Sydney Whales and Dolphins
It is not just the tourists that love the Sydney bay area but also the whales and dolphins who visit the place in large number during their annual migration. Some even call it their home and stay the year long.
Imagine yourself just a little distance away from a giant Pacific Humpback whale in the wild or surfing along playful dolphins. This sure seems like a treat for all the nature lovers.
With its cobalt blue water Sydney is the top destination for whale and dolphin watching.
Watching these breathtaking whales and dolphins and listening to them is an awe-inspiring adventure in itself for any animal or nature enthusiast. Whale watching tours are conducted daily from the Sydney Bay during the season. The ultimate experience of watching a Humpback frolic in the vast ocean is a dream for all nature lovers and Sydney is a place to be to be a part of it.
Approximately 3,500 humpback whales and Southern Right Whales migrate north to warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef from late May to July and then return to the Antarctic by late November. They are easily sighted on the shoreline along with the playful dolphins.
Whales and dolphins are members of the same biological family, and the two groups of animals are often seen with each other. The best places to sight them are Sydney’s Manly beaches. Some species of Dolphins hang around the same place for a considerable period of time and one can see them all the year round while the whales are perpetually on the move.
To mark the passing of the migratory whales, the whale watching community organizes the Sydney Whale Festival, a yearly event held in Darling Harbor. During spring and winter whale watching is a popular pastime with many of the tourists and the locals.
Common and graceful bottle nose dolphins are often friendly and come close to the shore while false killer whales and sperm whales and the minke whale can be sighted in deeper waters.
Though whale and dolphin watching is done in many other parts of Australia, the Sydney Harbor offers the most spectacular sights. One can watch small pods of these majestic creatures in their natural habitat breaching, spy hopping, pectoral and tail slapping from a close distance.
A whale and dolphin watching expedition helps you truly understand the human connection with these mammals. Along with these awesome creators one can watch the Dolphins that are often seen off many spectacular Sydney beaches, they love frolicking in the waves along with the surfers. There are many tour operators that offer day boat trips to places where you get to see the dolphins from a close distance.
Many operators offer whale and dolphin watching tours operating from Darling Harbor and Circular Quay. One can also do whale watching by sail boats. Whale Watching by Sail yachts depart from Darling
So if you are looking for an experience of a lifetime with these oceanic wonders, visit the Sydney beaches.
Warriewood Beach
Address: Approx one hour north of Sydney
Directions: Accessible by bus, car and a 10 minute walk from the Mona Vale shopping area.
The commercial area or the heart of Sydney city is known as the CBD (Central Business District) and all distances are measured from this point. The Warriewood Beach is located approximately 30 kilometers from the Sydney CBD, and is accessible via road by car or bus, or one can even fly & skim across in a sea-plane.
Sunrises, mellow sunsets, golden sand, and water seem to go together and there is a lot of this in Sydney. Sydneysiders make the effort to be out all the time. They are outdoor people and this is not surprising since Sydney as many world class beaches. Even the relatively unknown beaches are wonderful and scenic.
The Warriewood Beach is a relatively unknown beach comprising of 500 metre long stretch of sand with a natural curve. Located at the base of Turimetta Head, the beach is protected at the southern end by rocky cliffs. This is amongst the ideal beach-fronts for a good swim or even body surfing, and especially for surf-board surfing. This beautiful stretch of sand is linked to the more known beach, Mona Vale when it is tide. I think it is highly under rated, and deserves a little attention.
As is true of most of the northern beaches of Sydney, this beach too is delightfully uncrowded and has a long stretch of clean gold colored sand. It is a great spot for swimming, great for kids, great for surfing and great just to hang out, enjoy the sun, the scenery and good friends.
To visit this beach you just need to go south from Mona Vale. It is accessible by the beach during low tide and by road at all time
The most spectacular feature of the Warriewood Beach is the ‘blow-hole’, a tunnel in the cliff head that collects water and at regular intervals, spews it back into the ocean. Very akin to the way a whale spouts water.
