[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":88},["ShallowReactive",2],{"latest-published-pool-number":3,"page-\u002Fpool\u002Fport-kembla-olympic-pool":4,"surround-\u002Fpool\u002Fport-kembla-olympic-pool":79},303,{"id":5,"title":6,"address":7,"body":8,"city":43,"country":44,"date":45,"description":46,"device":47,"distance":48,"extension":49,"featured_image":50,"gallery":51,"googlemap":55,"lanes":56,"latitude":57,"length":58,"longitude":59,"meta":60,"metaDescription":61,"metaTitle":61,"navigation":62,"ogImage":61,"pace":63,"path":64,"pool":65,"published":62,"rating":66,"review":67,"robots":61,"schemaOrg":61,"seo":68,"setupLanes":61,"setupLength":61,"setupUnits":61,"sitemap":69,"state":71,"stem":72,"tags":73,"type":75,"units":76,"url":77,"__hash__":78},"pools\u002Fpool\u002F234.port-kembla-olympic-pool.md","Port Kembla Olympic Pool","LOT 1 Olympic Blvd, Port Kembla NSW 2505, Australia",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":39},"minimark",[11,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36],[12,13,14],"p",{},"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.",[12,16,17],{},"The pool is seasonal and has just reopened after the winter shutdown.",[12,19,20],{},"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.",[12,22,23],{},"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.",[12,25,26],{},"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.",[12,28,29],{},"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.",[12,31,32],{},"I jump in and set off for 1600 m in the same format as earlier: 1200 m straight, then 4x100 m.",[12,34,35],{},"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.",[12,37,38],{},"Swim done, I feel fresh and even tempted by another stop on the hour and a half drive back to Sydney.",{"title":40,"searchDepth":41,"depth":41,"links":42},"",2,[],"Port Kembla","Australia","2025-10-25","Another fantastic free Aussie ocean pool swim.","Garmin Forerunner 965",1600,"md","port-kembla-olympic-pool-square.webp",[50,52,53,54],"port-kembla-olympic-pool-entrance.webp","port-kembla-olympic-pool-sign.webp","port-kembla-olympic-pool-beach.webp","https:\u002F\u002Fmaps.app.goo.gl\u002FFfqkcXHFePoVfq5h8","8",-34.49263,50,150.90999,{},null,true,"01:35","\u002Fpool\u002Fport-kembla-olympic-pool",234,75,"Another great Aussie ocean pool. Impressive facilities, lifeguards on duty, super clean water and a tidy pool deck — and it's free. Brilliant.\n",{"title":6,"description":46},{"loc":64,"lastmod":70},"2025-10-29","New South Wales","pool\u002F234.port-kembla-olympic-pool",[74],"Ocean","Outdoor","m","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wollongong.nsw.gov.au\u002Fplaces\u002Fbeaches-and-pools\u002Fpools\u002Fpools\u002Fsaltwater\u002Fport-kembla-pool","u5SnWeERWzHbQKEsqPTUSLHuJzpg16vjJYgznAYwhpI",[80,84],{"title":81,"path":82,"stem":83,"children":-1},"Thirroul Pool","\u002Fpool\u002Fthirroul-pool","pool\u002F235.thirroul-pool",{"title":85,"path":86,"stem":87,"children":-1},"Continental Pool","\u002Fpool\u002Fcontinental-pool-wollongong","pool\u002F233.continental-pool-wollongong",1789678157941]