Tura Beach Rockpool is a stunning swimming hole surrounded by craggy rocks and rolling waves. It’s big enough to swim lengths and the water is clear and inviting. It’s located on an elevated rock shelf, so it’s pretty sheltered from the swell making it one of the calmer rockpools to visit.
It’s no secret, but that doesn’t make it any less of a must do when travelling the Far South Coast. The walk to reach the pool is flat and easy up until the last 150m, at which point you need to climb down some rocks, though it’s not steep.
Here’s what to expect when visiting.
The walk to Tura Beach Rockpool
The stats
Distance: 2km return
Elevation gain: 50m
Difficulty: Easy, with one rocky section
Trailhead: Headland Drive Car Park
Summary: The walk to within 150m of the rockpool is on a wide, flat and well maintained track. This ends at a rock platform above the pool.
You then need to walk down the rocks which has no set path, though they are very grippy when dry.
Safety info: tide & swell
We visited Tura Beach Rockpool two hours after high tide and it was perfect. It’s hard to say what it’s like if you visit closer to high tide, but I would say you are probably going to be fine visiting any time outside of the two hours each side of high tide, as long as the swell is slight.
It felt like you could have pushed it closer to high tide on our visit but we had very low swell. Having never seen the pool at a higher tide I can’t say more than that, but the key is to make sure the swell reading is slight to minimise your chance of rogue waves entering the pool (though they are always a possibility with any rockpool).
You can see the tide and swell forecast here.
The trail
From the car park on Headland Driver (full parking details below) you need to take the track signposted as ‘Tura Headland Walk’.
It’s a pretty trail through coastal bush and the path is wide and well maintained. It’s either flat or such a gentle descent that it feels flat all the way to the end of the track, 850m away.
There are several lookouts along the way, the best is Reggies Lookout, which is 350m in. It’s a railed viewpoint overlooking a spectacular beach.
Various social trails lead to views of the ocean, with another railed lookout at the 800m mark.
Just 50m leisurely walking later you will arrive at a large deep red rock platform with expansive views and a bench seat if you want to relax and take it all in.
If you walk to the far left of the platform you’ll get a birdseye view of the huge rockpool below.
From here the walk is off-track but still straightforward. There’s no set path so you simply make your way down the rocks in whichever way looks easiest to you.
When dry the rocks are very grippy and it’s not steep as there are always excellent tiers allowing you to climb down gradually.
The very last metre into the pool is slightly steeper, but it’s still easy as there are rocks surrounding you to lean on if you want a bit more stability.
This final section is what you would probably call a rock scramble, but it’s about as gentle as it gets.
Swimming at Tura Beach Rockpool
Tura Beach Rockpool is a beauty and perfect for swimming as it’s long, deep and doesn’t have too many rocks that get in the way of making a clear length.
There are many large rocks in the water but most of them are far below you, so you don’t need to worry about bumping into them.
The water is clear and I would say a blue green in colour depending on the light, more towards green than blue, but still beautiful.
From inside the pool the rock walls give the feeling of seclusion, though if anyone is at the rock platform above they can look down onto the pool.
There are other rockpools surrounding the main pool but as they are located higher up on the rock shelf they don’t get flushed by the waves unless there is a high swell, meaning they are usually stagnant, only the large rockpool was clean and clear on our visit.
In terms of waves, not one single bit of spray entered the pool for the entire time we were there, so it’s very well protected when the swell is slight.
As we left the rockpool we realised we weren’t the only ones taken with it as a huge goanna was also making its way down to the water!
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the area, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Please remember to wear reef safe sunscreen to protect the marine life inside the pool.
Parking for the Tura Beach Rockpool
The closest car park to the rockpool is at the far eastern end of Headland Drive in Tura Beach, you can see it on Google maps here. The car park is a decent size but the pool is popular so you might have trouble parking on a busy weekend in summer.
It’s located less than a 10 minute drive from Merimbula, 30 minutes from Eden and an hour from Bermagui. There are no facilities at the car park or anywhere along the trail.
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