It had been a while since I had been to the Figure Eight Pool on the southern coastline at Royal National Park.
Looking down at the Figure of Eight Pool
For some reason it has become a popular place for Instagrammers to head to with their selfie sticks. I have no idea for the reason for this. Circular rock pools are common on coastlines and along rock shelfs in riverbeds. Having two such pools close to each other and then coalesce is also probably not that unusual. I have seen other examples in Royal National Park.
To visit the Figure Eight Pool you need to ensure there is a low tide. I had planned for this on my visit – but the seas were quite high – and the whole rock shelf was awash with waves. Not good for photography.
On my trip I walked in from Otford – a pleasant walk on the Coastal Track along Garrawarra Ridge and then down to the Palm Jungle. Just at the start of the boardwalk there is an old track that turns off and provides a short cut to the pool. You do need to scramble down some cliffs however.
The other way is to boulder hop from Burning Palms Beach. Both ways are subject to being blocked off by high tides.
My return trip was via Burning Palms, then up to Garrawarra Farm and along the ridge track back to Otford. On the way I ventured off the track a few times to check out the views, and to scout out a few more photo locations.
And there was an abundance of beautiful Caladenia orchids out
More photos from the trip are online here.