Penrith - Sydney at it's best.

Food & Wine

Penrith has carved out a niche of it’s own for fine food & wine, inspired by it’s waterside locale and chefs working their magic with the freshest ingredients.

Cronulla Coast has more than 90 cafes, bars and restaurants to choose from there’s a venue to suit all occasions and budgets.

Gymea Eat Street provides a fabulous array of tantalising options, Gymea Bay Road, Gymea.

Check out the restaurants near Tom Ugly’s Bridge or visit the infamous “Smith Seafoods”.

For something different – the Shire is home to Nina’s Chocolates

Browse - Dining Business Listings

Art & Culture

The Shire's rich cultural heritage is celebrated through a vibrant program of community cultural events that focus on the unique local Aboriginal traditions and cultures, programs that involve young people, people with a disability, multicultural arts and the Shire's natural and built heritage.

Penrith offers a haven for artists and art lovers alike to enjoy exploring the creative journey. The Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail offers insight into the working lives of artists and is set in an idyllic location surrounded by the Royal National Park.

The Shire also boasts Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre. A unique $8 million arts complex, the regional gallery and theatre attract world class exhibitions and screenings to southern Sydney. Its tranquil gardens are popular for weddings and special functions and the Hazelhurst cafe offers fine food and great coffee. Budding artists can also hone their skills at one of the many art courses offered.

In the Water

Many of the Shire’s attractions are on or around the water. It’s a haven of activity with something to suit everyone……

Patrolled Beaches…

The major beaches in Penrith are Cronulla, North Cronulla, Elouera and Wanda.

These beaches are patrolled year round by council lifeguards and throughout summer in conjunction with volunteers from local Surf Life Saving Clubs.

This beautiful stretch of coastline is a congregation point for thousands of swimmers, surfers, walkers, sporting teams, surf lifesaving events and café patrons.

Our surfing breaks cater for a variety of surfing abilities. From soft easy beach breaks to world class waves at Shark Island and Voodoo this stretch of coastline has it all. A number of surf schools operate in the area that also has a great surfing history and culture.

Lifeguard Information and PATROL TIMES

Beach	Summer	Winter
Cronulla	6.00am – 6.00pm (peak season) 6.00am – 5.00pm (early and late season)	Late April to late September 7.00am – 4.00pm
North Cronulla	6.00am – 6.00pm (peak season) 6.00am – 5.00pm (early and late season)	Late April to late September NO PATROL – Emergency Response Only
Elouera	7.00am – 6.00pm (peak season) 7.00am – 5.00pm (early and late season)	Late April to late September NO PATROL – Emergency Response Only
Wanda	7.00am – 6.00pm (peak season) 7.00am – 5.00pm (early and late season)	Late April to late September NO PATROL – Emergency Response Only

Safety information

Please observe the following water safety information, which may save your life.

NO FLAGS NO SWIM! Always swim between the red and yellow flags. The flags indicate a safe swimming area, so never swim outside the flags.
DO NOT SWIM directly after a meal or if under the influence of alcohol.
DO NOT SWIM when the beach is closed or unpatrolled. If there are no red and yellow flags this means the beach is closed or unpatrolled.
DO NOT PANIC if you get caught in a current or undertow – raise one arm up in the air to signal for lifeguard assistance, stay calm and float until help arrives.
DO NOT STRUGGLE if you get a cramp – raise your arm for help and float or keep the affected parts of your body perfectly still.
DO NOT STRUGGLE against a rip or current – swim diagonally across it.
ALWAYS supervise your child in or around any body of water.
IF UNSURE of surf conditions ask the lifeguards or lifesaver for advice.

Who can help you at the beach? Lifeguards and beach inspectors

Penrith Council employs professional lifeguards to patrol the beaches in Bate Bay all year round. Council lifeguards are highly trained in all facets of water safety and in the application of Local Government Acts and Regulations. If you require first aid or need assistance for beach related matters, look for a lifeguard wearing their distinctive red lifeguard uniform. There is also a clearly marked beach signage at each access point to our beaches. Volunteer members of the Surf Lifesaving Association help Council lifeguards to patrol the beaches on the weekend and public holidays during the summer months. They wear red and yellow uniforms, and can also help you at the beach.

