Ghosties Beach is a real gem. In an area of gorgeous beaches, it manages to stand out with its dramatic setting. Huge cliffs give it a secluded feel and then there are the incredible sea caves.
Everyone has heard of the nearby Pink Caves, but less people seem to know that just one beach down there are not one but two colourful caves, as well as my personal favourite: the sea slot canyon. I’m sure that’s not the correct term for it, but that’s definitely what it feels like!
Here’s everything you need to know about Ghosties Beach and sea caves.
Ghosties Beach
Ghosties Beach is stunning, it has that wild feeling with colourful boulders at one end and the towering cliff walls which surround it on two sides. It’s a beautiful stretch of pristine sand and on a sunny day the water colour is a deep blue.
The stats for the walk
Distance: 1.8km each way (3.6km total)
Elevation: 35m
Difficulty: Easy
As there is no direct access from a car park it tends to be fairly quiet, which only adds to the feeling you’ve arrived in your own private paradise.
The easiest way to reach the beach is to park at the road parallel to Surfside Drive, beside the sign which says “beach access” and points into the bush. The trail down to the first beach, Moonee Beach, is just 200m.
Cross over the small stream and head south along Moonee Beach.
Moonee Beach
You’ll pass over the small sand dunes and then you’re on Ghosties Beach. The walk from the car park to the beach is just over 1km and is flat (except for the tiny uphill section between the beaches). It’s a beautiful walk as Moonee Beach is also absolutely spectacular.
Once you’re there, all that’s left to do is kick back and relax or get exploring the incredible sea caves and arches.
Ghosties Beach sea caves
Sea cave safety
The most important thing to consider when exploring the sea caves is the tide and the swell. The swell is very important here, as even during low swell the caves get the full brunt of the waves rolling in. You want low tide and low swell to be able to confidently explore the caves safely.
The slit in the cliffs, which we’ll call the sea slot canyon, and the cave that it leads into, require a normal low tide reading.
The red cave (more on that below) requires a very low tide. It is right next to the slot canyon sea cave, but requires even calmer conditions. Do not attempt this one unless you have a 0.3m tide and a swell which reads as ‘slight’ on this website.
That’s because you have to pass through one deep section to enter the cave and the water can quickly fill it up on the inside. You won’t see this deep section until you are in it (from a distance it looks really shallow, but within two steps it’s chest high).
You don’t want to get stuck in the cave with large waves rolling in. People do go in with higher tides and bigger waves, but personally we never would and we don’t recommend it. You want the cave to be fun, and worrying about giant waves rolling in would definitely ruin the mood!
The slot and the first cavern
The little slit in the cliff wall is an absolute delight. It’s quite long and narrow and the water has created wavy patterns in the rock which make the whole experience walking through it spectacular.
In the sunshine the outside of the slot also appears to be rainbow coloured, it’s very unique.
I lost count of how many times I walked through it, it’s such a fun little slot!
At the other end you reach a cavern which is open on one end, with a view of the ocean and the second sea cave.
Inside the cavern you’ll find more rainbow coloured rock which is so unusual and even though we’ve seen it a few times now, the slot and the cavern still have the wow factor.
The red and gold sea cave
The sea cave just beyond the cavern (the furthest cave on Ghosties Beach) is a little trickier to access, but not too difficult in the right conditions. For reference - we went at 0.3m tide and low swell, and just before you reach the cave there is a big dip in the sand bank which drops you from knee deep to roughly chest height water within three steps.
This would be higher and rougher in other conditions. For us it wasn’t hard to get in and it was quite funny to be knee deep one minute and then submerged the next, because we weren’t expecting it and had gone in fully clothed!
After a couple of steps you’re back on the higher ground and knee high water again. There are a couple of rocks in the water but you can see them, so it’s not really a trip hazard.
Water will be coming into the cave all the time, but at very low tide there is plenty of sand to walk around on. It is small inside, and full of deep red/purple rocks - a very different colour to the nearby Pink Caves. The walls also sparkle with gold which was spectacular to look at.
It's a really cool spot and though not quite as wow as the Pink Caves, I still really loved looking around in there and we also got it to ourselves which was fab. I still can’t get over the amazing colours of both sets of caves, which are unlike anything I’ve seen before!
It looks like you could walk further back through the cave but I quickly saw it would require almost slithering on your stomach which made me feel queasy at the thought and I turned straight back.
For me there was too much water coming into the cave to even consider that, especially as it might lead to nowhere!
The water was still low when we went to leave the cave so it was easy to get back to the beach again. We have seen people do it in higher waters and they struggled with the waves and said it was scary, so definitely make sure you opt for very low tide and swell.
The nearby Pink Caves
If you are up for another sea cave adventure you can visit the Pink Caves on the same trip as Ghosties. The Pink Caves are also accessed from Moonee Beach, but you head in the opposite direction.
The Pink Caves also require low tide and slight swell, but you don’t need that super low tide that you want for the harder to access Ghosties sea cave.
From the northern end of Moonee Beach to the Pink Caves is just 750m each way, and it’s a flat easy walk (in the right conditions).
The incredible pink rock and turquoise water is so striking and it really does have all the wow factor. I went expecting that the colours in photos I’d seen had been significantly changed, but they hadn’t! You definitely need to go and see it for yourself!
All the finer details about visiting the Pink Caves are in this post.
Getting to Ghosties Beach
Getting to the trailhead for Ghosties Beach takes around 1.5 hours from Sydney, and it’s a distance of roughly 130km. It’s 40km and roughly 50 minutes from Newcastle.
The parking on the road parallel to Surfside Drive is free with no time limit.
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