//
Wattamolla lagoon and surf beach is a popular safe swimming spot that you can drive to. It is a truly beautiful spot and the combination of lagoon and surf swimming between rugged cliffs is fantastic. However you will not be the first person to discover the location, and it is quite popular on summer weekends; on summer weekends or public holidays, you should aim to be parked in the carpark by 9:30AM or earlier as once the carpark fills, the rangers will close the access road entirely. At many times Wattamolla is simply a paradise lost, now with too many people, tourists, groups and crowds to truly relax. Try a weekday evening to have more space to yourself, arriving at 4PM during the summer still gives you 3 full hours to enjoy the beach. You will no doubt see people jumping from the cliffs into the lagoon below, and swinging from ropes and jumping. The lagoon is very variable depth, and people have had serious injuries jumping here, and the activity is not allowed. The surf beach and lagoon are patrolled by paid lifesavers in summer months only, from 9am–5pm. Wattamolla is also around the halfway point on the Coast Walk from Otford to Bundeena.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Big Marley and Little Marley are unpatrolled beaches, and can be subject to rips, so take care. There is a lagoon behind Big Marley, but it's not as nice as Wattamolla and not really suitable for swimming. These beaches are only accessible by walking, and you can usually expect to have them to yourself.
It's a rock that literally looks like a wedding cake as the sandstone stands out from the coastal cliffs.
Garie is a surf beach also accessible by road. It is patrolled on weekends in summer from 10AM. Good for whale watching and birdwatching. There is a kiosk selling ice-cream, coffee, etc., on weekends in summer. Toilets available.
North Era is patrolled Sundays in summer. You can camp there, right on the beach, with a permit. The shortest walk to car access is to Garrawarra Farm, around 30-45 minutes down the hill. Most people camping there are doing the coast walk from Bundeena to Otford.
A relatively easy walk from Waterfall station, mostly along a fire road.
The quickest way to access Burning Palms by car is to park at Garrawarra Farm and walk down the hill to the beach. The walk will take around 30 minutes or so, but it's a steep hill on the way back up. Alternatively you can walk from Otford along the coast walk in around 90 minutes. Burning Palms is patrolled on Sundays in summer. The short walk ensures that Burning Palms is always nice and uncrowded.