Catherine Hill Bay Jetty, Landscape Photography Review

Catherine Hill Bay is located in the picturesque region of Lake Macquarie on the East Coast of NSW. This location is easily recognisable due to the giant old jetty that stretches from the top of the beach out into the sea. This makes Catherine Hill Bay Jetty a popular photography destination for landscape photographers travelling to the area.

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty is currently my favourite photography location in NSW! 🤩

Catherine Hill Bay always seems to look after me by providing spectacular weather conditions that light up the sky with beautiful colours. I always seem to capture great landscape photos and am always excited and grateful whenever I visit this old jetty.

If you are into landscape photography and have been looking for beautiful photography locations to capture in Lake Macquarie, you have probably seen photos of Catherine Hill Bay Jetty online.

While there are plenty of beautiful jetties in the area to photograph, none come close to rivalling the size of Catherine Hill Bay Jetty. I don’t feel that the images you will see, mine included, do not correctly convey just how significant this old jetty is.

You must visit Catherine Hill Bay Jetty with your camera! 📸

Here, I tried to use the leading lines, textures and reflections from the little stream that runs from the top of the beach down to the water to fill the foreground of this landscape photo of Catherine Hill Bay Jetty. This was the second time that I have been to this location and have been lucky enough to experience the sun hitting a passing shower which has lit the sky up in a golden yellow colour. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | Sunrise | 2022)

How to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

When taking landscape photos at Catherine Hill Bay, the beautiful old jetty will be the focal point of most of your images. In one way, the jetty assists you with your compositions in how it curves out to sea and helps a viewer’s eye run along its edge and out to the horizon.

So then, it is about working out what compositions you want to capture and positioning yourself there. This may come down to replicating other photos you have seen or simply looking around to uncover creative angles that catch your attention. It might even be a combination of the two.

Hopefully, the following tips will assist you:

Left of the Jetty

Walking down to the beach from the car park, the jetty will be on your right-hand side. As you move towards it, there are many positions along the sand, between the beach’s entrance and the jetty, where you can stop to take a photo if you see something you like.

For example, on a recent trip to photograph the jetty, I had just walked down from the car park with the intention of heading over to the base of the jetty. However, I quickly noticed a small stream of water running from the top of the beach, curving across the sand and down into the water. I felt this would make for a nice photo with the possibility of colourful reflections bouncing up and off the water’s surface and having layers of sand and water in the composition – if that makes sense.

You will come to a rock platform if you continue walking along the beach towards the old jetty. Here there are lots of beautiful little rock pools, beach rocks, and holes with brilliant textures to fill your foreground. There also appears to be cement foundations, possibly of a long-gone old structure, which adds additional textures to your photos.

Under the Jetty

You can keep moving towards the jetty, and once there, position yourself easily underneath it. From here, you can capture the giant pylons that support the structure. These concrete and steel pylons and the underside of the jetty have their own uniquely brilliant textures and details. This makes working the pylons into your composition great, as they look awesome up close.

Alternatively, you could hug the rock wall and duck into one of the beach caves. Not too long ago, I saw a photo on Social Media that showed Catherine Hill Bay Jetty being captured from inside a beach cave. This image looked incredible, which is another reason why I want to return to this spot.

Right of the Jetty

You can proceed through and over to the right-hand side of the jetty. This area opens up another angle and offers different compositions in which to photograph this fantastic structure.

As a bonus, the remnants of what looks to have been another part of Catherine Hill Bay jetty, with the footings of some old cement pylons, can still be seen sticking out of the sand.

The Headland

One position I have yet to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty from, and a spot I might try on my next visit, is up high on the headland. From here, you are in line with the top of the jetty and have a great vantage point from which to see over the beach.

I have seen some photos taken from this position, and they also looked spectacular with the right weather conditions! 😊

Gear you should take to Catherine Hill Bay

Camera gear:

You could take any camera and lens combination to this location and still walk away with some great photos. As I have mentioned, there are many ways in which you could capture the old jetty. Therefore, my advice would be to simply pack your favourite one or two camera lenses and have fun.

