Green Patch Beach

Green Patch Beach is a popular sandy shore in Booderee National Park, backed by coastal bush and known for sheltered water. It is an easy pick for a swim, a first snorkel, and a picnic in one stop. Vehicle entry needs a Booderee park pass, so if you are coming only for a quick dip, pair it with another stop in the park. Booderee's beaches are not patrolled by lifeguards.

The water is suitable for people learning to snorkel. Look around the rock platforms for octopus, squid and fish, which are regularly found here. Visitors often praise the clear water and gentle surf, though conditions and visibility can vary from day to day.

Bring lunch or use the gas barbecues. The nearby Green Patch day-use and camping area lists fresh water, public toilets, hot-water showers, sheltered barbecues, tables and seating. Those are facilities around the shared day-use and campground area, not guaranteed right on the sand.

Keep a strip of pale sand in the foreground with the green-blue water behind it. The low, tree-lined shore across the bay helps show the sheltered setting; a straight shot of water misses that context.

Bristol Point is about a 10-minute walk from Green Patch. Access is easiest at low tide. Scottish Rocks and Hole in the Wall are other nearby short-walk stops if you want to make a longer visit of the area.

The Telegraph Creek Nature Trail starts at Green Patch's north end. A raised boardwalk passes prickly heath and deeper sand dunes, with taller forest ahead. The creekside seating area is a good place to listen for birds; eastern bristlebirds and blue yabbies have been noted along the walk.

Traditional Owner Bernie McLeod recounts that Harriet, a lighthouse keeper's daughter, was accidentally shot and killed while playing with a gun at McVale's Hut; her grave is now at Green Patch. It is a tragic story tied to the place, though the account gives no date for her death.

McLeod explains Booderee as a Dhurga word meaning “bay of plenty” or “plenty of fish.” The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community jointly manages the park with the Director of National Parks; the community says its Country was handed back in 1995.