Georges River Baths (Jewfish Bay, Oately Pleasure Grounds, Carrs Point Baths)

Muddy sand engulfs my feet as I trudge towards the low-tide shallow water of Jewfish Bay Baths. With each step it becomes harder to free my feet from the sand’s eager grip, a hungry endeavour to swallow me whole into its vast belly beneath. A sulfuric stench of stomach fumes rises above in anticipation of the coming feast. Agile crabs heed the warning, scuttering away from the feeding zone. They mock me with their ease of movement, lightly gliding across the sand before disappearing into the murky water.

I should have known better. Much of the Georges River, the main tributary of Botany Bay, located in Sydney’s south and south-west, is deemed unsafe for swimming. Due to stormwater and sewage leaks the water here can be both toxic and contaminated with high concentrations of pathogenic microbes.

Sharks are also a problem, with deadly bull sharks known to travel as far up as Liverpool Weir, 45 kilometres from the sea. Although it’s been some time since an attack, there were a number of recorded fatalities throughout the 1930s and ‘40s when the river was cleaner and swimming here was much more common.

For this reason, as part of my quest, I’ve decided not to swim at many of the beaches that dot the middle and upper parts of the river all the way up towards Chipping Norton Lake in Sydney’s west. The lower part of the river, on the other hand, is supposedly safe, with pollutants here flushed out by tidal water movement, and a number of netted enclosures protecting swimmers from sharks.

Jewfish Bay is one of them, its mighty 320-metre shark-proof net protecting vast swimming baths, backed by a narrow beach and the lush vegetation of Oatley Park.  

Jewfish Bay

I wrestle here aginst the persistant clutches of the sand until a final determined leap launches me into the waist-high water. Keeping my feet off the seafloor, I paddle pooch-like from the peril, before clambering to safety up onto the bath’s pontoon, stranded in solitude in the middle of the bay.  I lie here blanketed in the warmth of the sun and the cicada-cum-cockatoo hum of the Australian bushland that looms over the bay.

A venture into this bush, through Oatley Park, will bring you up to the Oatley Castle – a remnant of Sydney’s alternate medieval past repurposed for barbeques and picnics. Further up and Websters Lookout provides views over the grand Georges River, pointing us south-eastwards towards our next destinations.

The Como Tidal Baths is the first of these, located across the river on its southern banks. While there’s not technically a beach here – unless you count the sliver of sand in one of its corners – I’m giving it an honourable mention as one of the few netted enclosures on the river.

The baths here offer cleaner access to the water than Jewfish Bay, with boardwalks on either side from which you can descend via ladders or dive straight in. Or, for those who still fear the odd pathogen lurking, a dip amongst chants of “Marco Polo” is also possible in the chlorine pool directly behind.  Afterwards, you can enjoy a meal at one of the riverside cafes before a pleasurable stroll through the aptly named Como Pleasure Grounds beneath palms, gums, and figs that arch over the water.

Equally pleasurable are the Oatley Pleasure Grounds back on the northern side of the river. Here, located at the bottom of a steep, meandering path, down a hill and through a tunnel of trees, you'll find the netted Oatley Bay Baths. At high tide the small swimming area provides for a refreshing swim, at low a place to wander longingly over the sandy bank in wait of the returning current.

A family of ducks greets me when I visit, waddling in sequence, one after the other, out of the water and up the concrete stairs, before spreading their wings to dry in the sun. Birds' songs call out to them from the trees above, intermittently breaking the stillness of the late afternoon bay.

Carrs Point Baths - the river’s final netted enclosure before reaching Botany Bay - is much more lively today. I’m greeted by traditional Greek tunes puppeteering a hand-linked audience dancing the circular Kalamatianos. Behind them stretches an Aegean Sea of people, mingling between carnival games and stalls of jewellery, candles, food, and decorations. A smoked-scented air of souvlaki, octopus, spanakopita, and halloumi pervades all over.

I’ve stumbled into the Greek Summer Festival. With the surrounding suburbs home to a large proportion of Sydney’s sizeable Greek community, the festival is held on the parklands here each year to showcase the people’s vibrant culture.

Greek Summer Ferstival by Carrs Point Baths

Joining in the celebration, I grab myself a haloumi gyros before squeezing my way through the crowds down to the shore. I blanket my towel between sets of beach chairs filled with elderly Mediterranean folk reclined luxuriously under the final spurts of the sun’s embrace. With the day getting on, I sneak in a final dip in the river, before returning to shore to watch festive fireworks blasting colour across a lilac-canvased sky. 

But I don’t stay long, distracted by skin starting to prickle, a burning sensation beginning to simmer, a reddening colour on the verge of bursting all over. The microbes are swarming, and I need to go home for a long, deep shower.

Total Beaches: 89/178