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.

The landscape

• 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.

Things to know

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.