Figure 8 Pools

I never thought I was scared of the dark, but that theory changed quick smart this morning at 5am and about 20 meters into the dark of night on the lonely bush track that leads to the Figure 8 pools in the National Park.

After the sounds of something seemingly bigger than me rustling in the nearby bushes and the always unsettling squawking of some of the bats that were overhead with their wings waving through the cold night air. The light of my iPhone was not enough to calm my now heightened nerves, so I got the hell out of there and decided to give it another 15 minutes and wait for the first sign of light in my well locked Corolla.

Facing my new found fear of the dark will have to wait another day.

3:30 am is not my typical alarm, but today I had my heart set on shooting the now famous Figure 8 pools at sunrise. I recently took my first trek to the pools but it was in the light of day and thought there was a far better picture to be had as the sun rises over the ocean.

So I added it to my list and just waited for a day like today to capture a potentially cool picture. Following both the low tide charts and the weather map that showed clear skies. I needed a mix of a early morning low tide and a clear sky to maximize the chance of a cool picture. Also not having to work that day was the biggest piece of that puzzle. So the perfect timing for all 3 was today!

In my 20+ years of being a photographer I’ve never seen something as picture perfect as the Figure 8 pools. It’s a gift from Mother Nature and it deserves the respect of the best photography that I can put together. 

This time of year the sun rises at 5:30ish so to get there in time for sunrise a few hours of sleep was sacrificed.

It’s definitely not the easiest place to get to and you need to go at low tide as that is your only chance to see the pool, but here is my best advice on how to get there.

From the top of the Princess Highway at Loftus, it’s a 30 min drive into the Royal National Park to Gaire Road. And it’s around a 5 minute drive past the left turn to Bundeena.
Once you turn left into Gaire road it’s a immediate right hand turn onto a dirt track towards Garrawarra Farm car park, follow the dirt track for 5 min until you hit the car park at the end of the road.

From the car park there is a gate with a sign saying to Figure 8 pools.

It took me around 45 minutes along the track to hit Burning Palms Beach. It’s mostly downhill and it’s actually quite a nice walk. I stopped to take some pictures so you could do it even faster if you just keep moving. At the bottom of the track I was startled by a deer the size of a small horse. I’m not sure who was scared more, but I’d say it was me.
Once you finally hit the beach, make your way along the sand until you hit the Southern end where all the rocks are. 
From there you’ll be climbing over the rocks for around another 15 minutes until you hit a flat rock shelf on the point. 
Walking along the rocks is pretty safe but I’d suggest against it if you have any injuries that may give you problems.
I’m pretty fit but even I struggled on certain sections. So be super careful. It will take a little bit of exploring once there to find the actual figure 8 pools as there are some similar pools in the area.But you can’t miss it as it’s a pretty well defined 8 and closer to the ocean than the cliff face.
As I wanted to shoot it showing the sunrise I aimed towards the sun, be you could shoot it from any direction or angle and it still looks awesome.
Once done it’s the same walk back, but you really need to pay attention to the tide as you don’t want to get stuck with a rising tide on your way back around the rocks. 
So be sure to follow the advice on the Royal National Park website which highlights the safest time to visit and how long until the high tide kicks in

Once you hit Burning Palms Beach follow the same track back to the car park, except this time it’s all uphill with a steep incline and some stairs too. It took around 60 minutes to walk back up. But I was a little tired so depending on your fitness you may be a little more or less. There are no food or drink facilities on the walk so best be prepared and you’ll also need to pay for parking as you are in the National Park itself. So bring a wallet and supplies. 
So there you go, my return trip took 2.5 hours and I hope that helps with some advice on how to get there and how to shoot it. It’s a awesome spot and despite the effort involved in getting there, it’s definitely worth it to see something just remarkable. 

Til next time!

Chris