Since it is just south of the Mona Vale Beach, if the tide is low, one can get to it from Mona Vale, and it can be reached by road too. It is calm, peaceful and it is accessible. So if you are looking for a relatively lonely beach where you can spend some time away from the crowd, you can definitely visit this beach, hang out, enjoy the sun, the swim and quality time with friends and family.
If one is not inclined to take a dip in the ocean waters and still has the whole day to spend, the Warriewood Beach has a host of facilities that makes it a fun-site for all. There is a Rock Pool to enjoy a care-free swim, a raised platform that provides a magnificent view of the entire curved nature’s spectacle, a secluded spot for a quiet picnic, or enjoy fresh hot food on the electric BBQ. For children, there is the fun-facility playground. The beach is also equipped with separate toilet & shower facility for males and females, including the exclusive disabled toilet facility that would require having the MLAK (Master Locksmith Access Key). They also have a Surf Lifesaving Club
The Warriewood Beach has all the required infrastructure and facilities to make the day truly a worth-while experience near the open ocean. So if you have a day to spare and would like to spend it at a beach which is relatively unpopulated, you could visit Warriewood beach.
Green Point Reserve
The Green Point Reserve is yet another of the numerous reserves or the protected ‘green-belt’ areas that are so typical to the scenic delights in and around Sydney. But don’t let the name fool you as it does not exactly match with the locale, and we certainly don’t want you to feel that you are headed out to some shady green hillock. In fact, it is a far cry from that, and definitely does not merit a miss.
The Green Point Reserve, also locally known as the Laing’s Point, is essentially a ‘city view’ site that is truly breath-taking. No doubts it is an open area with very negligible shaded area, and therefore requires that one goes adequately protected depending on the time and the season of the visit. When we say protected, we do mean from the sun or the wind. It is open 24×7 and no fee is charged for the visit or for availing any existing facility. This is one of those sight areas where time literally flies just soaking in the surrounding scenic view, though a visit time of 2-3 hours is more than sufficient. Amazingly, though almost the entire Green Point Reserve is in all practicality devoid of shaded areas, it is a huge hit with the vast age group right from toddlers to the elderly. One can witness tourist groups, families, solo visitors and couples, all soaking in the sun and enjoying themselves thoroughly. It may be noted that a Sydney local is very much at home under the blazing sun.
Green Point Reserve, as mentioned and unlike the name, is essentially a lovely beach site, small and secluded, that offers an extraordinary view of the entire Sydney Harbour and the city skyline. It is located on the Pacific Street at the Watson’s Bay. For information, the Green Point Reserve is in fact a part of the Sydney Harbour National Park and is almost adjacent to the Camp Cove and the Gap Park.
Getting to the scenic Green Point reserve is also full of options. We would recommend a walk, but we also know that the paucity of time becomes a deterrent. Public conveyance in Sydney is at it’s best for practically any location of sight-seeing interest, and with a variable transport mode. One can opt for taking the bus or a train. If you want to experience a difference, try a ride in a ferry or even a boat, right up to the Watson’s Bay Ferry Wharf. By far the most common mode is a car drive minus any hassles, as the place has plenty of parking spaces.
While scouting around the Green Point Reserve, do walk down the entire stretch of the South Head area for a view that is any photographers delight. And that reminds us, your constant companion in all these excursions has to be a camera. From here, the view of the wide and beautiful beaches is absolutely scenic, and the small park in the area doubles up for the ideal picnic spot. And if you have the inclination to really soak in or click some fantastic views, then hang around till the sun set. The view and the color hue will make you gasp, and that is a promise.
Dee Why
Dee Why is a suburban area north of Sydney which is famous for its unpoilt beaches and scenic beauty. A lot of speculation exists about the name of this beautiful place, but no one knows why it is so strangely named. The earliest record of this name is a penciled note in surveyor James Meehan’s field book where he marked the place with the alphabets DY. There is another school of thought that feels that DY is a name that came from the local aboriginal language. In common parlance the place began to be referred to as DY which slowly evolved into two words Dee Why by 1950.
