Photo by by Chilly Photography.
Photo by Liz Bell Photography.
Photo by Liz Bell Photography.
Photo by Geraldine Defoe.
What’s with the flat rocks sitting on the bench at Coledale Rock Pool?
I push one aside, and sit down.
The surface of the pool ripples and sprays in strong onshore winds. I squint in the sun, watch two fishermen chasing after something in the wind’s playful grasp. Fishing line? A bag?
One fisherman throws a dead fish at a seagull nearby. Seagull pecks at the flesh and then squawks at other gulls to get lost.
I strip off, place the car key inside my plastic goggle case underneath my neatly folded hoodie towel on the long wooden bench, and slide my jandals off under the bench.
A walking ramp into the pool helps ease me into the cool ocean water, one step at a time.
Without lane markings at the bottom of the pool, I swim straight by intermittently lifting my head out of the water completely to make sure I don’t crash into the Jackson 5 of family swimmers.
All the children, and the parents are seasoned swimmers. The mother tells me the kids usually do 12 hours of swim training a week, but because their squad pool is closed due to COVID-19, they’re here.
Dad is coaching from the outside of the pool, and Mum takes the lead as her ankle-biters blitz me every lap.
Thank God for these outdoor pools, without which those little nippers would no doubt drive their poor parents stark-raving bonkers. They have energy to burn.
I finish my 20 laps as a smiling man with a winter coat of dark body hair enters the water.
“You should see this place at high tide,” he says smiling. “The water pours into the pool. It’s beautiful but hard to swim.”
When I get to the bench all my stuff has been thrown around like a police raid.
About 20 metres away I see my towel, and in the same line I find two upturned jandals, my car key and the goggle case looking aghast with its mouth gaping open.
Next time I swim at Coledale I’ll be sure to use one of the flat rocks on the bench to weight my possessions in the wind.
Coledale Rock Pool gets 8/10 in my Pool Review of ocean baths:
- 50 metres
- Panoramic view of the ocean
- Pretty little paddling pool to the side
- Cold outdoor showers to wash off
- Rugged and untamed
Next stop… Woonona Rock Pool.
Photo 1 by Chilby Photography
Photo 2 by Liz Bell Photography
Photo 3 by Liz Bell Photography
Photo 4 by Geraldine Lefoe
Yoga teacher, skydiver, martial artist and journalist. Yoga keeps her centred and reinforces her core belief that the greatest gift to each of us is ourselves. When Dawn isn’t teaching yoga, she works as a skydive camerawoman, grapples with her mates at Gracie Barra Shellharbour, and does media and promotions for stuff she loves.
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