Blackmans Bay Beach & Blowhole
Blackmans Bay Beach is the kind of unhurried, locals-first strand where families picnic on the foreshore grass while the ocean puts on a show — because just around the headland, a dramatic blowhole sends plumes of white spray skyward with every decent swell.
The Beach Itself
Stretching along Ocean Esplanade about 3 km from Kingston, Blackmans Bay Beach offers calm, safe swimming in the sheltered waters of the Derwent Estuary. The water is cold by tropical standards but crystalline, and the foreshore is equipped with BBQs, a boat ramp, parking and public toilets — everything you need for a full day out.
The beach faces east, which means morning light floods it in gold and the afternoons stay sheltered from the prevailing westerlies. It is rarely crowded outside the peak of summer, making mid-morning visits on a weekday feel almost private.
The Blowhole and the Secret Gulch
Walk around the cliff base near the blowhole and you will find what locals call the swimming gulch — a deep channel carved into the rocks where waves surge in and out with hypnotic rhythm. It is not signposted, which is half the appeal.
Time your visit to coincide with a moderate southerly swell and the blowhole itself is spectacular: a column of white water erupting from the dolerite with a deep, percussive boom that you feel in your chest. Stand well back and keep children close — the rocks are slippery.
Blackmans Bay Beach & Blowhole on video
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