 25 metres with a soft sandy bottom, and usually quiet
Entry: Free
Open: Open at all times
Cleaning: Closed for cleaning Thursday evening, reopens Friday. Weekly September to April, fortnightly May to August. Unavailable roughly three hours before and twelve hours after.
Where: 17 Malo Rd, Whale Beach NSW 2107 (southern end). Access from The Strand. Change rooms, toilets, BBQs, playground.
Council page →

History

Secluded and quiet, this 25-metre pool has a soft sandy bottom and the occasional tiny crab and fish friend so that you can feel like you’re in a sheltered part of the ocean. Originally cut out of rock in 1926, the pool was expanded in the 1930s as part of the depression era’s unemployment relief schemes. It was updated again in the 1960s to become the pool we know today.

Water temperature by month

Much the same right along this stretch of the Sydney coast. Approximate — the water runs about a season behind the air.

Jan 22–23°C

Feb 23–24°C

Mar 23–24°C

Apr 22°C

May 20°C

Jun 19°C

Jul 18°C

Aug 18°C

Sep 18–19°C

Oct 19°C

Nov 20–21°C

Dec 21–22°C

Approximate. Sources disagree by a degree or two. The water lags the air by about a season, so autumn stays warm after the crowds leave and spring stays cold after summer seems to have started.