Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks

Greens Pool is a bay in William Bay National Park where a line of granite boulders offshore breaks the Southern Ocean swell, leaving a stretch of clear, calm water over white sand that functions as a natural swimming pool, warm enough in summer to swim comfortably and shallow enough for children. A short walk south leads through a gap in the rocks to Elephant Rocks, a small cove enclosed by rounded granite boulders that from the lookout above look like a herd standing in the water. The two together are among the most photographed places on the south coast, and both are reached by short paths from a shared car park.

What you actually see

• Greens Pool - calm clear water inside a barrier of granite boulders.
• Elephant Rocks - rounded boulders standing in a small enclosed cove.
• The lookout - the viewpoint above showing the boulder herd.
• The white sand - fine quartz beaches between the granite.

When to go

December to April for the warmest water; even then it is cool. Summer holidays fill the car park by mid-morning. Winter brings big swells that wash over the boulder barrier and make swimming unsafe.

Honest expectations

The car park is small and overflows in season. Access to Elephant Rocks involves a squeeze between boulders and steps that are slippery when wet. The water is cold, and on a big swell the pool is not calm at all.

Nearby

Denmark lies east; the Valley of the Giants is west toward Walpole.