Crystal Pool

Crystal Pool sits in the basalt platform below the cliffs on the south coast, a pool the sea fills and flushes on the tide, deep enough to swim in and sheltered from the swell that breaks on the rock outside it. Getting there means a steep track and then a scramble over the platform, and the timing has to be right, because at high water the sea comes over the edge into it.

What you actually see

• The rock pool - a natural basin in the basalt platform.
• The tidal flush - the sea filling and clearing it on the tide.
• The platform - the shelf of rock the pool sits in.
• The cliff backdrop - the wall behind the whole shore.

When to go

September to May is warmer. Low tide and a settled sea are essential. Never go when the swell is running.

Honest expectations

This is genuinely hazardous in the wrong conditions: waves come over the platform and people have been swept off rock shelves like this. Go with someone who knows the tides. The scramble is rough and there are no facilities.

Nearby

Bumboras Beach is east, and Rocky Point is above.