Over the past few years, I have been lucky to call Lake Macquarie my home. Although I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t taken full advantage of this, always being too busy to grab my camera and head out to shoot one of the fantastic photography locations this area offers.

Thankfully, I realised the folly in my ways a few months before the moment that I would be relocating to Tasmania for family reasons.

With so many great landscape photography locations in and around Lake Macquarie, I wanted to share my top 6 favourite places I have been to and photographed. Plus, I decided to make this interesting and list them in order of my sixth most favourite through to my first.

Which turned out to be easier said than done…

However, the order that I have come up with is as follows:

Lake Macquarie Photography Locations

Lake Macquarie would appear to be the jetty capital of NSW, with so many great and unique jetties to choose from.

While I have included three jetties in this list, I have also tried to include some other excellent landscape photography types from Lake Macquarie to give you more choices depending on what you would like to photograph.

I mean, common on… I have even included a shark tower!

#6: Squids Ink Jetty

A photo of Squids Ink Jetty at sunset

I was very lucky to get such an impressive sunset when I visited Squids Ink Jetty in Belmont. I also believe that when I took this photo back in 2016, the jetty might have been fairly new with the previous jetty having been damaged in a storm. (HDR Image | Sunset | April 2016)

  • Best time to visit: Sunset
  • Rating: 7/10
  • Google Maps: Link

I am not sure how I first came across Squids Ink Jetty, it was probably Googling ‘best landscape photography locations in Lake Macquarie’, but I’m glad I did.

Squids Ink Jetty is a small, white, fun little jetty next to the Pacific Highway at Belmont. You wouldn’t think that such a beautiful little landscape photography location could live a stone’s throw away from a major road.

It’s a fantastic spot to be in if there is little to no breeze and the potential for a colourful sunset. With these weather conditions, the water becomes one large mirror and makes for incredible photos.

I have only been to this location once, but I was blessed with these exact weather conditions. Therefore, I haven’t felt the need to go back. But each time I drive past, I do look at the small jetty fondly.

I wish you the same good fortune!

#5: Murrays Beach Jetty

Murrays Beach Jetty in Lake Macquarie

Murrays Beach Jetty is a very tranquil photography location in a little tucked-away part of Lake Macquarie. In this photo, there was very little happening in the sky to cause any great excitement… So I moved around to the left and found many nice places to capture some different photos of this grand jetty. (HDR Image | Sunset | October 2022)

  • Best time to visit: Sunset
  • Rating: 8/10
  • Google Maps: Link

Murrays Beach Jetty is located at Murrays Beach, a beautiful small, tucked-away suburb in Lake Macquarie.

The wooden jetty is quite long and protrudes some distance out into the waters of Lake Macquarie. A couple of nice arched street lights flank the right-hand side of the jetty, which add to its charm and your photos.

It might be worth trying to visit Murrays Beach Jetty when the tide is lower. I found that this gives you more opportunity to explore the foreshore to the left of the jetty, which has many excellent elements you can use in your composition. Elements like trees, rocks, multicoloured pebbles, etc., can help you capture a different type of photo than just solely photographing the jetty.

Given that this jetty faces west, it is a great sunset photography location in Lake Macquarie. It is also a pretty accessible location with parking nearby, toilets and some great walking tracks. There is also a playground if you are taking the family along.

If you are only able to visit Murrays Beach Jetty in the earlier part of the day, there is a great cafe there. I have been here for breakfast several times and always enjoy the food and coffee.

Murrays Beach Jetty, Location Review

#4: Gap Creek Falls

Photo of Gap Creek Falls taken on iPhone

This photo of Gap Creek Falls was taken on my iPhone as is mentioned in the following description of this location. Even though it is an iPhone photo, hopefully, it does do this waterfall some justice as to how stunning it is. You do feel like you have fallen into a gap in the National Park. (iPhone image | Afternoon | April 2022)

  • Best time to visit: During the day
  • Rating: 7 *
  • Google Maps: Link

Gap Creek Falls was first recommended to me by a friend and landscape photographer, James Macree. He visited this location and quickly told me how beautiful this waterfall was to photograph.

Many years later, and just recently, I went for a bushwalk along Gap Creek Walking Track and reached the waterfall. On this day, I didn’t have my camera gear with me, deciding to go for a walk to simply check it out.

Wow, was that a mistake!

Gap Creek Falls is a stunning waterfall and, to date, one of my favourite waterfalls that I have visited.

While I am not quite sure how Gap Creek Falls gets its name, you do descend down into the area where the waterfall is located. It feels like you are standing at the bottom of a large cylinder with the water running over a large area of the rock face. Adding to this feeling is the fact that there isn’t a lot of space to move around in.

Gap Creek Falls is located in the Watagans National Park at Lake Macquarie. You can reach this waterfall by following the adaptly named, Gap Creek Falls Walk. It is worth noting that the walk is rated as ‘moderate’, with some steep inclines and declines.

Like most waterfalls, it is best visited after some rain. This would also be a location that would be best visited during the day and, in particular mid-morning or afternoon.

At the time of publishing this post, Gap Creek Falls walk has been closed due to a landslide. The weather has also been relatively poor (pardon the pun), making it hard to return. As soon as it reopens, I will do my best to get there and update this post.

Hopefully, this will be before I move to Tasmania. I am certainly looking forward to getting back there with my camera.

* The rating for Gap Creek Falls might change once I have photographed it properly.

