Vanishing sands
Photo by Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
The Coastal Walk is a paved footpath that connects North Bondi to Coogee, without ever having to leave the ocean’s edge. It clings to the wild, rocky coast, climbing headlands and traversing the sea cliffs that separate many of the area’s most popular beaches. For locals, it is an essential part of our daily lives and an extension of our backyards. We run this track a few times a week. We take every single visiting friend and family member on this walk. The truth is, it never gets old.
We realise we’re not breaking new ground by telling you about this walk. In fact, it is probably one of the most visited outdoor destinations in the city. But it is also home to one of Sydney’s most ephemeral swims.
From Bondi, pass Icebergs and continue south up the headland at Mackenzies Point. This is one of the best lookouts in the area and our favourite place for whale watching in the winter. Bend around the corner and you’ll hit a small bay known as Mackenzies.
Mackenzies is a seasonal beach that only appears every couple of years when the right combination of wind and swell deposit sand on the normally rocky reef. It also happens to be dog friendly (a rare thing in a city abundant with beaches and national parks where dogs are either not allowed or only allowed on leash). Here dogs and humans come together to celebrate the beach before it inevitably washes away.
In December 2019, Mackenzies reared its sandy head from the water once again, creating a small section of beach for people to swim and play with their poodles. And it has stuck around ever since, perhaps one of the longest stretches of its existence (which is usually only a few months).
Being a prime spot for sunbakers who stretch out and lay towels on the flat rocky reef, it is not necessarily categorised as ‘a beach’. In April 2020, it became a favourite spot for swimming, to quickly dip when lockdown restrictions at neighbouring beaches Tamarama and Bondi were severe. Mackenzies’ elusive nature made it something of a loophole.
This strip of water prone to rips and shore breaks, makes the area (Tama in particular) more of surf spot than a reliable swimming place. You’ll often see groups of boogie borders flipping under the curl of short waves as you scrambled down the rocks to Mackenzies. However, when the swell drops you can spend an entire day diving off the reef and hanging out under the shade of the cliff-face. It’s the ultimate secret beach when all the right elements line up.
Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon are the authors of Places We Swim – placesweswim.com / @placesweswim.
NEARBY
Tamarama Kiosk — Pacific Dve, Tamarama
The beach kiosk has become synonymous with our Australian beaches. Usually a small, brick block, with a roller door window that opens to serve salty beachgoers icy poles, hot chips and cold drinks. In late 2013, an upgrade to Tamarama public facilities and parkland set back in the cove from the iconic beach was unveiled by our own Waverley Council. Transformed by Newtown-based Lazhnimmo Architects, the urban designers set a new precedent for what these humble beach blocks could be. They redefined pathways, new picnic shelters and play equipment, and replanted gardens. But most strikingly, a new architecturally designed kiosk, pavilion and amenities block was created. The modern structure includes outside tables under big sun-umbrellas, providing the perfect vantage of a beach volley-ball game while you sip your chai, and beyond that, the beach. Impressively, seven years on from this redevelopment, the Tamarama kiosk feels like it’s part of the natural environment here.