I recently shared my favourite Lake Macquarie photography locations on this website. In doing so, I mentioned that Lake Macquarie could very well be the jetty photography location capital of NSW.

A big claim, I know!

But this statement did get me thinking… So, I created a new photography location list dedicated solely to jetties!

Sitting down to put this list together, I also decided to include the NSW Central Coast. I have long admired the NSW Central Coast’s beauty and fantastic photography locations. It also contains some gorgeous jetties, which make this list that much better.

Why landscape photographers love jetties

Photographing jetties can be very rewarding! 🙂

It might be the different shapes and sizes or the different textures and details found within the wood or metal of these structures. It might be the leading lines that we find so alluring that they lead the viewer’s eyes to the water’s depths. Either way, there is something that draws a photographer to jetties.

The older wooden jetties generally make for better landscape photos. This could result from the weathered wood being exposed to the elements for many years, providing fantastic textures and colours that look oh-so-good in photos.

As a result, it is not surprising that landscape photographers prize a good jetty.

My list of Jetty Photography Locations

Like each of my photography location lists, I decided to rank each place based on what I felt was good to incredible!

Below is the order of jetty photography locations that I came up with in the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast areas:

As a happy coincidence, there are three jetties represented from each of the two areas. 🙂

Arcadia Vale Wharf

Arcadia Vale Wharf

While not the most spectacular jetty on this list, Arcadia Vale Wharf is still a nice place to visit with your camera. The park bench in this photo looks tiny as it was taken with a wide-angle lens so that I could capture the two trees framing the composition. Otherwise, I was delighted with this photo after having been on an afternoon walk, seen the potential, and returned the next morning to capture it. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | Sunrise | October 2022)

  • My rating: 7/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunrise
  • Area: Lake Macquarie
  • Google Map: Link

I was lucky enough to live close to Arcadia Vale Wharf for a couple of years. I may be biased by including this location, as I enjoyed living in this suburb. That said, I also didn’t visit this wharf as much as I should have with my camera.

Like so many other jetties on the NSW Central Coast and Lake Macquarie areas, the jetty is a simple long wooden structure. The wood is nicely weathered, and while there are no handrails, painted white planks run along the top of either side of the jetty. This simple addition does add a nice detail to this jetty and others like Osborne Park Jetty.

The benefit of Arcadia Wharf is that it is a great sunrise photography location. As the sun rises over the horizon, it will rise in front of this jetty. It is also quite enough that at that time of the morning, it is just you, your camera and the show that mother nature has decided to unveil for you.

It might not be the nicest jetty in Lake Macquarie, but it is still a likable jetty and a location that deserves its place on this list.

Osborne Park Jetty

Osborne Park Jetty

Osborne Park Jetty is a nice simple jetty on the NSW Central Coast that is very accessible. I was fortunate the afternoon I visited, as the crimson colours danced across the clouds well after the sun disappeared behind the lake. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | March 2017 | Sunset)

  • My rating: 7/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunset
  • Area: Central Coast
  • Google Map: Link

Osborne Park Jetty is located along the edge of Budgewoi Lake in Toukley on the NSW Central Coast.

Osborne Park Jetty is quite long and shaped like a capital ‘L’. The initial section of the jetty is made of wood and is beautifully weathered, which looks great in photos. The top section of the jetty is constructed out of metal. This seems to be a common trait with some jetties, and I believe Murrays Beach Jetty is the same.

Getting to Osborne Park is relatively easy, and the jetty is located within meters of a car park.

Osborne Park Jetty is another one of those locations that I should go back and visit. But as I was fortunate with a beautiful sunset on my first visit to this jetty, I haven’t felt the need. Instead, I have been trying to find and photograph other jetties and locations in the area.

But I can certainly recommend Osborne Park Jetty, especially if you are on the hunt for a nice sunset landscape photo.

Murrays Beach Jetty

Murrays Beach Jetty

This photo was taken to the right of Murrays Beach Jetty while I balanced precariously on different-sized rocks with a tripod and camera. I probably didn’t need to do this and realised afterwards that it might have been better to simply swap lenses and take the photo from the solid ground that the path provides. But I was very pleased with the way the image turned out. So at least, there is that. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | October 2022 | Sunset)

  • My rating: 8/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunset
  • Area: Lake Macquarie
  • Google Map: Link

Murrays Beach Jetty is one of the better jetties to photograph in Lake Macquarie and a great place to visit at sunset.

Compared to other jetties, it is rather large, with handrails on either side and some light poles flanking the righthand side. The streetlights, especially, are pretty unique and make this jetty quite remarkable.

Murrays Beach Jetty is a location that I have visited a few times now, and each time, I have learnt a little more about photographing this location. In my full location review of this area, linked below, I mentioned that there are layers that you can build up in your compositions here.

I believe this adds to the enjoyment of visiting this jetty with your camera. Even now, it is a location that I would happily go back to and continue to explore.