The beautiful Dee Why Beach is a long stretch of little over a kilometer overlooking the Tasmanian Sea. It is a favorite destination for surfers, body boarders and explorers. If you have had your fill of the beach, you can explore the area further. Cast your eyes northwards and you will see the majestic dunes that separate the beach from the Dee Why Lagoon. Towards the south is the lovely Dee Why Reserve, which is a popular picnic spot around ancient pines. The reserve is worth a visit. It has well beautifully located picnic areas, well maintained paths, platforms, a promenade area and even a war memorial that has been restored recently.
In keeping with the sporty and out-door ethos of Sydneysiders, there are two playgrounds near by. It is the headquarters of Australia’s Oldest Surfboard Riders Club, Dee Why Surfing Fraternity. It even has the Long Reef Golf Course which is very beautiful.
Nature lovers will really enjoy The Dee Why Lagoon which is a well recognized wild life refuge spread over about 77 hectares. It is a bush land that is swampy and home to local bird life and also migratory birds. Bird watchers can spend many hours watching these lovely and colorful feathered creatures, many of them rare and exquisite. Not so long ago there were many black swans to feast your eyes on. Though they are not so plentiful now, there still are many to admire.
All this scenic beauty is situated conveniently. You can easily board a bus that goes to the northern beaches; all of them stop at Dee Why Main. Since it is very close to Pittwater road, you could drive down for a wonderful day at the beach. It can be crowded on weekends as many people love spending their weekends sunbathing or surfing. On week days the beach is not so crowded and you can easily find a secluded spot and enjoy a relaxing day.
Dee Why is home to Warringah Mall, Australia’s largest indoor and outdoor shopping centre. It also has many cheap eateries serving seafood. You could find a meal that suits any budget, from the very economical to the exclusive gourmet style food.
If you are in Sydney, you should visit the beautiful Dee Why beach and lagoon which is very close to Sydney and experience the scenic splendor.
Cronulla Beach
Surrounded by enchanting waterways Cronulla in Sutherland Shire is referred to as God’s Country. It has historic Botany Bay in the north, the stunning world famous surfing beaches on the east and the serene Port Hacking in the south. It is Sydney’s longest beach and is just a ferry ride from the Royal National Park.
Being the only beachside suburb located on train line with lots of free parking area, it is Sydney’s most accessible beach area. A train trip from Sydney city takes 55 min. to Cronulla and one can get a train every 30min. From the Airport it takes 30min by car.
It is a hot tourist spot for beachgoers. In Cronulla all the shops, North and South Beaches, and Gunnamatta Bay are within walking distance of the hotels and the train station. In the north Eloura Beach is just a km away and further down 1km is the Wanda Beach popular destinations for surfing. Towards southern side are the Shelly Beach and then Bass and Flinders Point.
The sandy South Cronulla beach is a favorite place for surfing, body boarding, swimming, and sand castle building and is closest to the train station. To take respite from the heat, head for the beautiful parks located around the area. Darook Park is hidden treasure which offers manicured parklands and a picturesque swimming location.
There are beautiful parks, churches and commercial areas in this lovely suburb. The place is heaven for those looking out for scenery, hiking, swimming, and surfing and also a bit of history.
The 2 hour popular Cronulla Walk will take you to beaches, ocean pools and various scenic locations like the Bass and Flinders Memorial with Port Hacking and Bundeena, a pleasant village located in the Royal National park.
Those interested in Aboriginal rock art can take a dip at Jibbon Beach and go ahead to Jibbon to watch the rock art. Enjoy hiking in Royal National Park or take a cruise or hire a house boat or a boat and to explore the area. There are many secluded beaches also that will win your heart.
Shark Island, the dangerous reef, is situated off Cronulla Beach and is a must for adventure loving tourists.
There are visitor centers with friendly staff to help the tourists. Then there are also surf and scuba schools for the water lovers. The PADI Open Water Diver course attracts hoards of enthusiasts every year. The place is flooded with sports and recreation centers.
The Bundeena art and craft Markets by the sea showcasing the talent of locals are an amazing way to discover the area’s culture.
