Aussie stunned by late-night sight at Sydney pool
A woman who was planning on doing some laps at a popular Sydney beach pool was left stunned after a late-night visit earlier this week.
A well-kept Sydney secret has been catapulted into TikTok fame, transforming into a late night party spot as dozens of swimmers descend for an evening dip.
Bronte Baths in Sydney’s eastern suburbs found itself trending on the app as temperatures soared in the city this week, lifting the lid on the lesser known swimming hole.
Videos filmed at the pools after dark on Tuesday – Sydney’s hottest day in more than two years – showed a “Vegas-style pool party”, packed with partygoers pumping music, drinking and dancing on the water’s edge.
“It’s normally families or small groups … This was big groups, people smoking weed, drinking. I have only seen it like this on public holidays,” TikTok user @organizedm said.
The original poster of the clip claimed to be a regular at the pools, visiting daily for an evening swim, but said she had “never seen it like this”.
“We went there at 9(pm) and it was too busy to swim!” another person noted.
Crowds had finally cleared off by 2am, having burned through the energy, after sky-high temperatures earlier in the day.
Bronte Baths, located at the far south of the popular beach, is one of the few Sydney open water pools that is lit up at night, making it an idyllic – and safer – spot for an evening swim.
Earlier in the week, the evening swim trend kicked off with videos by the likes of user @bbiijaja, who shared the baths as a “Saturday night date idea”.
The Sydneysider shared clips of her diving into the pale blue waters.
“Spice it up a little #sydney #summerisover,” she captioned the video, which has been viewed more than 140,000 times.
Even pop sensation Harry Styles joined in on the hype, quietly making a last-minute appearance at Bronte before jetting off to New Zealand.
Commenters drew links between the various clips, claiming the viral videos were driving the crowds.
“People started posting ‘aesthetic’ TikToks telling everyone to go. Bronte will never be the same after the TikTok hype,” one user guessed.
“I think the moon tonight has something to do with it also,” another entertainingly suggested.
Others, though, said it was simply due to the weather.
Sydney sweltered through its hottest day in more than two years on Tuesday as parts of NSW rode out a heatwave that sparked more than 40 bushfires.
Temperatures had climbed to 34 degrees by 11am in western Sydney, 33 at the airport and just over 31 in the city, according to Weatherzone.
At 3.30pm, Sydney airport hit 39 degrees, it was 37C at the harbour and Penrith nudged 40C.