Palm Beach, NSW
Palm Beach occupies a sand isthmus with surf on one side and the calm of Pittwater on the other, ending at the Barrenjoey lighthouse of 1881 on its headland. A twenty-minute track climbs to the lighthouse for the geography, swim the ocean pool at the south end, and take the seaplane or ferry back rather than the hour-long road.
Why go
Sydney's northern tip — surf on one side, the calm of Pittwater on the other, a few hundred metres apart. Barrenjoey lighthouse — 1881, on a headland with the whole coast and the estuary below. A seaplane from the city — fifteen minutes over the harbour and the northern beaches. An hour from the CBD — which makes it a Sunday rather than a holiday.
The character
Palm Beach occupies a sand isthmus at the northern end of Sydney's beaches, with the Pacific on the east side and Pittwater — a drowned river valley of yachts and coves — on the west. The headland at the top, Barrenjoey, carries an 1881 sandstone lighthouse and is a national park, so the peninsula ends in bush and not houses.
For Sydney, this is the discreet end of the coast: expensive houses in the trees, a long-standing summer population, and the beach where the television serial Home and Away is filmed, which brings a steady trickle of visitors looking for a fictional surf club. The practical appeal is the double aspect — a surf beach and an ocean pool on one side, flat water and boats on the other — and the seaplane, which leaves from Rose Bay and lands on Pittwater in fifteen minutes, turning a ninety-minute drive into a short flight and a lunch.
Places of character
Barrenjoey lighthouse walk — twenty minutes up the Smugglers Track, with the coast and Pittwater below. Palm Beach ocean pool — at the southern end, filled by the surf at high tide. Pittwater side — the wharf, the ferries to Currawong and the Basin, and the boat culture. The Basin — a camping and picnic beach in Ku-ring-gai Chase, reached by ferry, with Aboriginal rock engravings above. Jonah's, Whale Beach — the clifftop restaurant one bay south, and the classic long lunch. Seaplane from Rose Bay — fifteen minutes each way, and the best aerial view of Sydney there is.
The way to do it
Come by seaplane if the budget allows and by car if not, and take the ferry across Pittwater either way. Walk to the lighthouse early. Swim in the ocean pool at high tide. And book lunch, because the good tables on a Sunday go weeks ahead.
One perfect day
Seaplane from Rose Bay at nine, fifteen minutes over the harbour, the heads and the northern beaches, landing on Pittwater. Coffee at the wharf. Walk the Smugglers Track to Barrenjoey lighthouse for the isthmus from above, with the ocean on one side and the estuary on the other. Swim in the ocean pool. Long lunch at Jonah's above Whale Beach. Afternoon ferry across Pittwater to the Basin for the rock engravings and a swim in flat water. Back for the late seaplane with the harbour lit, or the coast road south in the dusk.
Grand hotels
Jonah's Whale Beach — eleven rooms above the ocean, the peninsula's only real hotel. Barrenjoey House — a small guesthouse on the Pittwater side, unfussy and well placed.
When to go
Best expression: March and April — the sea is warmest after summer and the crowds have gone. Consider: October and November, spring, with whales still passing offshore. Avoid if possible: January weekends, when the road north from Sydney is solid.
The frame
Ideal stay 1 night, or a day from Sydney · Minimum a day · Best arrival seaplane from Rose Bay, or 90 minutes by road · Airport SYD, 50 km · Walkability the peninsula, on foot · Best without a car yes, with seaplane or bus and ferry