Sun protection - SLIP SLOP SLAP

Too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, so make sure that whenever you visit the beach you take adequate precautions. Always wear sunscreen (maximum protection factor), a hat and a shirt. It is also wise to avoid long periods of direct exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day.

Non Patrolled Shire Beaches

Cronulla Coast – Greenhills, Blackwoods, Shelly Beach, Oak Park, Darook & Gunnamatta Bay
Kurnell - Boat Harbour, Silver Beach
Bundeena Beaches - Hordens, Gunyah & Jibbon Beaches
Royal National Park – Bonnie Vale, Garie, Marley, Era, Watamolla,

Beaches for Kids

Gunamatta Bay

Perfect for parents with toddlers. Excellent playground facilities, accessible and clean toilets, kiosk and café style eatery. Safe swimming areas, convenient parking with easy access for parents with prams.

Shelly Beach

A great option for parents with younger children. Large open grass areas surround play equipment and a safe sea bath for kids to swim in without the worry of waves or rips. Parking and accessibility for prams and wheelchairs is also easy.

South Cronulla

South Cronulla is a great place for fish and chips in the park on a summers evening. The natural amphitheatre feel of the park flows down onto the protected southern corner of Cronulla’s beaches which provides the perfect place for families to meet on those hot summer afternoons. Let the kids play in the playground and enjoy the nor- east sea breeze, whilst mum or dad places an order for dinner in the many take-a-way shops in the area”

North Cronulla, Elouera & Wanda

If your children are older and ready for the waves, North Cronulla, Elouera and Wanda beaches are the pick. These beaches are patrolled year round by a professional lifeguard service and have kiosk and public toilet facilities with ample free car parking.

Boat Harbour

If your feeling adventurous why not pack the family and all the beach gear in the car and drive right down onto the sand. The Boat Harbour four wheel drive park at the northern end of Cronulla allows for vehicle access onto the beach” (entry fee applies)

Diving

Lots of great sites; including Kurnell, Port Hacking and ocean sites off Cronulla Beaches. Shore based, boat and wreck diving offer the opportunity to see an abundance of aquatic life, including the famous weedy sea dragon, prolific in the Shire’s waters.

(Picture of Diver with Weedy Sea Dragon)

Links through to Aquatic Explorers & Cronulla Pro Dive

Boating & Kayaking

If you like messing about in boats, then you’re spoilt for choice around the Cronulla Coast. Keen kayakers can head to the pristine waters of Port Hacking, which has a reputation as one of the best paddling spots in Sydney. Bundeena Kayaks organise guided tours by day and night or can rent you a kayak.

If your idea of boating involves something with a motor, Cronulla Houseboats hires out anything from a tinny to a fully equipped houseboat, while Cronulla Cruises offers three hour scenic cruises on the beautiful Port Hacking. Just inside the Royal National Park, boats can also be hired from the Audley Boatshed so you can explore the area

Another popular canoeing spot is Woronora, set in the spectacular Woronora Valley. Canoes and kayaks can be hired from the Star Boatshed. Beautiful Como also has tinnys and party pontoons for hire at the Como Marina.

Fishing

Fishing in Port Hacking and along the Cronulla Coast is a popular pastime for locals and visitors alike and can produce a variety of tasty catch from flathead to whiting and bream.

Port Hacking offers great boat fishing, while surf-casting is most popular from Bundeena and Maianbar.

Swallow Rock Reserve, Swallow Rock Drive, Grey's Point.

Located on the Hacking River, you can fish off the river's edge safely with kids or for the more adventurous, head to the rocks to the left of the boat ramp where there is a good deep channel. Bream & flathead are the most prevalent fish in the area.

Great day out for the family with toilets, bbqs, natural reserve and carpark

Gunnamatta Park, Nicholson Parade, Cronulla

Located on Gunnamatta Bay off the Port Hacking, fishing is best around/off the bath. Locals say it's because the fish are attracted to the nets of the baths and the boats moored in the area - provides plenty of fish food. If the variety of fish around is any indication, this is a hot spot for the casual fishing family - loads of taylor, whiting, flathead and bream.

