Whale Beach

Whale Beach is the quiet one — smaller, harder to find, and all the better for it. It sits just south of Palm Beach, separated by a headland, and the exposed swell here draws a smaller crowd of committed surfers rather than day-trippers. The clifftop road down to the beach is lined with some of the most private homes on the coast, tucked behind hedges and hard to glimpse from the street.

There’s a genuine hush to Whale Beach that even Palm Beach, just around the headland, doesn’t quite have. Its own surf club, its own small car park, and very little else — which is exactly the point. If you want the Northern Beaches at its most secluded, this is it.