Saunas, sledding and empty shores: Guardian Australia staff’s favourite east coast winter breaks

Whether you plan on embracing the cold or warming your bones, these well-tested winter holiday spots lean into the best of the season

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Take the plunge in Sydney’s ocean pools
It’s a truth universally unacknowledged that in winter, the ocean temperature in Sydney is often warmer than the air (and certainly warmer than the inside of our poorly insulated homes). So when the days turn crisp and the tourists dissipate, I like to squeeze into my swimming wetsuit and neoprene bathing cap, pop in my earplugs (to stave off surfer’s ear) and slide into one of the city’s 30 or so ocean pools, which extend from Palm beach in the north to Cronulla in the south.