Gear in general:

I recommend wearing some good footwear due to the rock shelf and concrete remnants you will climb over as you make your way to the jetty or use in your composition. Alternatively, you could also wear shoes that you are happy to get wet, especially if you want to include the rock pools in your landscape photos.

Trying my hand at astrophotography at Catherine Hill Bay Jetty and was pretty stoked with the resulting shot. I would certainly recommend trying this if you get the opportunity. (Single Exposure | Nikon D750, 24mm, f2.8 | Single Exposure | Night | 2016)

The best time to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

During sunrise:

In my opinion, sunrise is the best time of the day to grab your camera and head down to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty. During sunrise, the sun will come up and over the water, positioned behind or just to the left of the jetty, depending on where you stand and the time of year.

However, if you cannot make it there for sunrise, I wouldn’t let that stop you from visiting this location. I have seen some fantastic photos of Catherine Hill Bay Jetty taken at various times of the day.

At night:

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty seems to be one of those rare locations, close to developed areas, where you can still snap a nice photo of the Milky Way.

After seeing photos of astrophotography taken at Catherine Hill Bay, I did give it a go myself with some degree of success. As someone who hasn’t done much astrophotography, I am keen to revisit this spot to give it another go.

Overcast or wet weather:

This suggestion might sound strange, but I have been to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty twice when there was a real chance of rain and have been rewarded with these intense yellow and crimson skies as the morning’s rays of light reflect off of passing showers.

Not to say that it will happen every time or that you should go there when it is supposed to pour with rain, but if you get lucky as I have on these occasions, it is truly magical.

On that note, double-checking the tides before going is a good idea, so you are conscious of what it is doing. I don’t feel it would affect this location too much in terms of taking photos, but it is always good to know.

Travelling to Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

According to Google, Catherine Hill Bay is approximately a 1 hour and 30-minute drive north of Sydney. If you are travelling down from the Newcastle area, it is roughly a 45-minute drive.

Once you have arrived, there is ample parking available, especially if you will be visiting this location for sunrise. During this time, you will only be sharing the car park with other keen photographers and surfers looking to catch a morning wave.

Catherine Hill Bay jetty is visible from the car park and, as you will see, is located to the right of the entrance to the beach. It is then only a short easy walk from your car to the jetty, making this location quite accessible to everyone.

Catherine Hill Bay Surf Life Saving Club is also situated there, with access to public toilets if nature calls.

This photo was taken on the righthand or far side of the old jetty and provides you with a slightly different angle in which to capture this large structure. (HDR Image, Nikon D300s | Sunrise | 2014)

The History of Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

As I have come to learn, what I have been referring to throughout this article as Catherine Hill Bay Jetty is or was known as ‘Wallarah Jetty’. The ‘New Wallsend Company’ were the original owners of the jetty and surrounding mine after coal was discovered in the Catherine Hill Bay area in 1867.

Wallarah Jetty was built sometime before December 1873, when it assisted with the first shipment of coal from this area and was in operation up until 2002. Lake Coal currently owns the jetty, and it is estimated that it would cost the company approximately 3 million dollars if they wished to restore it back to an operational state.

I am amazed at how old the jetty is, and despite having had someone try to blow it up in 1917 with dynamite and later damaged by fires in 2013, it is still relatively intact. Although you wouldn’t find me walking on it. 😱

Let’s hope it stays this way for many more years to come.

With many beautiful rock pools and leftover structure remnants closer to the jetty, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to composing what will fill the foreground of your photo. (HDR Image, Nikon D750 | Sunrise | 2016)

Final thoughts about photographing Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

Out of 10, I would rate Catherine Hill Bay Jetty a 10 as a photography location.

Not only is this just an incredible structure to photograph, but I love how this gigantic old man-made structure has been left to battle both mother nature and father time.

The size of the jetty is impressive, and the location offers many different and stunning photographic opportunities. I have been to this location numerous times, and I still see new compositions shared online of the jetty that I would love to try and replicate and add my own touch to.

I do believe that Catherine Hill Bay Jetty is a very accessible location and one that anyone would enjoy visiting, even if they didn’t have a camera in hand.

I could not recommend Catherine Hill Bay Jetty highly enough! 😊

I hope that this has been helpful.

Thanks,
Rob Potter