Parking is ample but during surf season and sunny weekends it becomes a little congested especially the south beaches. Taxis and buses are available at all times.
Accommodation of all kinds, from beach cottages to B&B and the usual hotels, is easily available in Cronulla.
Cronulla offers a complete package for a fun filled beach outing and is the most famous tourist attractions of Sydney.
Clovelly Beach Eastern Suburb
Sydney is renowned for its beautiful surfing beaches and breathtaking scenic beaches. The 60 m long Clovelly Beach, also known as Cloey by Australians is part of the Eastern Suburb of Sydney, located between Coogee and Bronte. The town of Covelly is near by and was earlier known as little Coogee. It is backed by 100 m of sand, grassy park and walkways.
Two rocky ridges lock the beach’s 300m shoreline almost meeting at the end and giving it a protection from the force of the Tasman Sea It is easy to get to Clovelly Beach. All you have to do is catch the 339 bus from the city centre or take a train as a speedy alternative. One can go by road too but parking during the rush season is something to avoid.
A perfect swimming and surfing beach, its shoreline stretches inwards giving it a lovely lagoon like view. The bay is flaked by concrete sunbathing areas and promenades on both sides and a little stretch of sand at the northern end. The Clovelly Baths are part of the promenade and listed as heritage property. They include a 25m concrete pool with marked swimming lanes. There are picnic and barbecue facilities in the adjacent park with beach petrol and volunteer life savers.
Covelly beach also has a large free parking place. The entrance to the Gordons Bay Underwater Nature Trail, a 500m (1640ft) chain which guides divers through sand-flats, reefs, and kelp forests is right at the other end of the car park.
The beach is a safe haven for little kids to swim and play. It also has scenic sheltered rock exceptionally clear pools and deeper waters for the serious swimmers. The Safe places to swim are marked by red and yellow flags which shift according to surf conditions. Covelly is known for as perfect location for fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving. There are no surfing facilities here. It is also home to first surf life saving club founded in1906.
Due to its protective breakwater and rock splashing waves and marine life, it offers a completely different experience to the visitors.
The signs on the beach help the visitors to identify the kind of marine life they can view especially the elusive large Blue Gropers.
One of the major attractions is the spectacular walk north to Waverley Cemetery. One can get a picnic lunch packed at the kiosk which is now an up market café.
On the southern end there is a low concrete platform with a salt water pool, a favorite with families and the elderly. Series of ramps make the beach accessible to people in wheelchairs.
The Clovelly Hotel is a place to visit for sumptuous lunches and a few laid back beers in the gardens. Apart from this there are other great restaurants, takeaways and cafes.
Covelly beach, with its tranquil surroundings, is a paradise for ocean lovers. Watch the clear waters; laze on the sand, do some snorkeling or just chill.
Beaches Of Sydney
Sydney is not all about the Harbor Bridge and Opera House. In fact Sydneysiders are out-doorsy and there are over seventy beach-fronts for them to indulge in sun and sand. Sydney has world famous beaches, and it is one of the advantages of living in Sydney. The beaches are grouped into two divided by Sydney Harbor. The famous Northern beaches are Freshwater, Manly and others, the Eastern ones are Bondi (pronounced Bon Day), Bronte, Maroubra and Coogee and many others.
Chinamans Beach
The Chinamans Beach, like the Balmoral Beach, is a harbor beach on the North Shore of Sydney, and both beaches are at practically a walking distance. In fact, despite the proximity, Chinamans Beach is rarely frequented by tourists and therefore fondly termed by the locals as ‘Sydney’s best-kept secret’. Well, as you read this, the secret is out. No one actually seems to know why Chinaman’s Beach is named so, so that is another secret!
Chinamans Beach is a small sheltered beach surrounded by large tracts of grassy land. All this unique sand and grass combination makes it an idyllic spot especially for a family picnic or to just ‘laze & gaze’ across the water towards the harbor area. But don’t let the isolated seclusion of this area make you feel that it is in any way a ‘neglected’ patch. The fact is that Chinamans Beach is the backyard of a very elite suburb with real plush homes that have even plusher yachts parked in their garages.
