NSW beaches
Australia is an island and, for many of us, that means life’s a beach. It’s in our DNA to be drawn to the sand and surf and there’s something about being at a beach that makes us feel more like a ridgy-didge Aussie
It’s almost un-Australian not to have a favourite beach. It might be one you visit every day or on weekends, one you love for swimming or relaxing with your family (or a good book). Perhaps it’s a beach for walking with your canine companion, or one you reacquaint yourself with once a year on a summertime pilgrimage. Maybe it’s all of the above, and more. Chances are you have a few favourites.
Defining a beach as a stretch of sand longer than 20m, the University of Sydney’s Coastal Studies Unit has counted 10,645 of them along our continent’s vast coastline. In the spirit of “never stop exploring”, here are eight more to inspire your next daytrip, weekend or holiday.
BEACH WITH THE WHITEST SAND Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay
This dazzling beach three hours south of Sydney once held the Guinness World Record for the whitest sand, but other beaches in Jervis Bay are just as white and postcard-perfect, beautifully offsetting the bay’s clear, turquoise water. You can see three of them on the White Sands Walk from Greenfield Beach to Hyams, a 2km dawdle through the trees and along the water’s edge (make sure to go barefoot at least some of the way). They’re all part of a new 100 Beach Challenge that dares you to see, and share on social media, as many of the Shoalhaven region’s beaches as you can. 100beachchallenge.com
MOST GIRL-FRIENDLY SURF BEACH Byron Bay
Not only is the water bikini-warm, the long beach in the shadow of Cape Byron that curves around from The Pass (the area’s best-known and most crowded surf spot) to Main Beach is legendary among surfers and there seem to be more wahines in the waves than anywhere else in Australia. Now there’s another reason to surf Byron: two of Australia’s most experienced surf coaches, former pro surfer Jenny Boggis and Serena Adams, launched Surf Getaways in February and offer six-day women’s surf camps with accommodation at the five-star Byron at Byron resort; they also arrange custom trips, including surf lessons and coaching sessions for guys. surfgetaways.com.au
BEST “EVERYBODY’S WELCOME” BEACH Manly, Sydney
With its friendly vibe and ferry access (there are also buses from the city, other Northern Beaches stops and North Shore train stations such as Chatswood), Manly is a beach for the people — partly because it’s more than one beach. The main surf beach shaded by a row of towering Norfolk pines, actually has three names: Queenscliff (the northern third), North Steyne (the middle) and South Steyne (the southern end). Then there’s family-friendly Shelly Beach, a popular 750-metre ocean swim or short coastal walk around the rocks from South Steyne and where EcoTreasures runs guided snorkel tours of Cabbage Tree Bay (ecotreasures.com.au). Then there are the protected harbour beaches within cooee of the ferry wharf, such as East Esplanade, Little Manly and Delwood. manlyaustralia.com.au
MOST EASTERLY BEACH Blinky Beach, Lord Howe Island
Less than two hours by air from Sydney, Port Macquarie or Brisbane, this World Heritagelisted island has more than its fair share of pristine beaches, all accessible by rental bike, the chosen mode of transport of most visitors. One of the best, and one of the most beautiful in Australia, is Blinkys, at the foot of Mount Gower: a wild, white-sand surf beach with ginclear waves and nesting noddy terns in the dunes. BYO surfboard. lordhoweisland.info
BEST BEACH FOR WILDLIFE Pebbly Beach, South Coast
This peaceful little beach in Murramarang National Park, three hours from Sydney, gets pretty crowded — with dozens of eastern grey kangaroos and two kinds of wallabies (swamp and red-necked) that graze and laze on the grass between the car park and the beach. National Park beach shacks and campsites put you right where the action is. More ’roos, and birds such as rainbow lorikeets and king parrots, can be seen at Pretty Beach, an 8km bushwalk away. nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
BEST CELEBRITY-SPOTTING BEACH Palm Beach, Sydney
Bondi might have more resident celebrities per capita, but “Palmy” is where they go to escape; James Packer, for one, has a holiday mansion at the southern end of the beach. Another spot for stargazing is The Boathouse, an old cafe made chic, on the Pittwater side of North Palm Beach. Open for breakfast and lunch, it’s right on the seaplane jetty, offering full frontal views across the water to Ku-ring-gai National Park’s forested hills and more secluded beaches accessible only by boat and walking tracks. theboathousepb.com.au
BEST BEACH FOR CAMPING Trial Bay, South West Rocks
Trial Bay Gaol campground in Arakoon National Park, about six hours’ drive north of Sydney, has it all: beachfront sites for tents, caravans and camper trailers, a shallow and protected bay ideal for young families, outdoor showers to rinse off after a swim, a nearby town for supplies and a low-key licensed restaurant with a deck (Trial Bay Restaurant, for when you can’t face another night at the camp stove). nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
BEST SECRET BEACH Elizabeth Beach, near Forster
Twenty kilometres south of Forster on the Mid North Coast, Elizabeth Beach makes an ideal road-trip stop if you’re heading north along the Pacific Highway from Sydney. Neighbouring Boomerang and Blueys beaches are also spectacular and a little bit secret, being tucked away on the Lakes Way behind the hamlet of Pacific Palms, named after the local cabbage tree palms. But Elizabeth Beach, in Booti Booti National Park but with car access, has a sense of peace you won’t find at those surfing beaches. You can even dial up the serenity by walking to clothes-optional Shelly Beach, also in the national park. greatlakes.org.au