Murrays Beach Jetty, Location Review

Gorokan Jetty

Gorokan Jetty

Here, you can see the remains of what once was Gorokan Jetty. These wooden piers make this jetty more intriguing and fun to photograph. This is a place that I would like to return to… I have been there twice, and the lake was smooth both times, but there wasn’t much happening in the sky. I have seen many amazing photos online of this location with an incredible sunrise and would love the opportunity to replicate them. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | August 2016 | Sunrise)

  • My rating: 8/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunrise
  • Area: Central Coast
  • Google Map: Link

Gorokan Jetty isn’t so much a jetty but the remains of one… 🤔

All that is now left of this jetty are the short piers that protrude out of the lake of what would have been a short jetty. But these remains make for a unique and visually interesting photography location.

Gorokan Jetty was one of the first photography locations I visited on the NSW Central Coast. I saw many stunning landscape photos online of this dilapidated jetty which piqued my interest.

Where the jetty is located, seems to be sheltered from the wind. Like so many other photography locations, if Mother Nature is on your side, you hope to arrive to find glass-like reflections bouncing off the smooth waters of Budgewoi Lake.

If the morning weather forecast were for high clouds and little to no breeze, I would grab my camera and run to this location. That would be in front of all the other jetty photography locations on this list.

Long Jetty

Long Jetty

Long Jetty stretches so far out into Tuggerah Lake that it touches the horizon. A trendy location and one that can become crowded with locals, tourists, and photographers, all wanting to enjoy Australia’s longest jetty. However, if the weather conditions are right and you can get a break in foot traffic, you can capture some truly remarkable landscape photos. (HDR Image, Nikon D750, 16mm | March 2016 | Sunset)

  • My rating: 9/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunset
  • Area: Central Coast
  • Google Map: Link

Long Jetty might be one of the most popular photography locations on the NSW Central Coast. So popular, in fact, that they named the whole suburb after this one-hundred-plus-year-old jetty.

The jetty does live up to its name, stretching out into the lake for a total of 351 metres!

This length makes it the longest jetty in Australia, which is no small feat for such a humble structure. While these days, it isn’t used for its original purpose, it is undoubtedly cherished by photographers as a stunning place to capture sunset landscape photos on the NSW Central Coast.

Other than its length, the other signature detail of Long Jetty is the single handrail that runs along the right-hand side of the jetty. Combine this with the shallow water that can provide glass-like reflections across Tuggerah Lake, and it’s no surprise that this location is so popular!

Getting to this location is also not a problem, with the jetty only a short walk from where you would park your car. It is also situated close to the main road, the Central Coast Highway, which divides the suburb and contains many great shops and places to eat.

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty

I hope that this photo gives you some idea of the sheer size of Catherine Hil Bay Jetty and its potential as a photography location. There are so many different ways in which you can capture this jetty. I am willing to bet that this is a location you will keep revisiting with your camera. (HDR Image, Nikon D300S, 10mm | May 2014 | Sunrise)

  • My rating: 10/10
  • Best time to visit: Sunrise & Nighttime
  • Area: Lake Macquarie
  • Google Map: Link

I had to include Catherine Hill Bay Jetty in this list of Jetty Photography Locations. 🙂

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty is huge and has been out of commission for many years, but it still makes for a stunning jetty to photograph. It’s attached to Catherine Hill Bay headland and the beach below. This combination makes the whole place incredible for landscape and astrophotography.

There are numerous angles and ways to photograph Catherine Hill Bay Jetty. You can capture it from either side of the beach, the headland above and even from within caves.

While I am doubling up, like Murrays Beach Jetty, I did share this location in my list of favourite Lake Macquarie photography locations. But in my defence, it is certainly the biggest (although not the longest) and, in my opinion, the best jetty on this list.

It is a fantastic jetty to capture and one of my all-time favourite Australian photography locations!

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty, Location Review

Go and photograph some new jetties

I hope you have enjoyed exploring this list of jetty photography locations on the NSW Central Coast and Lake Macquarie region. If you are a photographer living in or travelling to either of these areas, I hope you found this resource useful.

You really are spoilt for choice of beautiful jetties to photograph!

That said, this list is just the tip of the iceberg.

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There are so many other jetties that you can photograph when visiting the Central Coast or Lake Macquarie areas. If the jetties in this list are known to you, check out Squids Ink Jetty (featured in my list of Lake Macquarie photography locations), Belmont Wharf, and Bolton Point Jetty, to name just a few.

I would love to hear what your favourite jetty is to photograph.

It would be great to learn about other jetties inside and outside the areas I have described in this article. I am very much drawn to a good-looking jetty and am always searching for the next one to grab my camera and visit.

If you would like to recommend a jetty, please jump over to my Facebook page and share your thoughts and photos under the link to this article. Both I and others will benefit from you doing so. 🙂

Now get out and take some incredible landscape photos!

Thanks for reading,
Rob Potter