Figure Eight Pools

It took me a few years of living in Sydney before I actually made it to the Figure Eight Pools. I had heard a bit about it, and it was something that piqued my interested because of the fact that in order to access the pool you have to time your visit around the tide. This is something that spells adventure to me as it involves some amount of risk. This being said, I am always very careful not to put myself in situations where I am at great risk, I make sure I take all necessary precautions.

The pools are found in the Royal National Park an hour out of Sydney. Getting to the carpark was an adventure in itself as we had to face a dirt road with lots of deep potholes. It reminded me of my time in Papua New Guinea as dirt roads with potholes are a staple over there.

The walk from the carpark to the Figure Eight Pools is about 6km and although it starts off fairly flat, it goes downhill pretty quickly. I was definitely not looking forward to the trip back up as we went further and further down. One of my favourite views from this walk was when you emerge from the trees to an open flat area on top of the hill. You have a beautiful view of the beach and the hills in front of you and it is a great place to take a quick breather before continuing the steep walk downhill to the beach.

I am one of those people that as soon as I reach the beach my shoes are off within a few seconds. I just love the feeling of the sand between my toes and I also much prefer climbing around on rocks barefoot as well. (controversial opinion, I know) There were a few headlands that we had to climb around on to get to the Figure Eight Pool and we definitely didn’t always take the easy route, but we had lots of fun.

Once we got there it didn’t take long for us to decide to take a dip (despite it being in the middle of winter) This is something that I hadn’t planned for as I was actually wearing jeans, but I couldn’t say no to the opportunity so I went in jeans and all! It was definitely chilly, but well worth it, and the walk back up to the carpark definitely warmed me up pretty quickly.

This was a very great walk with many stunning views, lots of rocks to climb on and an amazing swim to top it all off. I would highly recommend this walk to anyone looking for a walk near Sydney, but please ensure you check the tide and safety recommendations before you visit.