The Pink Caves are permanently closed following a series of accidents. Signs are up at the site and the National Park Service have asked visitors to stay away (effective as of August 2022).
The Pink Caves on the Central Coast have become a bit of a social media phenomenon. It’s easy to see why they became known as the ‘cotton candy caves’, with pictures of deep pink rock and aqua coloured water. There’s been a lot of talk online as to whether the colour is real or photoshopped, and it’s definitely real! They are a gorgeous spot to visit and a great introduction to sea caves in the area.
Visiting any sea cave is potentially dangerous though and you do need the right conditions to visit. In this post we’ll cover exactly what to expect, how to visit the caves safely, as well as both the long and short route to get to them.
What to expect when visiting the Pink Caves
The Pink Caves at Catherine Hill Bay look like a Disneyland attraction - dark purple glistening rocks and a water colour that seems to change as it enters the cave.
The colours don’t stop there either, the seaweed is deep red, the roof of the cave is a dark green and orange colour, and the little rock pools are pink too.
It felt like the colours had been turned up and the more you look around the more you see.
The great thing about visiting the Pink Caves is that you can easily combine it with other fab things to do in the area - whether it’s a longer walk, some more sea caves or chilling at a stunning beach.
Here’s the insider info you need to know before you go.
How to visit safely
First things first: you should only try to get to the Pink Caves in the right conditions. We’d tried to visit these caves once before but had to turn back, despite it being low tide.
The key to a safe visit is to make sure both the tide and swell are low (don’t visit if the swell is classified even as moderate) - much like the Figure of 8 Pool in Royal National Park.
You can see from the photos, that even at low tide with a moderate swell, the waves can come crashing over the path to the caves.
The website we use to check is this one. First check the low tide time and then make sure the swell says slight over the same period. We used Catherine Hill Bay as the location for the tides as the cave is just round the corner from there.
We visited once when the tide was low and the swell was moderate and it was way too risky, the waves were huge and crashed right over the rock platform that you need to walk along to reach the caves.
It’s really not worth the risk of being swept into the ocean, or getting knocked over in the cave which could result in a head injury.
Visiting the cave is a lot of fun, but not if you’re worrying about being hit by a huge wave. Although a rogue wave can technically occur at any time, the risk is much lower during low swell and we personally felt safe in the cave at that time.
If you see waves crashing over the rock platforms on your way to the cave, it’s best to turn back.
How to find the Pink Caves
So safety warning out the way, here’s how to find them! The Pink Caves are located at the headland at the northern end of Moonee Beach on the Central Coast.
The only way to get into the cave is to walk from the southern end of the headland and head along the rocks around the headland (don’t climb up the rocks, as then you won’t be able to get back down to the cave entrance).
Going from the northern tip of the headland (Catherine Hill Bay side) will mean you stop abruptly at a cliff edge and there is no path into the cave.
There are two options for getting there:
The long route - not really worth it!
Now we’re hikers and normally we’d say do the longer route but in this instance we prefer the shorter option.
The longer route is 5.3km return and takes you along the Moonee Beach Trail. The walk is not unpleasant but it’s also nothing special, with little in the way of views and it feels more like a fire trail than a hiking track.
If you have more time on your hands and are keen for a walk we’d recommend opting for a different trail nearby rather than this very average route!
Once you’re down on Moonee Beach you meet up with the shorter route which we’ll describe below.
The short route - the best in our opinion
The shorter route begins on the road parallel to Surfside Drive. Park beside the sign which says “beach access” and points into the bushes. The trail is only 200m to the beach and you’ll pass a small stream.
Once you are at the beach walk directly ahead of you onto the rocky platform. Continue straight, staying on the lowest section of the rock (if you climb upwards, it will mean you’ll have to find a tricky route down again!).
It’s quite wide at first, but even with low swell we recommend staying away from the edge and the water just to be on the safe side. A rogue wave could crash over, even in good conditions.
At low tide the the walk is easy and almost entirely flat. You’ll also pass some pretty rock pools along the way.
From the beach access sign to the mouth of the cave is just 950m one way.
Although there are a couple of slightly slippery areas where the rock is wet, you can almost entirely avoid treading on them as it’s such a wide platform. I’d wear shoes with grip though because inside the cave it’s wet (or you could go bare foot inside the cave).
You’ll know you’ve reached the cave because you literally can’t go any further without wading through the channel of water that runs through it. You can then head along the narrow ridge into the cave.
Inside the caves
When we saw the outside of the cave, the light was so bright that you couldn’t really see the colour and we didn’t think we’d be able to get any good photos.
Luckily the cave is actually quite big inside and fully shaded from the sun, so you can see the pink colour at any time of day. It is a really distinct pink and the water is also a really gorgeous aqua colour. The combination is very striking!
Once you’re inside the cave you’ll see lots of little rock pools with the same pink colour as the rock, which were also really pretty.
Just watch out for any unexpected waves that might come through and splash up as they are forced through the narrow channel.
Even in great conditions we had a few big waves, nothing worrying but enough to get a bit wet, so you just want to keep an eye on the noisy ones and keep away from the edge if you hear them coming!
I can’t stress enough that with a bigger swell it could actually be really scary, in the right conditions though it’s fab!
Another great spot nearby
If you love the Pink Cave experience and have a little extra time we’d recommend heading to Ghosties Beach directly afterwards. Ghosties is not just a gorgeous beach, but also has a fun slit in the cliff which almost feels like a sea cave slot canyon! It leads through to an overhang which has some coloured rock, but nothing on the scale of the Pink Caves.
To get there walk along Moonee Beach and then follow the path between the dunes. From the rock platform at Moonee Beach it is just 1km to get to Ghosties Beach and it’s an easy stroll.
You can read more about the Ghosties sea caves in this post, which also includes how to get into the red cavern, just beyond the ‘sea slot canyon’.
Getting to the Pink Caves
Getting to Moonee Beach where you begin the Pink Caves walk takes around 1.5 hours from Sydney, and it’s a distance of roughly 130km. It’s 40km and roughly 50 minutes from Newcastle. It takes a little longer to reach the trailhead for the longer walk as you have to drive through the national park.
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