Women's baths

Recently I've been swimming at McIver's Baths in Coogee. McIver's Baths is the only ocean pool in New South Wales reserved for women and children. It must be strange for boys that have swum there for years to suddenly no longer be allowed entry. Entry is by an honesty system - 20 cents thrown into a bucket through a gate. Changing sheds and showers are at the top, with a great lawn in front. The first (sunny) day I went, there was a group of women sitting there doing crosswords and chatting. The pool is lovely. There are two sets of steep stairs that go straight into the pool that has been carved out of the rock. There's even a shallow area against the cliff. I haven't seen many children there, mostly older women. The other distinctive group was topless women - must feel a bit more relaxed about it at a pool with no men. Apparantly the pool is popular with lesbians, but if any of the women there were lesbian they certainly weren't overt about it. I love how private the pool is, and how it's surrounded by cliffs, and the views are awesome. The other nice thing was that it was obvious that women had formed friendships simply by swimming regularly at the pool.