Spotlight Sydney : The Beaches

Words By Michael Teh | June 15 2021

Locals know how to avoid tourist traps and they know the hidden gems that most tourists miss when visiting their hometowns.

When it comes to my beautiful hometown, Sydney in Australia… even the tourist traps like the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb and Bondi Beach are really worth a visit… the first two for their unique architecture and incredible views, and the latter for the coastal walk, Bondi Icebergs pool, the beach, café and restaurant culture, not to mention the people watching.

As much as I love Bondi, and while it has its own beauty from different angles, it is probably the most built-up, urban beach in Sydney (and quite possibly Australia), with a lot of unappealing architecture and many less trees around it, compared to other Sydney beaches.

For those looking for more natural, tree-lined beachscape beauty, one has to explore the slightly more distant suburban beaches. Most visitors to Sydney, sadly miss its most beautiful ones, my favorite being three of the northern-most: Bilgola, Whale and Palm Beaches. These are worth at least a day trip, if not a few day escape. Bilgola Beach is a tiny one, set in a gully with a sub-tropical microclimate and the palm trees to match. Whale Beach, with a headland that supposedly looks like a whale… is the beach I summered at as a child, staying at a great aunt and uncle’s (and like most Aussie kids, nearly drowned at multiple times over the years, being “dumped” on bigger surf days :). And last but not least… the focus of this article… Palm Beach.

Located about an hour and a quarter drive north of the city’s CBD (downtown), Palm Beach, Sydney’s northern-most surf beach, is completely unique. It is set on a narrow peninsula, a long spit of sand, reaching north to what was once (probably millennia ago) the rocky island of Barrenjoey. Atop this cliff-lined outcrop sits a lighthouse marking for ships and yachts, both the rocks and the entrance to Broken Bay – the beautiful, tree-lined harbor, a flooded river valley and estuary that marks the northern edge of suburban Sydney.

This peninsula is blessed to have both a long surfing beach (with waves) – Palm Beach - on the eastern side of the peninsula, and a protected, flatwater side and beach on the western or Pittwater side - Pittwater being that part of Broken Bay.

The leafy, southern end of Palm Beach is often referred to as Kiddies Corner, as it is seasonally

Pittwater Palm Beach, Godron Bell/ Shutterstock.com

frequented by families with small kids, and is often a little more sheltered by the headland there. Like many of Sydney’s beaches it features an ocean-fed, ocean-side swimming pool carved into the rocks, and is surrounded by multi-million dollar mansions, their trees and gardens and a couple of exclusive clubs. This part of the orange-sand beach offers beautiful views east towards the Tasman Sea (this part of the South Pacific =) and northern views down the long beach to the lighthouse atop Barrenjoey.

This end of the beach can get busy with during the Summer school holidays, especially on warm weekends during and around this season, as most of the houses - nestled in the eucalypt and sub-tropical forest or gardens in this northernmost suburb - are the second homes, the beach houses of Sydney’s wealthy elite. However, if you visit, say, during a still warm weekday in March (perhaps the best time to go, when the water has had all Summer to warm up), you could have much of the beach to yourself.

If you’re not into surfing, boogie boarding or bodysurfing, or after a swim, I recommend (grabbing your refillable water bottle and) walking north along the surf beach to where it’s less crowded. You’ll pass a few more folk near the second, North Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club (where they shoot the Aussie soap opera Home & Away – this area is after all, the mythical Summer Bay), but then you’ll often have much of the beach to yourself, as you walk to the beach’s northern corner, under Barrenjoey’s cliffs. There’s a big sand dune there to climb, and a hidden path through the bush westward, over the narrow spit to Pittwater, the flatwater side. If you can’t find the path, cross at the northernmost beach parking lot on the spit. Flatwater folk (perhaps those who prefer the Mediterranean :) can avoid the waves on this side of the peninsula, on another long beach, great for stand-up paddle boarding, swimming and all the other water sports that don’t require waves. You’ll spy many sailing boats enjoying the safe harbor, calmer waters and enjoy the view west across the water to beautiful sparsely populated green forests, on the other side of Pittwater. This is a great place to picnic at sunset.

On the northern end of the Pittwater side, you’ll also find a rocky path that allows one to hike up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse, and perhaps the highlight of your visit, the stunning 360-degree views of the Hawkesbury River, Palm Beach, Pittwater, the Tasman Sea and other beaches across Broken Bay.

Once you hike back down, one can walk south along the flatwater beach to The Boat Shed for a pricey, but delicious Aussie brekky (breakfast) or lunch. And a bit further south, over a little rise on the road, you’ll find a few Pittwater shops, restaurants and a wharf.

When you’re leaving the area, take this road on the Pittwater side south back towards the city center, as it’s very picturesque, as you’re driving through a forest on a hillside with glimpses of the water. Just south of Pittwater (and Palm and Whale Beaches) is the town of Avalon. Here you’ll find many more restaurant and café options.

I hope you enjoy this more chill, beautiful part of Sydney as much as I do. You can always put on your party pants and head back to Bondi when you feel like socializing again.

About Michael

Michael Teh – is an ethnically ambiguous, often villainous and home sick Aussie actor, who’s been described as a “sophisticated Keanu Reeves meets younger Alan Rickman”. He moved to the U.S. many, many years ago for his MBA and to pursue a corporate career, before quitting the office jobs and going to theatre school in New York. He is currently based in Los Angeles.