Woy Woy - Fast Facts

Woy Woy (including Ettalong, Umina, Ocean Beach and Koolewong).
Popular holiday and retirement destination on the Central Coast north of Sydney
Woy Woy is a holiday and retirement centre 8 km south of Gosford and 85 km north of Sydney via the Newcastle Freeway. It is the largest of a number of settlements strung along the western foreshores of Brisbane Water, a shallow but very large inlet. At the western end of Broken Bay is the mouth of the Hawkesbury River and at its southern end the mouth of Pittwater. All four bodies of water are popular with holidaymakers due to their proximity to Sydney, the beautiful scenery, the warm summer weather and the opportunities they present for boating, swimming, fishing. Increasing numbers of people commute every day to Sydney along the freeway and via the electrified train line.

Brisbane Water Drive runs off the Pacific Highway at West Gosford down to Woy Woy. Driving south the road follows the beautiful shoreline of Brisbane Water. The drive reveals that the development is continuous, though it not so excessive as to destroy the considerable beauty of the area.

The last stop along Brisbane Water Drive before Woy Woy is Koolewong where there is a strip of parkland between the road and the ocean. There are picnic and playground facilities and a pedestrian walkway along the foreshore with a carpark, a deepwater boat ramp and a boat hire service.

Most of Woy Woy (along with Ettalong and Umina) is on a large peninsula, called The Peninsula, which juts from the mainland. The western edge of the peninsula is divided off from the rest of the mainland by Woy Woy Inlet. It is one of the few flat areas of the Central Coast.

The distance between the eastern edge of The Peninsula and the opposite shore of Brisbane Water is slight (less than a kilometre) and is spanned by The Rip Bridge. On the other side is Saratoga. St Huberts Island, Rileys Island and Pelican Island (the latter two are nature reserves) lie between the two shores just north of the bridge.

At the southern end of The Peninsula are Mt Ettalong, Pearl Beach and Patonga.