The learn-to-surf beach, and nine miles of sand behind it.

Blacksmiths Beach sits at the southern end of the long sand strip that separates Lake Macquarie from the Pacific. It is patrolled in season, the break is forgiving, and it is where local surf schools take beginners.

Nine Mile Beach

Head north from Blacksmiths and the sand simply keeps going — this is Nine Mile Beach, running up toward Redhead. Walk twenty minutes and the crowd thins to nothing. It is one of the genuinely great things about staying at this end of the lake.

The Swansea Channel

At the southern end, the channel is where Lake Macquarie meets the ocean. The water moves fast through there — it is a spectacular place to watch boats and a poor place to swim. Stick to the patrolled flags.

If the surf is too much

Cross back to the lake. The netted Belmont Baths and Naru Beach are flat, protected and much better for small children. That choice — surf or flat water, five minutes apart — is the practical advantage of this strip of coast.

Practical

Free parking at the beach. Patrols run daily 9am–5pm from the spring school holidays through to April at the main patrolled beaches; outside those months and hours there is no lifeguard. Bring your own towels — ours stay in the room.

Official information: lakemac.com.au. Opening hours and conditions change — check with them before you build a day around it.