2025 April ... day-hike
Central Coast seashores
(near Lake Macquarie)
NSW, Australia
To Pink Caves ... this trip report
Deep Caves
Hales Bluff
Catherine Hill Bay Beach
Middle Camp Beach
Middle Camp Inlet
Baldy Cliff
Bogey Hole (Catho Rockpool in Google Maps)
Drummer Hole
Shark Hole
Pinny Beach
Quarries Head
Split Rock
Spoon Rocks
Finally Caves Beach - lookout & cave
Part 1 of trip report
Pink Caves only
The rest are under construction 😊
Preview
Pink Caves
Very nice pink rocks in the cave !
Warning / Danger
You should only visit the Pink Caves
during low tide and low swell.
It is suicidal to go at other times.
Peolple have died there !!!
Weather
The Weather is weird.
Forecast was for heavy rain
a few days prior to the hike.
Then improved to moderate rain.
Even the day before the hike,
forecast was for showers.
However, on the day, the weather is sunny.
(We can see showers raining down
to the east and north of us.
but not a single drop of rain on us 😊)
Our group
7 of us:
- Paul, leading ...
- Ai Ling Lim
- Amy Chi
- John Graham
- Karen Lee
- Lyndal Tegel
- May Yang
Map
LPI 1:25,000 scaled 9231-4S Catherine Hill Bay
LPI 1:25,000 scaled 9231-4N Swansea
Map 1) The relevant part of the 1:25,000
topographic map
Where our cars are parked
First:
Park Lyndal's car at end of hike.
At a carpark near
junction of Caves Beach Road & Bligh Avenue,
Caves Beach
Grid Ref: 7364 3556
Google Maps link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6bshBLewJWLAdGQU6
Then:
Park Paul's car at start of hike.
Junction of Breakers Blvd & Hooey St,
Catherine Hill Bay
Grid Ref: 7215 2950
Google Maps link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/TVjHVwd8gt1Bx9aN9
I could have parked my car closer to the stairs ...
Refer to photo #1.
But Hooey St is closed today ... roadwork.
GPS tracklog file & route
GPX tracklog file can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K0F2q9GwvNckjWYD-oVcSHYR2FhVfwZe/view?usp=sharing
Map 2) GPS route, in red,
recorded on the topographic map:
- 6 blue arrows, top to bottom:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6bshBLewJWLAdGQU6
1 GR 7364 3556 End of our hike
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kKnQWUwSzbdWV2YG8
2 GR 7373 3552
Here, we watch Amy wading across
mouth of a cave.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EjebKFd1YhQDLxsj9
3 GR 7335 3287
Ladder to get down to Shark Hole
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1twRfQuFPFYknQw3A
4 GR 7334 3227
Bogey Hole ... Amy has a swim at this spot.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HJaBatkBZqw6eLAV7
5 GR 7272 2974 Pink Caves
https://maps.app.goo.gl/TVjHVwd8gt1Bx9aN9
6 GR 7215 2950 Start of our hike
Map 3) Satellite image of the above map.
- Yellow arrows:
Same as the blue arrows in the previous map
In summary:
First, park Lyndal's car at end of hike.
At a carpark near
junction of Caves Beach Road & Bligh Avenue,
Caves Beach.
Then, park Paul's car at start of hike.
Junction of Breakers Blvd & Hooey St,
Catherine Hill Bay.
To Pink Caves ... this trip report
Deep Caves
Hales Bluff
Catherine Hill Bay Beach
Middle Camp Beach
Middle Camp Inlet
Baldy Cliff
Bogey Hole (Catho Rockpool in Google Maps)
Drummer Hole
Shark Hole
Pinny Beach
Quarries Head
Split Rock
Spoon Rocks
Caves Beach - lookout & cave
End at Lyndal's car.
Timeline and Distance
08:01 0.0 km Start walking along Hooey St
08:04 0.24km Turn right (south)
into an access stairs
to Moonee Beach
08:20 1.12km Just outside Pink Caves
Explore inside Pink Caves
08:41 1.2 km Back outside Pink Caves
09:02 1.48 km At cliff top above Pink Caves
The rest are under construction 😊
16:48 14.15km At Lyndal's car
================================
Total: 8 hrs 47 mins
14.15 km Distance is from Google Earth
Pictures - Pink Caves only
Stairs to Moonee Beach
1) Access stairs from Hooey St
(Catherine Hill Bay)
down to the north part of Moonee Beach.
- Except the 2 guys in surfboard,
the rest are our group.
- Red arrow: Flat Rocks Point
- Red horizontal bar:
Flat Island (says NSW LPI topographic map)
- Beach in this pic: Moonee Beach
- The bay here is:
• Deep Cave Bay in AllTrails.
