Palm Beach Rock Pool

"I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me" - Isaac Newton 

 

Splosh Christmas Tale

Like many other families before them, the splosh had settled in for Christmas surrounded by their loved ones, but something was missing. The call of the ocean was too great for them to ignore and so the splosh decided that they needed a trip to Palm Beach Rock Pool. Now, it had came to pass that the beloved respective spouses of the splosh had been enticed by their meddling offspring to take a sneaky peak at the 3bathingbelles blog, and had become intrigued by the recorded activities. Thus it was decided, collectively, to put down the xmas cake, ascend from their comfy chairs and go out into the world to witness the splosh adventures for themselves.

This action, Ghandi thought, was an umpires decision and as Chapelli would have said,  "a ridiculously unnecessary intervention, because everyone knows when your out your out and if you go to the video too many times...doubt creeps into the minds of everyone". Obviously she was being over dramatic and had spent too much time in front of the summer season of cricket!

Anywho, Ghandi approached this excursion with mixed emotions, both trepidation and excitement supported by a cut lunch for the looooong 15 min journey to Palm Beach (just in case you understand). As it turned out she was correct to have such emotions because it resulted in the most peculiar day of challenges for the splosh.

They set out early in the now renowned convoy of cars, ever mindful that they had a small window of opportunity before Ghandi turned feral from lack of breakfast. Upon arrival, it was a beautiful 24c with a water temp of 21c and apparently the Dow Jones average had gone up and down and up and down and up and down, the Aus dollar was strong, 'climate change or no climate change that is the question" ecetera, ecetera....the boys had already brought an interesting dimension to our trip.

Feeling a little distracted the Splosh hit the pool with gay abandon, while the boys lined up, backs to the wall, intently watching like the French knitters of the guillotine. The 50m pool was well maintained and had the extra excitement of two handsome life guards, who at first thought seemed totally superfluous but who, in fact, were to come in handy. The pool water was quite murky in contrast to the crystal clear water of the adjacent ocean and while the Splosh laughed off suggestions from the locals that there may have been a small Sting Ray or possibly Wobegone in the pool, Cousteau and Obi-Wan thought this an excellent opportunity to dive into the ocean for a bit of exercise.

Cousteau powered from buoy to buoy in training for her much anticipated Manly to Shelley beach ocean swim in 2013, while Obi-Wan was resplendent in her new found freedom. She rolled around from front to back, joyously waving her arms, while the ever vigilant life guards monitored their progress and a faint clicking from the knitters quickened pace ever so slightly with excitement.

Side bar -To whom she was joyously waving we will never know, that is something that will remain privy to Obi, but her husband stood proud as a peacock...if he had been one....which he is not of course:)

Anyway as Ghandi marvelled at the curious movements of her fellow sploshees and worried for their safety, she soaked in the glorious view of, what has become known in television land as "summer bay". Lost in her own thoughts, which were drowned out by the now infernal clicking from the knitters of the guillotine, she thought she heard the lifeguard say "there is a baby shark in your lane."

It was in this brief moment of derision, that she appreciated the absurdity of the statement and replied inadequately, "tell him to change lane, then!' The knitters became agitated, "there may be bloodshed yet this morning", they thought between knit one, pearl one, which was a major achievement in itself, for their species were not known for their multitasking capabilities!!

The excursion had obviously become a whole lot more exciting as the clicking needles got a whole lot louder at the promise of a scene from Gladiator. As the penny dropped Ghandi swam like never before, Lorraine Crapp comes to mind or possible Jesus walking on water, whatever, the pool was cleared in record time. 

Strangely, the lifeguards were full of praise for Cousteau and Obi-Wan's achievements that day, while there was barely a mention of the horrendous shark debacle. "Is Obi-Wan blushing?" thought Gandhi... "nah.. lets get a full big breakfast!" Everyone agreed as Cousteau and Obi asked, "And how was your swim Gandhi?"

"There was a shark in my pool," she muttered. "O... ok" they replied.


The facilities are located  pool side and much larger facilities at the surf club, which is located an easy 300m up the beach. There is ticketed car parking along the beach front, which can get busy at weekends. There is an easy walk all along the beachfront and to the pool, encased by premium " New England"real estate. The beauty is all around and the ocean swimming is glorious. There is a calm section at the pool end called "kiddies corner" which is perfect for the family beach day. There are coffee shops and popular restaurants both along the strip and in the park at the northern end of the beach. On this day we ate at Dunes restaurant for a full breakfast but they also have the option of a coffee shop style section, which serves fruit and bacon and egg rolls, very quaint. Or The boathouse is located on the Pittwater side. A bus service runs up the coast to Palm beach and a sea plane goes to the city.

Star Rating *** more for the overall ambiance of the environment than for the pool and a !/2 for the shark appearance!! ***1/2