Little Congwong Beach Walk

Little Congwong Beach Walk

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Posted 2013-04-09 by Vanessa Mfollow
is an easy walk that can be found on the northern headland of Botany Bay. It begins in the car park in Anzac Parade in La Perouse (near Bare Island, home to popular tourist attraction Bare Island Fort). After only 700 metres you'll be at your destination, having passed through the tranquil Congwong Beach along the way.

Because both Little Congwong Beach and Congwong Beach are so close, you actually get the chance to see what you'll be walking through before you set out, at various locations around the car park. Looking out over this section of Kamay Botany Bay National Park towards the bay's northern headland, these beaches look just like any others, if a little smaller than those I usually visit, but as I found out they have very distinct, strong characters.



The first stretch of is a sloping concrete path that opens out after about a hundred metres into Congwong Beach, which is quite small and serene. It would provide kids with a great place to swim, along with anyone who enjoys beaches not for their surf, but for the beauty and the opportunity they provide for relaxation.



At the other end of the sand, there is a sign for Little Congwong Beach Track, and it's here you will pick up the path again (it's a pretty decent one, not sandy or rocky at all, but concrete and with fences too). For much of this stretch of the walk, there is vegetation surrounding you on either side.

However, there are also a few places where you can glimpse both Botany Bay and Bare Island. One section in particular offers a great view of the area, and the damaged fence here suggests people like to get out onto the rocks to appreciate it better.





Since the walk is pretty short, before you know it you'll be at Little Congwong Beach. This stretch of sand has been listed among the most beautiful beaches in Sydney, but unfortunately I didn't get a good look at it on my visit. Instead, I got a surprise when I found myself confronted with nude bathers and decided I wouldn't go any further.

I probably should have expected such an outcome though. At the end of Congwong Beach I had seen a hand-drawn chalk sign depicting a pair of swimmers with a cross drawn over them. Since it was so informally done, I didn't give it much notice and with such a kid-friendly place right there, what little consideration I did give the sign had me view it as a joke.

I saw it as a suggestion that at the next beach, people in budgie smugglers weren't welcome. But, instead of concluding that people would be wearing nothing, I pictured people just wearing board shorts instead. Quite naive in hindsight.



Another clue that Little Congwong Beach would be populated by nudists came when I had almost reached the beach and suddenly met a whole lot of backpackers coming back along the path. In this case, I assumed they had just seen what they wanted of another Sydney beach and had started heading back.

However, I did hear one complaining about an 'old man', but I didn't catch why. After finding one aging man at the base of the stairs when I reached the beach, I now think I can guess the problem (there were other nude bathers there too, but much further up the beach).



definitely was not the experience I expected. I completed it because it happened to be near my true destination in the area - Bare Island - and I didn't expect it to be an attraction itself. Just a path to a nearby beach that happened to be a little longer than usual.

However, it turned out there really were sights to see along the way - and never what I expected. From the pretty, family-friendly beach that La Perouse locals are lucky to have so close by, to the views and the unexpected discovery of a nudist beach, it was a varied and interesting walk for one so short.

A look into the use of Little Congwong Beach as a nudist beach suggests the practice is being discouraged too. So if you decide to tread the track yourself, your walk may have a different ending.

#walks
#views
#outdoor
#la_perouse
#free
#eastern_suburbs
#beaches
%wnsydney
176543 - 2023-06-15 17:15:38

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