It is very close to Balmoral Beach, and in fact if it is a low tide, you can walk down from Balmoral to Chinaman’s beach. It is not as crowded as Balmoral, or Bondi and this beach is ideal for people who want to enjoy a calm and peaceful time at the beach without a crowd. This is ideal for a long soak in the sun on the famous golden sand of Sydney beaches, surfing and even a picnic with your family on a clean beach which is not crowded.
So if you are looking for a relatively lonely beach where you can spend some time away from the crowd, Chinaman’s beach is your choice where you can hang out, enjoy the sun, the swim and quality time with friends and family.
It is not touristy, you can find secluded spot for a quiet romantic picnic. It is not a neglected beach, in fact none of the Sydney beaches are neglected. It has all the infrastructure and facilities to make your visit to the beach a memorable experience.
The Warriewood Beach has all the required infrastructure and facilities to make the day truly a worth-while experience near the open ocean. So if you have a day to spare and would like to spend it at a beach which is relatively unpopulated, you could visit Warriewood beach.
If you are looking for a quiet break, a get-away from the routine, solitude where you can hear the surf gently break, then the Chinamans Beach is certainly more than worth a visit.
Beaches Of Sydney
If you thought Sydney is all about the Harbor Bridge and Opera House, then one does need to look beyond the concrete-jungle abounding with over seventy beach-fronts. In fact, if you have not treaded the sand to soak in the sun & surf, you have not really been to Sydney. Let us look at some of the sheltered coves that are so unlike the open ocean beaches, yet offer not only an ideal break for a quiet panoramic picnic, but also a huge variety of water sports.
Balmoral Beach
The scenic Balmoral Beach is all about being an ideal family which spends time together and takes the family pets for an outing, or a fun place bustling with activity. The aerial view of Balmoral Beach shows a vast expanse of sand, and a neat footbridge that leads to a tree shaded area smack in the middle. On one side is the vast expanse of the deep blue ocean including a view of gateway to Sydney Harbor, and on the other is the panoramic view of some real fabulous homes and hotels. And yes, in some homes one can spot huge and expensive yachts parked as though they were cars.
For the fun part, Balmoral Beach actually lets you create your own. There are no tourist guides here and no one to tell you what you need to do. In fact, when planning the trip don’t forget to carry your football, rollerblades, or even a bicycle. One can also hire sail-boards here, and if not familiar with their usage, then the Balmoral Boatshed has the provision for providing lessons at a nominal charge. At the beach, the urge is always to indulge in a salt-water swim for which you just hop across the wide board-walk into a net-enclosed area that actually makes it a safe haven by keeping the sharks away. This swim safely feature therefore does not necessitate beach patrolling. After the fun in the water, just walk to the rear section of the Bathers Pavilion to the ultra-clean toilets, take a quick shower and change, and one is ready for more action. If you feel you need to chill-out for a while, then head on towards the shaded park area in the northern tip and dig into your picnic basket. Once pepped, a quick walk through the streets will lead you to nearby Chinamans Beach. During low tides, one can actually walk across the rocks that separate Balmoral Beach from Chinamans Beach.
Whether early dawn, during the sunny day, or when the dusk is setting in, Balmoral Beach is bustling with people. For some it’s the view, for others it’s the swim, or the fun and picnic, and for many it’s an evening trot-over for the delicious fish and chips.
Sydneysiders actually spend more time outdoors which is not surprising considering that their beautiful city is surrounded by various beaches that are really world class.
The Sydney Harbor Bridge Pylon
For many people, a tour of Sydney would be largely incomplete without giving a visit to the world famous Sydney Harbor Bridge – which appears on many postcards and stamps as one of Sydney’s greatest attractions.
The bridge gives the many thousands of people who pay it a visit annually not only the opportunity to see it – but actually also to climb it, thanks to the climbable pylon on its southern side. And with more than a couple of hundred stair steps- a climb to the top of Sydney harbor bridge’s pylon can prove to quite a challenging affair for some.