• Unnamed in Google Maps
(In Google Maps, Deep Cave Bay
is marked further north !)
- When you are down at the beach,
turn left to go to Pink Caves.
- Note the showers not far out to the sea.
But we never encountered any rain
during our entire walk.
Along seashore to Pink Caves
2) Along the beach to Pink Caves.
- In the middle of the pic, left to right:
Lyndal, Amy, John, Karen, Ai Ling, May
- Note the showers not far out to the sea.
But we never encountered any rain
during the entire hike.
3a, b) Along rocky shores to Pink Caves.
- Upper pic:
• Left to right: Karen, Lyndal, Amy, John, Ai Ling
• White arrow: May
- Lower pic: To the right of the upper pic
• Red arrow: Flat Rocks Point
• Red horizontal bar: Flat Island
4) Red algae on the rocky shore ... pretty !
5a, b) We can see the Pink Cave entrance now.
- Upper pic:
• White oval: Pink Cave entrance
- Lower pic:
(Continuation from the right of the upper pic)
• 4 red arrows, left to right:
1 Hales Bluff
2 We'll walk on the rocky shore
to go around Hales Bluff.
3 Baldy Cliff ... We'll be there.
4 Spoon Rocks ... We'll be there.
• Woman on the left edge is not our group.
Pink Caves entrance
6a, b) Pink Caves entrance.
- Amy takes the honour for the 1st person
to get there.
Inside Pink Caves
7a, b) Wonderful pink-coloured rocks in the cave !
- 2 white arrows, left to right:
Same as the 2 white arrows in photo #8
Photos by John
8) Inside Pink Caves.
- 2 white arrows, left to right:
1 Refer to photo #9.
2 It is the red arrow in photo #10.
9) Crystal-clear water ... not just in this small pool.
Crystal-clear water in all the small pools.
- This is the left white arrow in the previous pic.
10) Left to right: John, Amy
- Red arrow:
• It is the top white arrow in photo #8.
• Also, Amy will be standing over it
in photo #11.
11) The pool here is the red arrow of previous pic.
- Lyndal, Amy, John
12) Lyndal, Amy, John.
- The pool in the front is the one
in the previous pic.
13) Amy ... on the pink rock.
14) May on the pink rock.
- In the background, left to right:
Karen, Lyndal, Amy
15) Lyndal, John.
16) Nice colour !
To the back of Pink Caves
17a, b) Walking towards the back of Pink Caves.
- Upper pic: Ai Ling, Lyndal, John, Amy
- Lower pic: Lyndal, John, Amy
Upper pic: Photo by May
Back of Pink Caves
18) Back of Pink Caves.
- Karen, Lyndal, Paul
Photo by Ai Ling
19) John, May, Karen, Ai Ling, Lyndal, Paul.
Photo by Amy
The other side of Pink Caves
20) Looking across the channel
at the other side of the cave.
Photo by John
21) Looking across the channel
at the other side of the cave.
- John, Lyndal, May
22) Lyndal, John, Karen.
Photo by May
23) May, Karen.
24) Karen.
Looking out from the cave
25) Fantastic colour !
- May
Photo by Karen
26) Karen.
- 2 people on the right of Karen: Ai Ling, Paul
Photo by May
27) Looking out towards the cave entrance.
- Left edge: Amy
- Right: May (further out), Paul, Ai Ling, Karen
Photo by John
28) May, Karen.
Photo by John
29) Amy.
30) Amy, May.
Just outside Pink Caves entrance
31) Ai Ling.
Pink Caves entrance
32) Pink Caves entrance: Middle of the pic.
- Red rectangle: All 7 of us, left to right:
1 Lyndal ... top-left corner
2-6 Ai Ling, May, Karen, Paul, Amy
7 John ... right edge
Photo by John
Climb up the cliffs above Pink Caves
After Pink Caves, to proceed further north,
we need to climb up the cliffs above the cave.
33) This place is just around the corner
to the right of photo #31.
- Amy has a go at the cliff face ...
and showing off 😊
- She probably can climb all the way to the top.
But it is too dangerous for the rest of us.
Refer to photo #33 ...
34) So, Amy climbs back down.
(And we'll go to find an easier way up.)
- Left to right: Amy, May
- This pic is similar to photo #5a ...
Pink Caves entrance is behind
the rock cliffs (left half of this pic)
and to the left of the narrow inlet.
Photo by Karen
Not far south from the above pic
John finds an easier way to climb up the cliff.
Although we need to zigzag up.
35) John finds an easier way to climb up the cliff.
- Left to right: Lyndal, Ai Ling, John
36) From where I was in the previous pic ...
Looking down at the rocky shore.
- Left to right:
Karen, May, Amy
They are behind us, busy taking photos 😊
The rest of the trip report
Under construction 😊
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