Easy to get to, you can come by train or by car with a carpark on site. Gunnamatta Park is a favourite on weekends for family picnics so it's recommended you get there early to fish before the lunchtime rush. The Park features onsite toilets, picnic shelters & a children's playground. It's also walking distance to Bundeena Ferry - you can hop the ferry to Bundeena if the fish aren't biting

Here are a few other tips from the locals……

Location	Fish	Facilities
Cronulla beaches	Whiting, Bream Taylor Australian Salmon	Toilets, parking,
Old Taren Pt Rd next to Cpt Cook Bridge	Bream Flathead Whiting Luderick	No
Silver beach Kurnell	Whiting Flathead Bream	Toilets at Bonner Pt end, playground at Bonner Pt end. carpark
Yowie Bay Boat Ramp	Bream Whiting	Carpark, toilets & small playground
Wally’s Wharf Dolans Bay	Bream Whiting	Toilets, carpark

Darook Park	Whiting Flathead Bream	Toilets. On street parking only
Como Pleasure Grounds	Whiting Flathead Bream	Toilets, carpark, bbqs and picnic shelters & playground

Surfing

– Breaks to cater for beginners to experts

When it comes to surfing locations in Sydney, the beaches of Bate Bay/Cronulla provide perhaps the most variety and best quality of any other single stretch of coastline, headland to headland. From north to south there are in excess of 24 individual specific surf breaks and in addition to this another 5 kilometres of possible beach breaks available to surfers of all abilities.

The list of key surfing spots in the area include;

Voodoo
The Alley
Cronulla Point
Shark Island
Sandshoes

Voodoo comprises of predominate left hand reef break of world class standard that can hold massive south swells.

The Alley is the main beach break in the area at North Cronulla beach and the natural rip that occurs at the southern end of the beach makes for consistent sand banks and quality beach break waves. It can get really busy our here so be prepared for a bit of hassling.

Cronulla Point was the birthplace of modern surfing in Cronulla now 50 years ago. The point is one of the only waves in the area that is protected from southerly winds which is a real bonus throughout winter but can get really crowded.

Shark Island draws the world’s elite body boarders each year for the Human Shark Island Challenge. I don't recommend you paddle out here at all unless you are an advanced surfer, instead watch the locals take it on from the safety of the esplanade. For the record the Island breaks best on a high tide with a south swell.

Shoes is a little jewel on our southern peninsula and provides surfers with a short sharp right hander. It got its name because the surf pioneers of the 1960s, in the days before leg-ropes, wore sandshoes when they surfed because the place is ripe with sea urchins.

I hope you enjoy your visit to the Shire and enjoy our surfing beaches. Councils friendly lifeguards can direct you to the best surfing locations in the area so ask them for some local knowledge when you come for a surf.

See you in the water - Brad Whittaker Manager Beach Operations

photo's req - Shark Island Challenge contest shot, Voodoo, Surfer at Alley

Health & Beauty

Tee off, splash out, pump iron or simply lie back and enjoy an indulgent massage or body wrap. There’s nothing quite like starting a day in the Shire with a refreshing workout … and no better way to wrap up the day than with a relaxing body treatment.

For fitness fanatics, the area’s three leisure centres located at Caringbah, Engadine and Sutherland, feature several pools and Sutherland and Engadine contain excellent gym facilities.

Golfers are just as well catered for with several courses in the area. Woolooware Golf Club on Harnleigh Avenue, Woolooware, and Kareela Golf Club on the corner of Bates Drive and Princes Highway, Kareela, are excellent courses. If you need to brush up your swing, the award-winning Ridge Golf Driving Range at Recreation Drive, Barden Ridge will get you back on par.

If a day of pampering is more your style, visit one of the many Day Spa’s, where you can spend just an hour or stay most of the day indulging in massages, body wraps, manicures, pedicures and skin treatments.

Trades & Services

Shopping

Dining

Accommodation

Attractions & Activities

Employment & Education