This eight-shaped pool on a rock shelf near Burning Palms Beach is an Instagram favourite. However it is imperative to pay attention to conditions: tides and weather mean that the shelf is frequently far too dangerous to visit, if not wholly submerged. Read the website forecast in detail before planning a trip here. It's a tough 6km return walk from Garrawarra Farm car park, off Garie Rd. National Parks recommends you visit with a Barefoot Downunder tour.

Allow two hours each way and take plenty of water.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Garie Beach

2.33 MILES

Three kilometres down a turn-off from the main road, this excellent surf beach is a picturesque spot. Like all of the Royal National Park surf beaches,…

2. Sri Venkateswara Temple

3.72 MILES

Bone-white and richly decorated with sculptures of Hindu deities, Helensburgh's temple is a rewarding detour on the drive between Wollongong and Royal…

3. Symbio Wildlife Gardens

4.07 MILES

Friendly kangaroos are the highlight at this private zoo, 34km north of Wollongong. Native animals such as emus, echidnas and koalas (plus imported…

4. Royal National Park

5.49 MILES

The 15,091-hectare Royal National Park was established in 1879, making it the oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone in the USA. Stretching…

5. Wattamolla Beach

5.9 MILES

About halfway along the coast, Wattamolla Beach is one of the favourite picnic spots in the park and gets pretty busy in summer. It has the great…

6. Bundeena

9.97 MILES

The town of Bundeena, on the southern shore of Port Hacking opposite Sydney’s southern suburb of Cronulla, is surrounded by the Royal National Park and…

7. Cronulla Beach

11.69 MILES

Cronulla is a beachy surf suburb south of Botany Bay, its long surf beach (Sydney's only one reachable by train) stretching beyond the dunes to the Botany…

8. Bellambi Point

13.55 MILES

Eight kilometres north of Wollongong, this fine-sand headland – formerly a tool site and burial ground, with a large shell midden – was legally recognised…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "australia/new-south-wales/royal-national-park/attractions/figure-eight-pools/a/poi-sig/1613483/362304",
      "position": "superzone"
    }