Sydney’s ‘magical’ Mackenzies Bay beach disappears

It’s a slice of Aussie paradise that surfaces once every few years. But now, this beach has been swallowed by the sea — and experts don’t know when it will return.

It’s the “magical” beach that Sydneysiders have a window of time to experience and enjoy only every seven years or so.

Some describe the beach as Australia “best kept secret” or the “mythical” bay nobody told you about.

A popular beach in Sydney has been swallowed by the sea once more. Picture: Gaye Gerard/ Sunday Telegraph

Located between Bondi Beach and Tamarama in the city’s eastern suburbs, Mackenzies Bay is normally a rocky outcrop, but every few years a sandy beach emerges.

This summer, the surf has been drawn back to a point where the rarely seen beach has been exposed and Sydneysiders have been able to enjoy a dip off the sand.

But after a series of storms sweeping Sydney — including flooding rains that drenched the state earlier this month — the popular beach has been swallowed by the sea once again.

Recent surf events, where some waves have reached a staggering nine metres, has meant that the last of the sand has now been swept away.

“Storms come in different sizes and different directions, probably the last one was just high enough, long enough and from the right direction to remove the sand from the area,” University of Sydney professor of coastal geomorphology Ana Vila-Concejo told the ABC.

Some social media users, like @sophiesundown, have dubbed Mackenzie's Bay as their favourite place … when it's around.

Mackenzies bay turns to sand at certain times of the year.

The beach, which faces east and therefore cops the most damage when a low forms off the coast, receives its dumping of sand from large weather events. But it’s these events that also take the bay away.

The beach appears every so often, sometimes it takes years at a time. Picture: Gaye Gerard/ Sunday Telegraph

The beach in the past has disappeared for up to seven years at a time. And while the winter chill fills the air, summer will be back before we know it — but will the sands of Mackenzies Bay return as well?

“To have a beach in a certain place, we need three ingredients,” Prof Vila-Concejo added.

“We need waves to move sand, we need the sand, and we need somewhere to put the sand.

“Only sometimes we have waves of an appropriate size and direction that will move the sand that is available into the hole in the coast where Mackenzies beach grows.

“The winter waves were only about 35 per cent of the typical wave energy for any other winter in this part of the world.

“So maybe if we had another winter with low energy conditions, maybe we can hope that Mackenzie will come back.”