Dogging in Sydney and New South Wales

Sydney is Australia’s biggest city, but not its biggest dogging scene – and the locals are the first to admit it. On the old WhosDogging forum back in 2006, Melbourne members were already teasing Sydney about how far behind it was, while Sydneysiders from the North Shore to Penrith asked where everyone went. Twenty years on, New South Wales has plenty of people who are into it. They’re just more spread out, and more careful about who they tell.

Sydney: a scene you have to plan

In Sydney, turning up somewhere and hoping is usually a quiet night – regulars describe it as hit and miss, mostly miss. The people who do well arrange things first.

Couples rarely announce where they’re going in public, because a post with a place in it brings out every pushy single man in the city. Instead they say roughly where they are, pick who to invite from the replies, and share the details privately. Some regulars have suggested settling on one place and building it up together, and couples say that offering to host – a hotel room or a private party – attracts far more of the right people than a car park does.

Sydney also has adult venues of its own, from swingers’ parties to adult cinemas and sex-on-premises venues, and plenty of curious couples start there before trying anything outdoors.

Where people go in and around Sydney

Sydney’s outdoor scene follows the same pattern as anywhere else – somewhere to park after dark, with some privacy and a view of who’s coming – but it’s spread across a huge area.

• Harbour headlands and foreshore reserves, with a view across the water once the walkers have gone home.
• River reserves and lookouts in the west, along the Nepean and the Hawkesbury.
• Sports fields and reserves on the city’s fringe, out towards Macarthur.
• Beach and headland car parks on the Northern Beaches.

Some places are shared with long-standing gay beats, so keep your manners and never take it for granted that the person in the next car wants what you want. And as everywhere, we don’t name exact spots: a place that gets posted all over the internet fills with gawkers and complaints, and the council or the police soon follow.

Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains

If Sydney has a heartland for dogging, it’s the west. Penrith, the Hawkesbury and the Nepean come up again and again when locals talk about where things actually happen.

That was true on the old forum too, where most of the requests for help came from Parramatta, Penrith and Western Sydney. Today, couples in the west post that they’re heading out on a Friday or Saturday night and invite people along, and river reserves and lookouts at the foot of the Blue Mountains are the kind of places they mean. It’s a big area with long drives between spots, so knowing who’ll be there before you set off saves a wasted evening.

The Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong

North and south of Sydney, the scene is smaller and more local.

On the Central Coast, a couple of parks and a lookout get mentioned, but people there are frank that the crowd is mostly single men and couples are few – which is exactly why couples who want to try it tend to arrange things online first. Newcastle and the Hunter have their own small online groups. Down the coast, Wollongong members on the old forum were already scouting night-time places and comparing notes in 2006. In all three, a little planning goes a long way.

Sydney’s nude beaches

New South Wales has five designated nude-bathing beaches, and Sydney has three of them – but none of them is a place for dogging.

Under a 1996 state law, only beaches the government has designated are legal for nude bathing: Lady Bay, which was made legal for nude bathing back in 1976, plus Cobblers and Obelisk on Sydney Harbour, Werrong in the Royal National Park and Samurai at Port Stephens. Little Congwong at La Perouse is popular but isn’t one of them, and Tyagarah near Byron Bay lost its clothing-optional status after it turned out to be national park land. Nudity is allowed on the sand at the designated beaches, not in the bushland behind them, and sex isn’t allowed at all. Regulars’ biggest complaint is that the beaches are mostly men, so if you go, behave as you would on any beach – and keep anything more for somewhere else.

Things to know before you go in New South Wales

• Distances add up. Sydney is spread out and traffic is slow. Agree where and when before anyone sets off.
• National parks and reserves close. Many lock their gates at night. Read the signs or park outside.
• Summer storms happen. Most people stay home in the rain – although one Sydney regular swears by it, because nobody else is about.
• Trust your instincts. If a place, or the people in it, feel wrong, leave.

Staying on the right side of the law in New South Wales

New South Wales has no law against dogging as such. The question the law asks is whether someone who didn’t sign up for it could see what you’re doing.

The state’s Summary Offences Act covers obscene exposure in, or within view of, a public place – and it can apply whether or not anyone actually saw. NSW Police’s own policy on public sex places puts the safety of everyone first and asks officers to respond in proportion, weighing the complaints they receive. Pick a late hour and a quiet corner, stay out of sight and leave if others arrive – or use one of Sydney’s licensed venues, where none of this applies. For the wider picture, read Is dogging legal? (general information only, not legal advice).

Meeting other doggers in New South Wales

In a state this size, meeting people before you go isn’t just easier – it’s how things actually happen.

WhosDogging has been bringing doggers together since 2006. A profile costs nothing, and once you’re in you can find people across New South Wales, message them and agree what everyone wants before anyone gets in the car – whether you’re in the eastern suburbs, out past Penrith or up on the Coast. The people you’ll meet are genuine members who want the same thing you do. For the rest of the country, see Dogging in Australia, or head south with Dogging in Melbourne and Victoria.