It’s not everyday that you come across a wildlife sanctuary that just happens to be thriving in an ordinary, untended area. But this is just like that. The rock pools down at the southern end of Terrigal Beach are filled with creatures, the likes of which you’d expect to see in the handling terrarium at an aquarium. On an ordinary afternoon, I managed to find, pick up and take a good look at a whole lot of beach crabs (they won’t pinch… hard), hermit crabs, black spiky sea urchins, baseball-sized sea snails, octopuses and anemones! The octopuses were definitely the highlight, camouflaging themselves amongst the rocks. If you managed to coax them out of hiding, you could see them change their colour and pattern to fit in with the sand instead. It’s the perfect place to take kids, or even to go on a date if you wanted to do something a little different. And, of course, there are lots of excellent cafes nearby too, to make for a lovely seaside day.