05 Feb 2019

Top 5 Places To Go Swimming On A Date

Where are you taking your date swimming? Places We Swim is all about celebrating the love of swimming, and there are not many more romantic things to do than go for float in a beautiful place with your sweetheart.

By Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

Places We Swim is all about celebrating the love of swimming, and there are not many more romantic things to do than go for float in a beautiful place with your sweetheart. We spent a year on the road documenting the best places to swim and found some seriously romantic places along the way. Because our own love story involves the water, a first date in a wetsuit and a sandy afternoon together, it felt apt to recommend the places to take your date on a swim. Here are our top five swims for V Day, or any day really.

 

 

If you live in MELBOURNE: Bushrangers Bay

This basalt coastline is quite unlike anywhere else in the area, or even the state. Volcanic black rocks emerge from clear blue water. Deep pools are filled at high tide and slowly warm up throughout the day. After a 3 km walk in from Cape Schanck Lighthouse, follow the beach toward the rocky headlands to the east. The most prominent feature is called Elephant Rock and the best pools are distributed around its base, like this one. Water is always clear and often a few degrees warmer than the ocean, Victoria’s version of a spa bath.

 

Bushrangers Bay, Photo Credit Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

 

 

If you live in PERTH - Rottnest Island

Sure, Rotto is Perth’s beloved playground and WA’s number 1 tourist destination, but it’s popular for a reason. It’s a place dedicated entirely to recreation. Abundant reefs, sandy beaches and rocky headlands make Rotto a mecca for swimming, snorkeling, surfing, boating and fishing – pretty much the only thing you can’t do here is drive a car. Which is great because you can take or rent bikes, and really make a day of it, exploring the islands with your love.

 

Rottnest Island, Photo Credit Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

 

 

If you live in NEWCASTLE: Merewether Ocean Bath

Merewether Baths is the crown jewel in the city of Newcastle, and in our opinion, the best pool in the country. It’s also the biggest, open 24 hours and free, you can take your date at any time of the day. We think swimming in the morning is the best way to start the day, and around here the neighbourhood wakes up at first light. The Baths are the nucleus of it all, with beaches and cafes radiating outwards. You can’t help but be drawn into the spirit of this place. Bring a coffee post morning swim, or a cold drink in the afternoon and cheers with you date after a dip.

 

Merewether Baths, Photo Credit Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

 

 

If you live on the SUNSHINE COAST - Fairy Pool, Noosa National Park

The thing we love about Noosa National Park is that you can walk from end to end in one day (a rare thing in a country well covered by huge nature reserves). Granite Bay is our top pick of beaches, the second of a series of protected, north-facing bays in the NP. But if you continue on a little further, stop for a dip a Fairy Pool, a tiny rock pool that fills in at high tide, where you can bath with your date. Or if you’re game, continue around to the nude beach Alexandria Bay, a bit further along this scenic walk.

 

Fairy Pool, Photo Credit Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

 

 

If you live in SYDNEY - North Curl Curl

Sydney is literally flooded with great beaches, but here’s one you may not have been to, which could make for a great adventure date, particularly if you live south of the bridge. North Curl Curl is a few hundred metres from the main road and completely surrounded by parks and sea cliffs, which automatically gives it a secluded feels. Perhaps what elevates this place above other beaches is its unique combination of great elements. It has a warm lagoon, a dog beach, a sheltered corner, reliable surf, and an ocean pool. What’s not to love?

 

North Curl Curl, Photo Credit Dillon Seitchik-Reardon

 

 

Places We Swim is published by Hardie Grant and is available for $40 in bookstores and online at www.placesweswim.com.

To follow more of Caroline and Dillon’s adventures, follow them on instagram @placesweswim.com