Mahon Pool

Unlike most Sydney rock pools, Mahon Pool isn’t tucked into the corner of a larger beach. It’s its own entity, carved into a rock flat at the base of a steep hill, a few hundred meters north of Maroubra Beach. It’s the perfect spot for sand-haters. You can either bask like a seal on the rocks beside the beach or shelter in the shade on the grassy hill above. Built in 1932, this 30-metre-pool’s best (or worst) feature is the way waves crash all the way over the edge at high tide, giving the ocean bath its own little swell. During very high seas, it becomes unsafe to swim. Visit at low tide and the water is calm – the only sign it’s sometimes owned by the ocean are the dozens of fish that remain when the sea retreats.