#3: Caves Beach

Caves Beach landscape photo during sunrise

It certainly is a big beautiful beach cave! I truly think that the best two tips that I can give you when visiting the cave at Caves Beach are to go at low tide and go during the week. That way you will be able to enter the cave and have better odds that you will have the cave to yourself. It just might mean chucking a sicky on that day… (HDR Image | Sunrise | March 2016)

  • Best time to visit: Sunrise
  • Rating: 8/10
  • Google Maps: Link

Caves Beach allows photographers to go inside a large beach cave and capture many unique seascape photos. The cave is a short distance from Caves Beach Surf Club and is relatively easy to reach.

This is probably one of the largest and most accessible beach caves I know of in the Lake Macquarie area. This makes it a popular and iconic location for locals, tourists and us photographers.

The trick with Caves Beach is choosing a time of the day when the tide is at its lowest. This will allow you to walk inside and around the main cave. You can even pass through to the other side of the beach.

If the tide is high, the water rushes into the cave, making it pretty much inaccessible. Certainly for photography, anyway.

Regarding travelling to Caves Beach, it is a great place to visit and offers ample parking, superb amenities and a lovely little cafe.

Caves Beach, Location Review

#2: Redhead Beach Shark Tower

Red Head Beach Share Tower at sunrise

The old shark tower at Redhead Beach has now been replaced by drones and from what I found on Google, there are still plenty of shark sightings at Redhead Beach. It’s a good thing we photographers can still find a good use for this iconic old structure. Hopefully, it is around for many years to come and the centre of many landscape photos. (HDR Image | Sunrise | February 2022 )

  • Best time to visit: Sunrise
  • Rating: 8/10
  • Google Maps: Link

Deciding on the second-best Lake Macquarie landscape photography location was tough…

I decided to go for Redhead Beach Shark Tower over Caves Beach since you need to get the tides right when visiting Caves Beach. Whereas if you head to Redhead Beach to photograph the Shark Tower, you have much more leeway with the height of the tide.

But that is not to take anything away from Redhead Beach and the shark tower as an incredible photography location in Lake Macquarie.

While it is quite a simple location to photograph, given that there is only one primary focus for your photos in the shark tower, it can also be a little tricky. In my location review of this topic, I mentioned that you could shoot a heap of photos while moving around and trying to capture one or two angles that encompass everything you want.

I also love Redhead Beach for the community feel. The people there are friendly, and the coffee is also great.

Well worth grabbing your camera and visiting.

Redhead Beach, Location Review

#1: Catherine Hill Bay Pier

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty at Sunrise as a shower rolls through

Catherine Hill Bay Jetty is my favourite photography location in Lake Macquarie. It is hard to describe the scale of the jetty until you see it for yourself. Plus, for a structure so large, there are many different ways, compositions, and times of the day and night in which the jetty at Catherine Hill Bay can be photographed. (HDR Image | Sunrise | May 2015)

  • Best time to visit: Sunrise and at night for astrophotography
  • Rating: 10/10
  • Google Maps: Link

While the decision for the number two spot was tough, the decision for my favourite photography location in Lake Macquarie was easy.

I love Catherine Hill Bay Jetty; it gets the top spot on this list!

The size of the pier and the fact that it has been left to the ravages of time amaze me. It is an incredible structure that lends itself so well to landscape photography. Suppose you think about one of the critical composition rules of landscape photography, ‘leading lines’. In that case, the pier is one massive leading line that moves a viewer’s attention from the beach to the jetty and then out to the horizon.

This location is a great sunrise photography location and one of the few locations in the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast areas that is also good for astrophotography.

I have also recently been alerted to a small cave from which you can photograph the jetty – framing the jetty within the rock face of the cave. So I am excited to return to Catherine Hill Bay for another landscape photography session.

While Catherine Hill Bay is at the top of this list, it would also make my top 5 favourite Australian photography locations that I have been to. That is how much I enjoy photographing the old jetty at Catherine Hill Bay.

That blog post is coming soon…

Catherine Hill Bay, Location Review

Other notable photography locations:

The other landscape photography locations that you might like to consider checking out if exploring the Lake Macquarie area are Chalky Beach at Swansea and Ghosties Beach Caves, located in the Munmorah State Conservation Area.

I am yet to photograph these two areas, hence why they did not make the list, but I am excited to visit them.

Please note: Ghosties Beach Caves is another location where I believe you must be careful of the tides. So please take care when photographing this location and take all due diligence.

Getting to Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie is situated between the NSW Central Coast and Newcastle and is part of the Hunter Region. The popular suburbs of Belmont, Charlestown, Swansea and Toronto are within its boundaries.

From Sydney, Lake Macquarie is about a 1 hour and 30-minute car trip straight up the M1 motorway. If you were driving from Brisbane, you would be looking at an 8-hour and 15-minute car trip.

But wouldn’t it be worth it now that you have these six stunning locations to visit!

Did you know: According to Wikipedia, Lake Macquarie is the largest coastal saltwater lake in Australia and covers an area of 110 square kilometres.

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Lake Macquarie is worth photographing!

Hopefully, that now gives you some new locations to photograph the next time you are in Lake Macquarie. It is a beautiful part of New South Wales and one that lends itself well to landscape photography with all the beaches, jetties, caves, waterfalls, etc.

It is worth mentioning that this list is comprised of Lake Macquarie photography locations I have been to.

Therefore, I look forward to continually updating this post in the coming years with new places that I get to see and photograph.

You might even be able to assist me with that…

Do you have a favourite Lake Macquarie photography location?

If so, jump over to my Facebook page and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you and potentially discover new great photography locations that I wasn’t aware of.

I genuinely hope this Lake Macquarie Photography Locations list has been helpful.

Now grab your camera, head out and explore!

Thank you for reading.

Rob Potter

P.S: If you liked this article and are planning on visiting Lake Macquarie, you also might like other photography locations in the Central Coast and Newcastle areas. I have some of those photography locations on the website and will be adding many more new ones.

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