Port Kembla Olympic Pool

Fifteen minutes south of Wollongong, I head for Port Kembla. The drive passes the Port Kembla Steelworks, a huge industrial site and a reminder of Australia's often hidden industrial economy.

The pool is seasonal and has just reopened after the winter shutdown.

I park by the beach and watch a few overs of cricket on the open pitch a couple of hundred metres from the sand, then wander down to the pool.

Another free-entry ocean pool, and the facilities are fantastic for a freebie: full changing rooms, showers, an enclosed pool with a well maintained deck, tiered grass banks for sunbathing, and lifeguards on duty. Australia has many free-to-use ocean pools, but not many come with this level of kit.

The 50 m, eight-lane pool is quiet. Clouds roll in and without the sun it's chilly on the exposed deck. Half a dozen people in wetsuits are in the beachside lane doing some kind of freediving or lifesaving training. Apart from a couple of kids braving the cold, I pretty much have the pool to myself.

The pool sits right on the beach. The entrance pavilion and changing rooms line two sides, with a tiered grassy bank on the hillside opposite. On a sunny summer day I can imagine this place is busy. It's ocean-fed: water is pumped in from just yards away at one end and skims back to the sea at the other.

I jump in and set off for 1600 m in the same format as earlier: 1200 m straight, then 4x100 m.

The water is freezing. I'd guess 18-19°C. Not bad by home standards, but with warmer air it feels even crisper. The water is impressively clear and the pool spotless — probably thanks to the season's first clean. The cold seems to help my shoulder issue, or maybe it just numbs it.

Swim done, I feel fresh and even tempted by another stop on the hour and a half drive back to Sydney.