Once you make it to the top of the Sydney harbor bridge pylon, however, you get rewarded for your effort in a number of ways. From the top of the Sydney harbor bridge, for instance, you a vantage point from where you can see a much of Sydney’s widely touted sky-line, as well as the few less developed surroundings of the city.
It would seem that builders of the Sydney harbor bridge had a lot of foresight – and correctly foresaw that the bridge would one day grow to be a major tourist attraction – hence their inclusion of the pylons in its plan. This is because as it turns out the pylons are purely meant to add the ‘wow’ factor to the bridge, and they actually don’t serve any structural role on the bridge. But again someone could argue that we need not bestow the honor of having too much foresight on the part of the people who built the bridge because with the architectural ingenuity that went into the bridge’s construction, one would obviously have known that the bridge would one day grown into a major tourist attraction.
It is also at the Sydney harbor bridge pylon that you get a lot of information – actually as much of it as you would possibly want – about the Sydney harbor bridge, particularly its history and what went into its construction (which by the way includes a number of lives). Legend has it, for instance, that one of the of bridge’s builders – must have been a very clever fellow – fell off from the bridge when constructing, and was obviously headed for a certain death (because the bridge is so high). This fellow had a no-brainer in a flash of a second, and decided to throw the builders tool box he had in his hand when he fell off into the sea at the approximate spot where he was bound to fall into the water at, thereby breaking the water tension, and in a way of speaking creating a soft landing spot for himself in the ocean. Mark you, all this was happening in the short duration between falling from the top of the bridge and landing on the sea bellow. Thanks to his quick thinking and acting, the guy survived the accident and was seen working back at bridge’s construction site after a few weeks time! And this is just one of the many Sydney bridge harbors you stand to hear and learn from, by paying a visit to the bridge, and giving it a climb at its southern pole.
Sydney Dolphins and Whales
Unknown to quite a big number of the thousands upon thousands of visitors who tour Sydney annually, the city is also one of the places where one can get the opportunity to see some of the world’s biggest animals – the dolphins and whales. And if you are an animal lover – or generally a lover of nature – and happen to see either of these animals on your tour of Sydney, such a sighting can easily prove to be one of the major highlights of your tour here.
If you however want to make the sighting of dolphins and whales more than an accidental part of your Sydney tour, the place to visit are the city’s Manly beaches – where both these animals are frequently sighted. As it turns out, Whales are members of the same biological family as dolphins, and the two groups of animals often accompany each other.
If you, for instance, happen to be in and around the Manly waters in the colder months of the year, your chances of sighting a dolphin are indeed very high as they tend to move along the ocean’s shoreline in these months in their search for food, and you can get to see them then. When they really feel like it, whales can even be spotted surfing the waves on Manly’s waters.
Some of the dolphin species to be seen in Sydney include the bottlenose dolphin – which is about 4 meters long, the common dolphin – which can grow to be between 2 and 2.5 meters long, and which is the dolphin species most likely to be sighted surfing on the waves. The Humpback Whale – which can grow to almost 20 meters is the largest whale one can see and it tends to be most migratory, making it less common to sight for someone observing from the beaches. Another whale species to be found in Sydney’s waters at various times is the false killer whale – which grows to between five and six meters –and which while considered a modest sized whale (and the commonest in Sydney’s waters), can still make a fantastic sight.
Unlike whales that tend to be perpetually on the move, some species of dolphins have been seen to hang around the same place for a considerable period of time – and for this reason, dolphins are seen at almost any time of the year in some sections of Manly’s waters.
The specific place in the Manly beaches one is likely to see both whales and dolphins is at the section called North Steyne – which is actually the section at the center of Manly’s ocean beach.
History has it that when the British first made it to Sydney, whales could be frequently be sighted at the Sydney Harbor – which has now been pretty much swallowed by the city’s development to the extend that the whales might find the environment here a bit too choky for them.
Alongside whales and dolphins, Sydney also makes a good place to watch other fantastic sea creatures – including seals, albatross, sharks and squid.