Weather Forecast
16.00°C
Current Temperature
30.00km/h
Wind speed
14.18°C
Water Temperature
3.91m
Swell
1.05m
Tide
6/11
UV
Nelson Bay is a 4 km wide, south facing, rocky bay lying between Cape Sir William Grant and Cape Nelson. Deep inside the bay are three remnants of a once larger beach. Today the bay consists of 50 to 90 m high cliffs, composed largely of dune calcarenite sitting on top of basalt bases and rock platforms. Behind the beaches, the cliffs rise steeply to heights of 30 to 40 m and are capped with a veneer of dune sand. The dunes were deposited when a larger beach and backing sand ramp occupied the back of the bay, probably about 6 000 years ago. The beaches are difficult to access. Cape Nelson Road runs above the western beach (Nelson Bay 3) and there is a car park, walkway, viewing platform and steps down the bluffs to this beach. However, the other two (Nelson Bay 1 & 2) must be reached on foot around the rocks at low tide. All three beaches receive waves averaging about 1.5 m, that break over a 200 m wide surf zone. An inner, rip dominated bar is usually detached from the beach, and the outer bar has larger rips. Rocks and reefs also dominate the inner surf. In addition, the narrow, high tide sand beaches are often awash at high tide. These are backed by cobble beaches at the base of the cliffs.
Beach Length: 0.15km
General Hazard Rating: 8/10

Patrolled Beach Flag Patrols

There are currently no services provided by Surf Life Saving Australia for this beach. Please take the time to browse the Surf Safety section of this website to learn more about staying safe when swimming at Australian beaches. Click here to visit general surf education information.

Information

Formal parking area
Formal parking area
Train
Bus
Passenger ferry

Regulations

Hazards

Topographic rips
Winds

Weather

SLSA provides this information as a guide only. Surf conditions are variable and therefore this information should not be relied upon as a substitute for observation of local conditions and an understanding of your abilities in the surf. SLSA reminds you to always swim between the red and yellow flags and never swim at unpatrolled beaches. SLSA takes all care and responsibility for any translation but it cannot guarantee that all translations will be accurate.