Werrong nude beach with hail and rainbows!

It was an early January day and the past week had been unseasonally wet and cool in Sydney, however that morning the sun was out and while the forecast suggested a possible afternoon thunderstorm, my mate and I decided to risk it and get down to Werrong nude beach, which is about an hour south of Sydney in the Royal National Park.

Leaving Sydney the sun was out bright with white clouds in the distance but going down the highway the clouds darkened and darkened until about 10 mins from the start of the bush walk to Werrong it started to pour and my car theometer said the temp had dropped from 29 to 21! By the time we had arrived the rain had stopped and the road was steaming from the downpour.

The walk from the road includes the popular Bundena to Otford trial and also the trial to the instagram famous figure of 8 pools. Starting the walk, we passed about 10 people who looked like they had either rushed back from Werrong or the pools from the storm, however the temperature was already warming up again and the water from the top of the trial looked amazing.

Breaking off from the main Bundenna track after the first few minutes of the walk, the surrounding forest and ferns smelt so fresh from the rain, making the walk smell like pine. The walk down to Werrong is a couple of kilometers and parts were muddy, walking down we encountered about 10 people coming back up, presumably due to the recent storm. One backpacker couple looked like they had a good day at the beach carrying a small sun cover and one couple looked like they had taken the wrong track as they were struggling back up the track in flip flops!

After the 30 min walk, the sun was well back out and it got warmer as the sound of the surf started to come through the forest and then finally we were out in the sun and could see across to the northern grassed area of the beach where 3 sun tents were clearly visible and about 20 nude people relaxing, wandering around the grass and down to the water - we had arrived! Nearly all were nude with just a couple of guys wearing speedos.

Another mate had set up a spot for the day just behind the main northern area under a pine tree and the small fresh water stream. Meeting him we quickly stripped off, the feeling of removing my hot sweaty clothes and feeling the breeze all over my skin is definitely one of the highlights of a visit to Werrong.

 

We quickly got down to the water and the surf was surging, making the usual dangerous Werrong currents even more dangerous than usual. Since my last visit, hundreds of rocks had been washed up on the beach, covering most of the sand and making me realise why my mate had brought a pair of flip flops with him! The water was amazing though, being around 22-23 degrees and was followed by some cool beers which I had brought down with an ice pack.

After chilling for a while in the clearing under the pine tree, the temp started to fall again and dark clouds could be seen over the escarpment. Most of the rest of the nudies suddenly began packing up and leaving, I checked the radar and the storm clouds seemed brief so we decided to stay but then 15 mins later hail started to hail! Luckily the hail wasn't that large and after sheltering under the pine for a few minutes, the hail turned to rain. Standing nude in the rain surrounded by hail storms was definitely a different Werrong experience but was made up for when the storm passed after 15 or so minutes and a rainbow appeared from the north.

 

We seemed to be the ones left at the beach, except for one nude guy who appeared to be doing laps of the beach - perhaps he was was working on his step count? It was amazing having the beach to ourselves for another hour, before the sun started to fall behind the escarpment around 6pm and it was time to make the walk back upto the car.

Walking up was alot easier even though it was more muddy and more of a workout than usual but I slept alot better that night after an awesome afternoon and it was a thumbs up to the decision to risk the chance of a storm and get down for the afternoon.